The Churches of Cumbria and the Lake District

In Cumbria, there is no local tradition in Church architecture. For one thing, the dales were mostly too poor, and for another, the slate was not a good material for building in the style of medieval gothic. Partly because of poverty, churches fell into disrepair, and had to be rebuilt, or were too small and had to be enlarged.
 
While many dale churches have 12th or 13th Century origins, only a few remain in anything like their original state.
 
Many churches have towers, some of them fortified, but few have spires. Those that do are mainly 19th Century in the towns – Ambleside, Cockermouth, Keswick, Barrow and Millom. Some Victorian churches were built by rich landowners who wanted their own church near to the house for the use of themselves and their staff.

 This is a summary of some of the many churches in Cumbria which are well worth seeing.
 If you only have time to view a few, these are ones you should not miss.
 

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South Lakes

St Mary’s Church

Location :  Ambleside

Vicarage Road, Ambleside

St Mary’s Church Ambleside was built between 1850 and 1854 in the Early Gothic style. The architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott. It was not as ornate as many Victorian churches, and was one of the first in the North to incorporate ideas from the Oxford Movement.

Unlike many Lakeland churches, it has a spire, and is built of sandstone which was more easily worked than the local slate. There are many interesting stained glass windows, including two ‘Children’s Windows’ by Henry Holiday. The Church leaflet contains a plan of the Church, identifying and describing all the windows.

Probably the oldest feature of the Church is the ancient sandstone font near the entrance to the Wordsworth Chapel, which may date from pre-Reformation times, and which was found in the belfry of St Annes’ Church in 1899

St Martin’s Church

Location : Bowness-on-Windermere

The Parish Church of St Martin, Lake Road, Bowness-on-Windermere, LA23 3DE.

St Martin’s Church is the parish Church of Bowness, and was built in 1483, with various alterations, including the restoration of 1870, when the Church was enlarged by Paley and Austin. Wall paintings in the Chancel and on the West wall date from that time, as does a comprehensive decorative scheme throughout the whole Church. The outstanding feature is the East window, and it is of credit to the Victorian restorers that when the Chancel was built, the famous glass, some dating from the 15th Century, was skillfully renovated.

A comprehensive Church booklet, with a cover drawing of the Church by A. Wainwright, describes in detail a walk round the Church, giving details of objects of interest. These include a 13th Century font, a statue of St Martin, an ancient oak chest from the 17th Century, ancient books ,George III’s Royal Coat of Arms, a marble reredos by Paley and Austin, and many interesting stained glass windows.

Wordsworth’s Grave – St Oswald’s Church

Location : Grasmere

Church Stile Grasmere, Ambleside LA22 9SW

William Wordsworth is buried in the churchyard in the centre of Grasmere village. The Church is named after St Oswald, a 7th Century Christian King of Northumberland, who is said to have preached on this site. It is the parish church of Grasmere, Rydal and Langdale, and each township has its own separate gate into the churchyard.

The 13th century nave holds several memorials, including several to the Le Fleming family of Rydal Hall, but the one most people come to see is that of William Wordsworth. The North aisle, almost as big as the nave, was added in 1490 for the residents of Langdale.The East window is clear and gives superb views of the fells beyond. There is a statue of the Madonna and Child by Ophelia Bell, who married local artist William Heaton Cooper in this Church.

The pews are made of oak, and date from 1881. There is a glass case near the organ, containing Wordsworth’s prayer book.

North Lakes

Bridekirk – St Bridget’s Church

Location : Cockermouth

Bridekirk CA13 0PE

There has been a Church in the village of Bridekirk, near Cockermouth since ancient times. A wooden Church was replaced with a stone one in 1130, with Norman architecture. In 1868 a replacement church was commissioned, because the old one was in poor state. This was built by Corey and Ferguson next to the old church, the chancel of which still remains. Only the tympanum and archway of the South door, the door in the South transept and the former Chancel arch (now over the organ), were incorporated into the new Church.

The architecture is neo-Norman, cruciform with apse and crossed tower. Above the SW Norman doorway is the tympanum with a carved head of Christ (11th or 13th Century). It is somewhat corroded but still regarded as a ‘most interesting piece of sculpture in any Cumberland Church’.

An unusual feature is the font, possibly from the earlier Church. It is 12th Century, and is described as ‘perhaps the most finished and perfect remains of Northern sculpture in the Kingdom’. It was carved by Richard of Durham and shows how old Nordic influences continued after the Norman conquest.

