St Mary's Church, Kirkby Lonsdale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church |
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St Mary's Church from the southwest
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| OS grid reference | SD 611 788 |
| Location | Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Mary, Kirkby Lonsdale |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 12 February 1962 |
| Architect(s) | Francis Webster E. G. Paley (restorations) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Stone, slate roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Kirkby Lonsdale |
| Deanery | Kendal |
| Archdeaconry | Westmorland and Furness |
| Diocese | Carlisle |
| Province | York |
St Mary's Church is located in the town of Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican church, meaning it's part of the Church of England. This church works together with six other local churches as part of the Kirkby Lonsdale Team Ministry.
The church has very old Norman architecture parts. It's also a special 'Grade I listed building'. This means it's a very important historical site that needs to be protected.
Contents
History of St Mary's Church
The oldest parts of St Mary's Church are from the Norman period, around the early 1100s. This includes some doorways and parts of the inner arches. The base of the tower and the south arches were built a bit later in the 1100s.
Around the 1300s or early 1400s, the church was made wider. The old north and south walls were taken down and rebuilt further out. A small chapel, called a chantry chapel, was added in 1486.
In the 1500s, more changes were made. A new upper level with windows (called a clerestory) was added. Decorative tops (pinnacles) and wall defenses (battlements) were also put on. In 1574, another aisle was built on the north side.
The top of the tower was rebuilt in 1705. The chantry chapel was also removed then. In 1807, an architect named Francis Webster removed the clerestory, battlements, and pinnacles. He put a single roof over the whole church.
The church was repaired and updated in 1866 by E. G. Paley. He raised the roof and gave the outer north aisle its own roof. He also added new seats, re-floored the front part of the church (chancel), and put in a south porch. A screen and a font (for baptisms) were also installed.
Church Architecture
Outside the Church
St Mary's Church is built from stone with slate roofs. It is a wide church with a rectangular shape, except for the south porch. It has a main area (nave) and a front part (chancel), one south aisle, and two north aisles. There is also a south porch and a tower on the west side, which is surrounded by the aisles.
There are three Norman doorways. One is at the bottom of the tower, and the other two are on the south side of the church.
The tower has four levels. The tops of the tower and the church walls have battlements, which look like castle walls. The top levels of the tower are in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The tower has a clock that seems oddly placed, making the tower look uneven. It was likely added in the 1800s.
The south porch was built in the 1800s in a Neo-Norman style. The windows along the side of the church are square-shaped and have different numbers of glass sections. The east window has three tall, narrow windows (lancets) with a special oval shape (vesica) above them.
Inside the Church
The western part of the arches between the main area (nave) and the inner north aisle is early Norman. It has round arches. Some of its pillars have special carved patterns, similar to those found in Durham Cathedral. The south arches are from a later time and are simpler. Towards the east ends of the arches, they become pointed. The pillar furthest east in the south arches has a small basin called a piscina.
The outer north arches are in the Perpendicular style. The pulpit (where sermons are given) is dated 1619, but it has been made smaller since then. The font was moved from a chapel in Killington and is set on a base from the 1800s. The reredos (a screen behind the altar) is made of alabaster with mosaic patterns.
Most of the stained glass windows were made by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake. However, there are also windows by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (designed by Henry Holiday), by Shrigley and Hunt, and by William Wailes. The oldest monument inside is a tomb with an effigy (a carved image of a person) made of alabaster, from the 1400s.
The church has a large pipe organ with two keyboards (manuals). It was built in the 1860s by Forster and Andrews. It was rebuilt and made larger in 1925 by Jardine and Company. It was then extensively rebuilt again in 1972 by Laycock and Bannister. The church also has a set of six bells. All of them were cast in 1825 by Thomas Mears II of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
Churchyard Features
In the churchyard, there are ten monuments that are listed as Grade II historical sites. These are important historical markers.
To the east of the church, you can find a monument for the Burrow family from the mid-1700s. South of this is a table tomb from the early 1700s. Also to the east are a monument for John Dent dated 1709, and a table tomb for Rowland Tarham dated 1716.
To the south of the church, there is a monument for two members of the Preston family. There's also the table tomb of Thomas Newby from 1775, and a table tomb for members of the Turner family from the 1790s.
To the west of the church, you'll see the table tomb of Thomas Tiffin dated 1787. Another table tomb from 1818 is for Edward Theobalds. Also to the west is a memorial for five women who sadly died in a fire at the Rose and Crown Inn in 1820.
To the north of the church is a small building called a gazebo. It used to be in the vicarage garden. It's an octagonal (eight-sided) stone building with two floors, and round-headed doors and windows. It no longer has its original roof.
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Cumbria
- Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria
- Listed buildings in Kirkby Lonsdale
- List of ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley
