St. John the Baptist, the parish church of Burscough (consecrated in 1832) was built with the aid of a grant from parliamentary funds. These funds were specifically assigned, at the end of the Peninsular War, for the building of churches in populous areas.  Consequently, St. John’s, which is a Grade II* listed building, is known as a “Waterloo” church.

The architect, Daniel Stewart, who was from Liverpool, built two churches – the other being St. Matthias, Liverpool. St. John’s is built in the Gothic style from stone brought from Parbold, on land that was given to the Church of England by Lord Skelmersdale. The church cost £3,440 to build – £400 of which was raised by public subscription.

The parish also includes a mission church: St. Andrews, Crabtree, which was originally built to serve the community on the canal in 1903.