Crosthwaite – St Kentigern’s Church

Location : Keswick

Church Lane, Keswick CA12 5NN

Crosthwaite Church, on the outskirts of Keswick, is dedicated to St Kentigern (also known as St Mungo), who came to Keswick in 553 AD. There has been a church on this site ever since, the present Church being built in 1181. Alterations and enlargements took place in the 16th Century, and there was a restoration in 1844, by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The alter he designed was moved to St Johns in the Vale Church in 1893.

The present day church dates from 1523 and is unique in England, presenting a full set of 16th century consecration crosses, marking the spots where the bishop sprinkled holy water, which you may enjoy looking for – 12 outside and 9 inside the church. There are several fine examples of stained glass (the east window and two windows on the north wall are by Charles Kempe). There is some glass from the 12th Century and some from the 16th Century. There is a mosaic floor with symbols of the founder: tree, fish, bell, and bird. Also there is a 1602 sundial and an old Mass clock.

Notable people buried at Crosthwaite Church include Canon Rawnsley (widely known as co-founder of the National Trust.), Robert Southey (who was the Poet Laureate from 1813 – 1843, and lived at Greta Hall in Keswick), Sir Edmund Henderson (founder of the Scotland Yard’s CID), and Eric Treacy (Bishop of Wakefield)

Keswick – St John’s Church

Location : Keswick

Ambleside Road, Keswick CA12 4DD

St John’s Church was designed by Anthony Salvin, and the material selected for the construction was a soft pink sandstone from quarries in the Eden Valley. The site for the Church was chosen by the founder, John Marshall, Lord of the Manor of Castlerigg. Salvin worked for John Marshall’s brother William at Patterdale Hall, and later for another brother Henry, on rebuilding the house on nearby Derwent Isle.

The building, in the Old English style, originally comprised the west tower and spire, and what is now the central nave and vestry. The son of the founder decided to enlarge the building, and in 1862 a north aisle was added, and columns were introduced to support the roof, so that the walls and windows could be moved outwards. 20 years later, the south aisle was added, and in 1889 the chancel was created.

Outside the Church there are seats on the terrace for you to sit and enjoy one of the finest views of the hills around Keswick. In the graveyard is the grave of Sir Hugh Walpole, the novelist, who lived in Grange.

Torpenhow – St Michael’s Church

Location : Ireby

Torpenhow CA7 1HT

The Church of St Michael at Torpenhow was built in 1120. Of the 98 churches built in the 12th Century, only six remain unspoilt, Torpenhow being one of these. Most of the early building remains – and some of the stone that can be seen inside would have been brought from the Great Roman Camp of Old Carlisle. The architect responsible for the 1913 restoration said he found distinct traces of a Saxon building.
 
The magnificent chancel arch is undoubtably the most noteworthy feature of the original building and is a fine example of its type and date and is profusely ornamented in an individualist manner. There are demon like intertwined figures in dark red sandstone on the north, the side of darkness, and human and animal figures in light sandstone on the south side – suggesting a sermon in stone.

East Lakes and Eden Valley

Greystoke – St Andrew’s Church

Location : Greystoke

There has been a Church as Greystoke since 1255. The Church at that time was richly endowed. The nobility took a personal interest in their Parish Church, and the 14th Baron Greystoke, who built the first Greystoke Castle, and whose grave is in the chancel, was keen to add chantries, where masses for the dead would be held. Three were built on each side of the nave, with painted oak screens. At the Reformation, the oak screens were removed, leaving a very large nave. The tower was used by villagers seeking refuge from marauding Scots (as a pele tower).

Various items in the Church remain from the Medieval Church. The rood beam bridging the chancel arch is oldest item in the Church, and carries floral emblems representing the wounds of Christ. The ancient choir stalls in the chancel have some well preserved misericords (carved shelf underneath the seat). Some of these are good examples of Christian symbolism – the pelican who feeds her young on her own blood; the unicorn surrendering to the Virgin; St Michael and the Dragon. A board gives information about each of the carvings.

The great East window is a fine collection of Medieval glass. The glass was removed as Cromwell approached, and buried. It was restored in 1848, with the restorers having difficulty putting it all back where it came from.

Penrith – St Andrew’s Church

Location : Penrith

A church has stood on this site since 1133, and the present church was built in 1720, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Christopher Wren, and modelled on St Andrew’s Holborn. The tower remains from the original 13th century church, and has walls six feet thick, and was probably used as a pele tower.
 
