Warcop – St Columba’s Church
The Church of St Columba at Warcop is a Norman Church, with the North side of the nave being the oldest part of the Church. Various restorations and additions have taken place since, the most recent being in 1937 when the roof beams were exposed. The Church consists of a nave, a South aisle, a South transept, a North transept and a chancel. It is built on the outskirts of the village, on the site of a Roman camp.
All the stained glass windows are worth studying, and are by a variety of artists. The East window is of the Crucifixion, and is by Powell of Whitefriars. Others by by William Wailes, Heaton Shrigley and Bayne, Ninian Comper, Clayton and Bell, and Shrigley and Hunt.
In the church yard is an ancient cross-shaft on its square base.
On St Peters Day, the 29th June each year is the rushbearing festival when a local band leads a procession of girls wearing floral crowns, boys carrying rush crosses, and adults, from the reading room through the village to the Church, stopping for refreshments at Warcop Hall. If the 29th June is a Sunday, then it takes place on the 28th June.
Photos by Simon Ledingham and Matthew Emmott.
Go to Menu :
