St Margaret and St James' Church, Long Marton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Margaret and St James' Church, Long Marton
St Margaret and St James' Church, Long Marton, from the southeast
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OS grid reference	NY 667 240
Location	Long Marton, Cumbria
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Margaret and St James, Long Marton
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	February 1968
Architect(s)	John A. Cory (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Anglo-Saxon, Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Stone, slate roofs
Administration
Parish	Long Marton
Deanery	Appleby
Archdeaconry	Carlisle
Diocese	Carlisle
Province	York

St Margaret and St James' Church is a very old and active church located about half a mile (0.8 km) south of Long Marton village in Cumbria, England. It's an Anglican parish church, which means it's still used for regular church services today. The church is part of the Carlisle Diocese and is one of ten local churches that form a group called the "Heart of Eden." This church is very important because it's listed as a Grade I building, meaning it has special historical or architectural interest.

Church History

This church is super old! It was first built even before the Normans came to England in 1066. You can still see parts of the original Anglo-Saxon and Norman designs in its structure.

Building Over Time

The church tower was likely added in the early 1100s. Later in the same century, the chancel (the part of the church where the altar is) was made longer. A small chapel was built on the south side in the 1400s, and a vestry (a room for clergy robes and church items) was added in the 1500s.

Victorian Restoration

In 1880, the church was restored by an architect named John A. Cory. This means he helped repair and update parts of the church, making sure it could continue to be used.

Church Architecture

The church is built from stone with large corner blocks called quoins. Its roofs are made of slate. The church's layout includes a main hall called a nave with a porch on the south side, a south chapel (sometimes called a transept), a chancel with a vestry on the north side, and a tower at the west end.

Building Styles

Some parts of the nave walls are from the Anglo-Saxon period, making them very ancient. Other parts of the nave and a blocked-up doorway on the north side are in the Norman style. The chancel is built in a style called Decorated Gothic, which was popular for churches in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Tower and Windows

The church tower has three sections, with two bell openings on each side. The windows around the church come in different styles, but most of them have vertical stone bars called mullions.

Special Carvings and Features

Three of the church's doorways have carved stone panels above them, called tympana. These carvings show interesting things like dragons! Inside the chancel, there's a double sedilia (stone seats for clergy) and a piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels). Most of the furniture inside the church was added during John A. Cory's restoration in 1880.

Stained Glass Windows

A beautiful stained glass window was put into the old, blocked-up north doorway in 1930. It was made by Stanley M. Scott and shows Saints Margaret and James, with Saints Cosmas and Damian on either side. In the south transept, there's another window from 1925 that remembers an architect named George Dominic Stampa.

See also

• Grade I listed churches in Cumbria
• Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria
• Listed buildings in Long Marton