The organ was said when it was installed to be one of the finest in the North of England. The church has an interesting stained-glass East Window by Hardman and Powell, inserted in 1870. It is surrounded by murals painted in 1844 by a local artist, Jacob Thompson.

In the graveyard is the ‘Giant’s Thumb’, a Norse cross dating from 920 AD, and erected as a memorial to his father by Owen Caesarius, King of Cumbria from 920 to 937 AD. There is a tradition that the ‘Giant’s Grave’ is the grave of Owen himself. The four hogback stones surrounding the grave are said to represent wild boar he killed in nearby Inglewood Forest. The two norse crosses are some 11 feet high.

Kirkby Stephen Parish Church

The Parish Church of Kirkby Stephen, known locally as the Cathedral of the Dales is built on the site on an old Saxon church and contains many ancient relics. At the west end of the Church, among several other ancient remnants, is the ‘Loki Stone’ – a block of stone about a metre in height, decorated by a carved figure with horns. This is historically important, as one of the few physical survivals from the time when the Vikings settled parts of this area.
 
The entrance to the church is from the Market Square through the handsome Cloisters, which were built in 1810 with money left to the town by a former inhabitant – John Waller.

There is much stained glass worth looking at, including several windows by Powells of Whitefriars.

Appleby St Lawrence’s Church

Location: Appleby

The church is at the lower end of Boroughgate beyond the cloisters which were designed by Sir Robert Smirke in 1811. The oldest part of the church (the lower part of the tower) dates from the 12th Century. Following the destruction during the Border Wars came 14th Century rebuilding, and restoration in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. Work from all these periods can be seen.
 
The porch was built about 1300, but the arch with its dog-tooth moulding is about 100 years older. In the Baptistry, the font is of Frosterly marble from Weardale, dating from the 19th Century. There are some chained books dating from 1631, three volumes of Foxes Acts and Monuments of the Martyrs’. The organ, a gift to Appleby from Carlisle Cathedral in 1683, contains parts dating from the 16th Century, and is the oldest working English organ in the country. It was restored in 1976.

West Lakes and Coast

Holme Cultram Abbey

Location: Abbeytown

Holme Cultram Abbey was founded in 1150 by the Cistercian Monks from Melrose Abbey on the Scottish Borders. In the 15th Century the abbey was much larger than it is today, in fact it was bigger than Carlisle Cathedral. In 1538 with the dissolution of the monasteries the land passed to the Crown, and the monks were dispersed. The centre of the Abbey has survived as the Parish Church, with the rest of the Abbey falling into disrepair.

The Church you see today, 6 of the 9 bays of the nave of the original Abbey, is the result of restoration begun in 1703, and further work done in 1883 and 1913. There is a wonderful Norman arch at the west doorway, and a fine arcade of pillars in the side walls. There are fragments of tombstones, inscriptions, medieval tiles and masonry in the porch which are worth studying. The stained glass windows are also worth studying – there are many – by Wailes and Strang, Powell of Whitefriars, and E & C O’Neill. The five light East window is by William Wailes.

On Friday afternoon 9th June 2006, local youths set fire to Holme Cultram Abbey.

Whitehaven – St James’ Church

Location: Whitehaven

This lovely church, once described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as ‘the finest Georgian church interior in the county’, was dedicated on St James’ day, 25th July 1753. It was built to a plan by Carlisle Spedding who was Sir James Lowther’s agent.

The East end is an apse with Ionic pillasters. It houses a beautiful painting over the alter – ‘The Transfiguration’ by Guilio Proccacini (1548-1626). It was reputed to have been taken from the Escorial Palace, Madrid, by French soldiers during the Napoleonic invasion of Spain. It came to England, to the third Earl of Lonsdale, who presented the painting to the Church in 1869. It is thought to be the only work of this Italian artist in an English church.

All the ground floor windows are stained glass – the work of various companies – Shrigley and Hunt, Abbot and Co, and William Wailes. There is a modern window by L.C. Evetts, inserted in 1976. In the Lady Chapel there is a large lump of coal, and hanging in the Chapel is a genuine miner’s lamp. This was presented to the Church as a memorial to the coal miners who lost their lives in the William Pit disaster of 15th August 1947.

