'Loweswater - St Bartholomew' Church'

Location : Loweswater
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 141209

The Church of St Bartholomew's at Loweswater that you see today dates almost entirely from the year 1884, when a small plain Lakeland chapel consecrated in 1829 was extensively enlarged and improved. The work was undertaken because a leadmine was opened at Godferhead, and a vast expansion in population was predicted. In the event, the mine failed, and the population remained static. Little remains of the earlier Church, except for the board on which the Ten Commandments, Creed and Lord's Prayer were painted, which may still be seen on the East wall of the organ chamber. Another possible reminder of the old Church may be the nave windows.

The first mention of a place of worship at Loweswater was in 1125 in the records of St Bees Priory. Monks from the Priory would come and take services, and bodies for burial would be taken away along the corpse road through Holme Wood.