St Mary's Church, Wreay Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, Wreay
St Mary's church seen from the south
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Location	Wreay
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Website	St Mary's Church
History
Consecrated	1 December 1842
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	1 April 1957
Architect(s)	Sara Losh
Style	Lombard revival
Completed	1842
Construction cost	£1,200
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Carlisle
Province	Province of York

St Mary's Church in Wreay, Cumbria, is a special church designed by a woman named Sara Losh. It was built between 1840 and 1842. This church is famous because it's one of the first buildings in Britain to use a style called "Lombard revival" architecture. It's also a very important historical building, known as a Grade II* listed building.

A copy of the Bewcastle Cross in the churchyard, with the mausoleum of Katharine Losh behind

In the churchyard, you can see a special building for Sara's sister, Katharine. There is also a copy of an old stone cross called the Bewcastle Cross.

A Unique Design for a Church
What the Church Looks Like
- Amazing Carved Details
Images for kids
See also

A Unique Design for a Church

St Mary's Church replaced an older church in Wreay. Sara Losh paid for the new church. She insisted on choosing the design herself.

Lombard Style Inspiration

Sara wanted her church to look like ancient Roman buildings. These were called basilicas and were used by early Christians. However, the style she chose is actually Lombard. This style came after early Christian architecture. It was also a step before Romanesque architecture. Lombard is an Italian style, but the church also has some French features.

In the 1830s, most new churches were built in a Gothic Revival style. This style looked like medieval cathedrals. But Sara Losh chose something completely different. She was inspired by architects in Germany. They had started using the Lombard style in the 1820s.

A Sister's Memorial

A statue of Katharine Losh inside her mausoleum

Sara Losh and her sister Katharine loved to travel. They went on a "Grand Tour" of Europe. Neither sister ever married. Katharine died in 1835. Sara dedicated the new church to her memory.

In the churchyard, there is a special building called a mausoleum. Inside, you can see a life-size marble statue of Katharine Losh. A local stonemason named David Dunbar carved it. He used a drawing Sara had made.

New Ideas for the Altar

Sara Losh also had new ideas for how the church should be used. She designed the altar to stand freely in the middle of the chancel. This meant the priest could face the people during the service. This was very unusual in the 1840s. Most Anglican churches had the priest facing away from the congregation. Sara's design followed a very old Christian tradition. This practice became common in Anglican churches much later, after the 1960s.

What the Church Looks Like

The church has a rectangular main area called a nave. It also has a semicircular area at the end called an apsidal chancel. The famous artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti admired St Mary's Church. He called it "extraordinary" and "full of beauty and imaginative detail." He also said it was "extremely severe and simple."

Amazing Carved Details

Sara Losh filled the church with many carved details. You can find these carvings both inside and outside the building. Many of them show plants and animals. You can see birds, insects, flowers, leaves, and ears of corn. There are also many pine cones carved into the stone.

A young local stonemason named William Hindson carved these sculptures. There is a special plaque in the church that remembers him. The style of these carvings was very new for the 1840s. They even look a bit like the art from the Arts and Crafts movement. This movement happened much later, in the 1890s and 1900s. St Mary's Church at Wreay was truly ahead of its time. It is a very special and unique building.