St Mary’s Church

Location: Gosforth

One of the most historical churches in the area, with Viking monuments known worldwide, with a Norse Cross in the graveyard depicting the victory of Christ over the Heathen Gods. Two 10th century ‘Hogback’ tombstones inside the church cover the graves of Norse Chieftains and are shaped as houses of the dead and are carved with battle scenes. There are delightful carved faces on the chancel arch, and a Chinese iron bell on the western windowsill. There is a Viking ‘fishing stone’ and some curious old collecting boxes.

The graveyard contains a cork tree planted in 1833, the most northerly in Europe. The tool-shed built of stones from the original church, is now a listed building.

The Cross is 14 ft high, the tallest Viking cross in England and second in importance only to the Bewcastle Cross. With the hog-back tombs inside the church, it was carved around 940 AD. It is unique among English Viking crosses, not only in size and complete survival, but in the quality and detail of its carving.

Irton – St Paul’s Church

Location: Eskdale Green / Gosforth / Drigg

St Paul’s Church is a good example of a small, simple Victorian Church, complete with banners and stained glass windows. In 1865 the old church that stood here was demolished, and work started on a new one, designed by Miles Thompson of Kendal. Further renovations were carried out in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. In the churchyard is the ancient Irton Cross, which stands some 10 feet high and was erected in the early 9th Century, before the Danish & Norse invasions. This is one of the most important crosses in Cumbria, and unlike the one at St Mary’s Church Gosforth, bears no figures either human or animal.

It contains vine scrolls and step and fret patterning, close interlacing and rosettes, all of Irish origin. The tower contains a peal of eight bells given by Sir Thomas Brocklebank, the shipping magnate, who set up the Brocklebank Shipping Co in Whitehaven. There are memorials to various members of the Brocklebank family, and to Admiral Lutwidge, whose family were important in the tobacco trade to Whitehaven.

There are many stained glass windows in the church, and two pairs of these are designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and made by William Morris & Co. These show St Paul, The Tiburtine Sibyl, St Agnes with a lamb, and St Catherine of Alexandria.

South Cumbria

Cartmel Priory

Location : Cartmel

Cartmel Priory is a fine solid building which presides over the adjacent village of Cartmel. It was built by Augustinian canons between 1190 and 1220. A great part of the Priory was destroyed at The Dissolution of the Monasteries, but the church remains because it is still the parish church.

In 1536-37 Cartmel Priory was surrendered and the canons dispersed. The Priory Church was saved through the efforts of parishioners , but the domestic buildings were pulled down completely, with the exception of the Gatehouse, and a few small buildings which have now disappeared.

Close to the Cromwell door is a resin bronze sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos. Inspired by the text ‘They Fled by Night’, it represents the Holy Family as they share the hazards and hardships of all who travel to a strange land as refugees. Mary and Joseph sleep, but the child Jesus has awoken to explore the beauty of the night.

Cartmel Fell – St Anthony’s Church

Location Witherslack / Newby Bridge / Levens

St Anthony’s Church was built in 1504 as a chapel of ease to serve the local farming community in the parish of Cartmel Priory. Little has changed since the building of the Church, except the addition of the South porch. The Church is situated in the Winster valley, with the fell behind, and lovely views to the north and east. The entrance is by the parish hall, which used to be the primary school until 1965. It is the only church in the North of England dedicated to St Anthony.

The boxed pew on the North side (above ) is known as the Cowmire Hall pew, and is thought to have been made from the chancel screen in 1571. The box pews on the South side also date from the 17th Century. (Cowmire Hall, about a mile North East, is based on an early 16th Century pele tower). The three decker pulpit of 1698 is a rarity. The lower deck is where the clerk sat, the middle was for the reader and the top was where the sermon was, and still is, preached.

Much of the stained glass is 15th Century, more than in most Lancashire churches. It comes from Cartmel Priory. The East window shows Christ, St Anthony, St Leonard and small groups of the Seven Sacrements linked by streams of blood from the wounds of the crucified Lord.

Kendal Parish Church

Location: Kendal

Kendal Parish Church, Holy Trinity, is mostly 18th Century, but has been a place of worship since the 13th Century. It is Cumbria’s largest parish church, and one of the largest in England, having five aisles, two each side of the nave, a fine western tower, and a peel of ten bells. At the end of the 18th Century, it was supposed to hold as large a congregation as almost any church in the Kingdom, about 1200 people.

The building is 140 feet long and 103 feet wide, and the vista through the thirty-two pillars as you enter the Church adds greatly to its charm. Although there has been a church here since Saxon times, none of the structure you see today is older than the 13th Century, much of it 15th Century or later. The interior was considerably altered in 1969.

