St Leonard, Cleator facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Leonard |
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St Leonard, Cleator
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| OS grid reference | NY 0142113466 |
| Location | Cleator, Cumbria |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | https://crosslacon.net/our-churches/st-leonards-cleator/ |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | St Leonard |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Cleator |
| Deanery | Calder |
| Archdeaconry | West Cumberland |
| Diocese | Carlisle |
| Province | York |
St Leonard's is a church located in the village of Cleator, in Cumbria, England. It is a busy Anglican church, which means it belongs to the Church of England. It serves the local community as a parish church and is part of the diocese of Carlisle. This church is also a special historical building, listed as Grade II, which means it's important and protected.
History of St Leonard's
The church of St Leonard is first mentioned during the time of King Henry I, who ruled from 1100 to 1135. The part of the church called the chancel (the area around the altar) still dates back to this period. There might even be older parts of the building hidden in the base of some walls. These older parts could be from before the Norman times. It's possible they are the remains of the very first church built here. This first church might have been built by early Christian missionaries, perhaps around the time of St Ninian (who died in 432 AD) or St. Aidan (around 651 AD).
The church at Cleator was once owned by Calder Abbey, which was founded in 1134 or 1135. We don't know exactly when the monks of Calder Abbey took over the church. However, records from the Protestant Reformation show that it was definitely theirs at that time. The church has been repaired and updated several times over the years. These restorations happened in the 15th century, and then again in 1792, 1841, and 1900.
Church Architecture
The main part of the church, called the nave (where the congregation sits), was rebuilt between 1841 and 1842 by an architect named George Webster. Later additions were made in 1903 by J.H. Martindale from Carlisle. These included:
- The baptistry at the western end (where baptisms take place).
- The north porch.
- The vestry (a room used by clergy).
The chancel has walls made of sandstone blocks. The rest of the church is built from snecked rubble, which means stones of different sizes fitted together. The roofs are made of slate and have crosses at the top. There is a bell tower over the porch at the west end.
Windows and Doors
The windows in the chancel's side walls are original. The three windows at the east end might be from the 19th century. All the other windows are copies from the early 20th century, made to look like 16th-century windows. Some windows, especially at the west end and on the south side, have decorative stone patterns called tracery.
There are two arched openings leading into the north porch. The door to the vestry is on the east side, and the main porch door, with an inscription above it, is on the west side. There's also a stone bench along the nave wall inside the porch.
Inside the Church
The inside of the church has a four-bay nave with a special type of wooden roof called a hammer-beam roof. The chancel has a wooden ceiling shaped like a barrel, decorated with carved leaves. The arches leading to the baptistry and chancel have Gothic-style wooden panels.
You can find a medieval piscina (a basin used for washing sacred vessels) in the chancel. There's also a wooden paneling called wainscoting, which might be from the 19th century. A staircase on the south side of the nave leads to the pulpit, which is a carved stone stand where sermons are given.
The font, used for baptisms, might be from the 17th century. It has a hexagonal (six-sided) bowl on a column, which stands on an octagonal (eight-sided) base. The beautiful stained glass windows were made by companies like Heaton, Butler & Bayne (from London) and Abbott & Co. (from London and Lancaster). The wooden seats for the congregation and choir were installed in 1906.
Churchyard
The churchyard around St Leonard's has about 200 gravestones. Among these, there are two special Commonwealth War Graves from the First World War, marking the resting places of soldiers.
