Newlands Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Newlands Church |
|
|---|---|
Newlands Church with the former school building to the left
|
|
| Location | Little Town, Cumbria |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | Unknown, but possibly 16th century |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Roughcast |
Newlands Church is an old church from the 1500s. It is located near the small village of Little Town, Cumbria, England. You can find it in the beautiful Newlands Valley within the Lake District. We don't know the exact year it was built. However, a map from 1576 already showed a "Newlande Chap." (Newlands Chapel) right where the church stands today.
The outside of the church has white walls made of a material called roughcast. It also has a green roof made of slate. Inside, you'll see two pretty stained glass windows. There's also a special raised area called a gallery. The reading desk and pulpit, where sermons are given, are very old, dating back to 1610. Many tourists and hikers stop by the church on their way to explore the nearby mountains, called fells. Newlands Church is a special historic building, listed as Grade II.
Contents
Where is Newlands Church?
The white-walled Newlands Church sits in the open countryside. It's about 500 meters west of the small village of Little Town, Cumbria, England. This area is part of the amazing Lake District National Park. The church is close to where three streams meet: Newlands Beck, Scope Beck, and Keskadale Beck. It's also about 6 miles by road from Keswick. The church is tucked away in the Newlands Valley. The mountain Catbells separates it from Derwent Water to the east. High mountains surround the church, making the valley feel very peaceful.
History of the Church
How the Church Started
We don't know the exact date Newlands Church began. But experts believe it was built sometime in the mid-1500s. A map made by Christopher Saxton in 1576 clearly shows a church on this spot. It was marked "Newlande Chap." The church was mentioned again in 1594. A local farmer named John Mayson left a small amount of money to "Newlandes Chappell" in his will.
Around that time, a terrible disease called the plague affected the area in 1558. Because of this, the church didn't have a full-time priest for many years. It wasn't until 1610 that Anthony Bragg became the church's first Lay reader. A Lay reader was a local person who could lead church services. However, they couldn't perform important ceremonies like christenings, marriages, or Communion. A main priest would visit the valley to do these special duties. Nine Lay readers served the church until 1731. Thomas Birkhead served the longest (1654–1690), followed by John Atkinson (1690–1728).
Church Leaders (Curates)
In 1731, Joseph Fisher became the church's first Curate. A Curate is a priest who helps the main priest in a church. Joseph Fisher served until 1779. Newlands was one of the poorer churches at the time. Its yearly pay, called a stipend, was very low. To help, the church received three payments of £200 between 1748 and 1757. These payments came from a special fund called Queen Anne's Bounty, which helped poor churches.
Ten Curates served in Newlands until 1868. One of them, William Parsable, served for 32 years (1794–1826). He was known as “Peppery Billy” because he had a quick temper! He was also the headmaster at Crosthwaite School in nearby Keswick. He was known for being strict, which made both the churchgoers and the students a bit scared of him.
Rebuilding the Church
By the early 1840s, the church building was in poor condition. John Monkhouse became the Curate in 1840. He worked hard to raise money to rebuild the church. He also wanted to add a school building. The school was built next to the church on its west side. It cost £37 and opened in 1841. A modern sign outside the school says it was built in 1877. However, old records confirm it was built much earlier, in 1841.
The church itself was rebuilt for £200. This included a new roof, new windows, and a new end wall. The building was made taller, which allowed for the addition of an upstairs gallery.
From the 1880s to Today
In 1882, Newlands Church got its first full-time vicar, A.C. Forbes. A vicar is a type of priest in charge of a church. In 1885, more improvements were made. New pews (church benches), new flooring, and a heating system were installed. A special slate plaque was placed in the north wall. It celebrated the church's reopening by the Bishop of Carlisle. The church graveyard was made bigger in 1926.
The school next to the church stayed open until 1967. After that, the students moved to Braithwaite Primary School. The old school room became run down after it closed. But it was fixed up in the late 1990s. It reopened on April 9, 2000, as a quiet place for people to reflect. Today, church services are held twice a month on Sundays. The church is also open during the day for visitors and hikers to stop by. Newlands Church is still a Grade II listed building, meaning it's an important historic site.
Inside the Church
At the front of the church, on the east side, you'll find a reader's desk and a pulpit. Both of these pieces of furniture are very old, dating back to 1610. The lectern, which is a stand for reading, is made of sandstone and wood. It was added in 1937. The wooden top of the lectern can be taken off. This allows the sandstone base to be used as a baptismal font, a basin for baptisms.
The stained-glass window at the east end of the church was made by Abbot & Co. in 1845. Local people paid for it to celebrate the church's rebuilding. It shows Jesus holding wine and bread. Below him are the words, "I am the true vine, I am the living bread." There's only one other stained glass window in the church. It's in the middle of the south wall. This window shows St Michael in armor, with a lion's head on his shoulder. It's a memorial to Thomas Roscre Johnston, who died in World War I.
A slate memorial on the north wall remembers the church's reopening by the Bishop of Carlisle on June 4, 1885. There are also memorials to people who helped the church, like Moses and Sarah Mawson. Other memorials remember the Clark brothers, who died in World War II. The box near the door where people put donations is a memorial to John Bulman. A large wooden shield with the Royal Coat of Arms of George II, from 1737, hangs on the south wall.
Famous Visitors and Stories
The famous poet William Wordsworth and his daughter Dora visited Newlands Church in May 1826. They were on a walking trip from Rydal Mount. Wordsworth was so impressed by how the church looked through the trees. It inspired him to write a poem called "To May." In it, he described the church:
- "How delicate the leafy veil
- Through which yon house of God
- Gleams, mid the peace of this deep dale
- By few but shepherds trod!"
In the summer of 1901, the children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter was staying nearby. She often invited the Vicar of Newlands Church and his family for tea. The vicar's young daughter, Lucie Carr, played with Potter's pet hedgehog during these visits. Lucie inspired the character of Lucie in Potter's book The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (1905). In one of the book's pictures, where Lucie is running along a path, Beatrix Potter drew Newlands Church hidden among the trees.