In the 1546 Survey of Chantries, it is shown that there were six chantries in the building. There are many monuments in the Church which are of considerable interest, including the alter tomb of Sir Walter Strickland in the Strickland chapel, and the tomb of Sir Roger Bellingham and his wife in the Bellingham chapel.

Kirkby Lonsdale – St Mary’s Church

St Marys church in Kirkby Lonsdale is a mixture of architecture, some dating from the early 12th Century. The North aisle has three magnificent Norman columns, similar to ones in Durham Cathedral, with a diamond pattern on the stone. These represent an era of extensive church building and re-building. These are in contrast to the remaining less ambitious columns. The first pillar has a carving of ‘The Green man’, with foliage coming from the mouth. Another Norman feature is the outer door archway on the tower, displaying a variety of styles of stonework. The tower houses six bells, the oldest dating from 1633, and the newest from 1724.

To the east of the three Norman columns are 13th Century pointed Gothic arches. The pulpit is dated 1615, and was originally a three decker pulpit, thought it was rebuit in 1866. The stained glass is 19th Century, with the East window lancets showing traditional narrative scenes – the important stages in the life of Christ from the Annunciation to the Ascension

On the South wall is a memorial tablet to the little known scientist, William Sturgeon, who is noted for building the first practical electromagnet, the first galvanometer, and the first successful electric motor.

North Cumbria

Lanercost Priory Church

Location : Brampton

Lanercost Priory was founded about 1166 by Henry II. When completed in 1220, canons came from the priory in Norfolk, and remained for some 370 years until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, by Henry VIII.
 
The building went to Thomas Dacre of Naworth Castle nearby, who converted some of the buildings into private dwellings (now called the Dacre Hall). The rest of the building fell into disrepair. About 1740 it was decided to restore the nave, and use it as a Parish Church. Anthony Salvin, who had done some restoration and building work at Naworth Castle in 1844, was responsible for the Parish Church as it is now.

The Prior’s Tower is a four storey medieval stone fortified tower, with an adjoining two storey range to the west. it was extensively remodelled in the 16th century by the Dacres as a dwelling, when a large fireplace was built on the first floor of the west range (now known as Dacre Hall) and new windows inserted in the tower.

The Vicarage Tower is Known as King Edward’s Tower after King Edward I lodged there on his three visits to Lanercost. it is a 13th century two storey stone Pele Tower, with a line of dog-tooth ornament below the parapet.

St Martin’s Church

Location : Brampton

St Martin’s Church in Brampton is famous as the only church designed by the Pre-Raphaelite architect Philip Webb, and contains one of the most exquisite sets of stained glass windows designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and executed in the William Morris studio. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described it as a ‘remarkable building, the windows glowing with gem-stone colours’.

The East Window was the County Memorial to its MP, Charles Howard, and is a blaze of intense colour. Christ the Good Shepherd and the Pelican, the traditional symbol of sacrifice, are surrounded by praising angels. The four saints are Martin the patron, and Mary the Virgin, Dorothy and George, the last three chosen because Mr Howard’s wife, mother and son bore these names.

The Church was consecrated on 11 November 1878, having been built to replace the Old Church, part of which still remains, which had existed on the site of a Roman Fort for at least a thousand years. Much financial help was offered toward the new Church by Charles Howard M.P. the brother of the 8th Earl of Carlisle, and his son George, later 9th Earl, on condition that George Howard chose the architect.

Carlisle Cathedral

Location: Carlisle

Carlisle Priory was founded in 1122, by King Henry I, replacing earlier buildings on the site. Ten years later the king created the diocese of Carlisle, and the priory church became the Cathedral. The building is constructed of red sandstone. Large scale restoration was carried out in 1853-7. The present structure has lost the greater part of its original nave, destroyed by the Scots in the 17th century.

The great East Window is one of the most distinctive features, and dominates the Choir and timber barrel vault. The intricate masonry was designed by Ivo de Raughton – the leading architect of decorative tracery in the North of England, who lived a few miles south of Carlisle. The upper windows are 14th Century. The lower nine lights which replace the medieval windows removed at the time of the Civil War, are by John Hardman of Birmingham. They date from 1861, and represent scenes from the life of Christ. Several other windows are also by Hardman, including the West window, and the North window in St Wilfred’s Chapel.

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