Chapel-le-dale – St Leonards’ Church
Location : Chapel-le-dale / Ribblehead / Kirkby Lonsdale
Ordnance Survey – SD 738772
St. Leonard’s church sits in a small woodland area in the hamlet of Chapel-le-Dale, about two miles outside of Ingleton, just off the B6255. It is a grade II listed building, built in the late 17th century with some 18th century additions. According to English Heritage, it was vastly restored in 1869.
The church is built using local limestone, giving it its ‘local’ grey colour.
There is a white marble memorial on the West wall of the Nave which reads:
TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO THROUGH ACCIDENTS LOST THEIR LIVES, IN CONSTRUCTING THE RAILWAY WORKS, BETWEEN SETTLE, AND DENT HEAD. THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED AT THE JOINT EXPENSE, OF THEIR FELLOW WORKMEN AND THE MIDLAND RAILWAY COMPANY 1869 TO 1876
This is dedicated to the workers who perished during the building of the Settle to Carlisle railway, and also those who built the viaduct at Ribblehead.
Although this church is just outside the border of Cumbria into North Yorkshire, it is included because of its importance in connection with the Carlisle Settle Railway.
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