Betjeman’s Best British Churches. Richard Surman
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† St Cuthbert
9m/15km N. of Brampton
OS NY565745 GPS 55.0636N, 2.6819W
Although dramatically set among Border fells, the church itself is not particularly interesting, dating originally from the 13th century and rebuilt in the 18th century, at which time it was dedicated to St Cuthbert. But beside it is the celebrated late 7th-century Bewcastle Cross, an outstanding monument to the Golden Age of Northumbria.
BOLTON † All Saints
4m/6km N.W. of Appleby-in-Westmorland
OS NY639234 GPS 54.6046N, 2.5598W
An ancient little stone edifice, All Saints somehow achieves nobility. It has a late Norman chancel, nave and S. porch with doorway; over the N. door is a charming and celebrated Norman carving of knights jousting – a little treasure. The bell-turret, 1693, has a saddleback roof. The font and cover are from 1687, and an unusual chancel screen of open tracery is probably local work of the late 18th century.
BOLTONGATE † All Saints
5m/8km S.W. of Wigton
OS NY229407 GPS 54.7560N, 3.1986W
Originally Norman, and outwardly unremarkable, the church was rebuilt in the late 14th or early 15th century with a thrilling, steeply pointed tunnel vaulted nave which is supported on thick stone walls, themselves steadied by stout external buttressing. There is good glass by Kempe and Willement, and from the outside a fine view of Skiddaw.
BRAMPTON † St Martin
9m/15km N.E. of Carlisle
OS NY528610 GPS 54.9417N, 2.7378W
Built of red sandstone in indefinable style, with mixed Gothic and vernacular elements, this is Philip Webb’s only commissioned church, 1874–8. The wide and spacious interior has woodwork by local craftsmen and spectacular Pre-Raphaelite coloured glass by Burne-Jones and the Morris firm.
BRIDEKIRK † St Bridget
2m/3km N. of Cockermouth
OS NY116336 GPS 54.6905N, 3.3722W
Rebuilt by Cory & Ferguson, 1868–70, in a neo-Norman style, St Bridget’s is a large cruciform church with crossing tower and apse. The original tympanum and chancel arch were incorporated into the new church. The chief glory is the mid-12th-century font with an inscription recording its maker, ‘Richard he me wrought, and to this beauty me brought’, and some lively carvings of scenes and dragons.
BROUGHAM † St Ninian
1m/2km walk along river from Whinfell Park Farm, 2m/3km E. of Penrith
OS NY559299 GPS 54.6628N, 2.6846W
Churches Conservation Trust
Unforgettable: known locally as ‘Ninekirks’, St Ninian’s stands surrounded by trees in the middle of a field in a lonely meadow by the River Eamont. This was the site of a Saxon church, then a Norman, but today it is just as Lady Anne Clifford rebuilt it in 1660. It is a restrained instance of Gothic Survival, with whitewashed interior, oak box and canopied pews, pulpit with sounding board, oak seats with carved arm-rests and screens. Lady Anne’s initials, in a laurel surround, appear in the plasterwork over the altar.
CARTMEL: ST MARY THE VIRGIN AND ST MICHAEL – the richly carved choir stalls
BROUGHAM † St Wilfrid
By Brougham Hall, ½m/1km S. of Penrith
OS NY527284 GPS 54.6485N, 2.7335W
An ancient, plain little building of chancel, nave and bellcote, this one too was restored by Lady Anne Clifford (see previous entry) in the mid-17th century. It is filled with a collection of European antiques by the first Baron Brougham and Vaux in the 1840s, who also redid the windows in Norman style. The contrast between the interiors of these neighbouring churches is almost unbelievable. Here is rich cathedral opulence, the church as full as it can be of beautifully carved oak – an elaborate parclose organ casing, pillars, tall pews and a screen with rich round posts and beautiful cornice. The gilt oak reredos has a magnificent 15th-century altarpiece with superb carvings bordered by medieval woodwork of the finest craftsmanship. The pulpit is enriched with medieval carving; the oak roof is divided into panels, each with richly emblazoned shield or crest. Nothing in Cumbria, or indeed anywhere, compares with this juxtaposition of plain and simple building without and opulence within.
CROSTHWAITE: ST KENTIGERN – primarily a church of the mid-16th century, it houses a memorial to the poet Robert Southey
BURGH-BY-SANDS † St Michael
5m/8km N.W. of Carlisle
OS NY328591 GPS 54.9221N, 3.0489W
Built largely of stone from the Roman wall and strongly defensive against the Scots – particularly the broad 14th-century tower with its iron gate to the nave – St Michael’s is largely Norman and Early English. 1½ miles to the N.W. is a monument to Edward I, who died whilst encamped on Burgh Marsh in 1307.
CARTMEL
† St Mary the Virgin and St Michael
2m/3km W. of Grange-over-Sands
OS SD379787 GPS 54.2012N, 2.9523W
Among the fields of a pleasant little town in a wide valley of the Cartmel Peninsula stands what was once Lancashire’s finest parish church, part of a long-vanished priory. It is a massive Transitional cruciform building with 15th-century Perpendicular windows installed when the upper stage of the central tower was added. The crossing arches are pointed, but the chancel arcades are still round. The S. choir aisle, rebuilt c. 1350, has good Decorated windows. There are magnificent Renaissance screens and stall canopies of 1618 restoration, after it had stood roofless for 80 years, and fine choir stalls with misericords. Many monuments include 14th-century Harrington effigies, and that to Dame Katherine Lowther – a fine Baroque work of 1700.
CARTMEL FELL † St Anthony
6m/10km S.W. of Kendal
OS SD416880 GPS 54.2849N, 2.8977W
This small, low, rustic limestone church of 1503 is cut into the fell side. The windows are mullioned and there is a saddleback tower. Inside are two very handsome screened pews and a three-decker pulpit of 1698; the 15th-century glass is from Cartmel Priory. All very charming in its simplicity.
GRASMERE: ST OSWALD – the two-tier arcade in the nave; the church is the burial place of another of the ‘Lake Poets’, William Wordsworth
CROSSCANONBY † St John the Evangelist
3m/4km N.E. of Maryport
OS NY069390 GPS 54.7374N, 3.4472W
This is a Norman church that incorporates Roman stones. Other stones include a hogback gravestone, carved like