St Mary's Church, Abbeytown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church |
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West front of St Mary's Church
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| OS grid reference | NY 177 508 |
| Location | Abbeytown, Cumbria |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St Mary, Abbeytown |
| History | |
| Status | Parish Church |
| Founded | 1150 |
| Founder(s) | |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 11 April 1967 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone, slate roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Holme Cultram |
| Deanery | Solway |
| Archdeaconry | West Cumberland |
| Diocese | Carlisle |
| Province | York |
St Mary's Church is a historic building in Abbeytown, Cumbria, England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's part of the Church of England. It serves as a local parish church for the community. St Mary's is also part of a larger group of churches called the Solway Plain Team Ministry. This church is very important, so it is listed as a Grade I building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a building of special architectural or historical interest.
Contents
History of St Mary's Church
The church you see today was once part of a much larger building. It was originally part of Holmcultram Abbey, a Cistercian monastery. This monastery was started in 1150 by King David of Scotland and his son Henry.
In 1507, the head of the monastery, Abbot Robert Chambers, added a porch to the west side. When monasteries were closed down in 1538, local people were already using the main part of the church for their worship. They were allowed to keep using it.
Challenges and Repairs Over Time
On New Year's Day in 1600, the church's tower fell down. This destroyed parts of the church, including the choir and a side section called the north transept. The land and buildings were then owned by the University of Oxford. They started repairs, but a fire in 1604 made things even harder.
More repairs and changes happened in the 1700s. Between 1727 and 1739, the main part of the church was made shorter. Some arched walkways were filled in, and the upper windows were removed. Galleries and a flat ceiling were added. These galleries were later taken out in 1883.
A small room called a vestry was added in 1884–85. In 1913, the church was restored again, and the flat ceiling was removed. In 1973, a covered walkway, called an ambulatory, was added to the south side.
The 2006 Fire and Restoration
On June 9, 2006, a fire started in the church. This fire destroyed the wooden roof and damaged the stone walls and stained glass windows. A new roof, made of oak, was put in place in 2008.
Architecture of St Mary's
St Mary's Church is built from large blocks of red sandstone that came from Scotland. Most of the roof is made of green slate, with some grey slate from Wales.
Outside the Church
The church has a long main section that includes the nave and chancel. It also has a west porch, an ambulatory (covered walkway), and a north vestry with an organ room. On the west end, there's a double bellcote where the bells hang.
The west porch has two floors. Its round-arched doorway has the name of Robert Chambers, his family symbol (coat of arms), and the date 1507 carved into it. The top floor of the porch is now a vestry and has two windows with two lights each. The side walls of the main church have round-headed windows.
The large east window was moved in 1730. It's in a style called Perpendicular Gothic and dates from around 1630. Inside the porch and ambulatory, you can find grave slabs for members of the Chambers family. The inner doorway of the porch is in the Norman style, with four rows of columns. Another Norman doorway leads from the church into the ambulatory. This doorway used to lead into the south aisle.
Inside the Church
Inside, you'll see blocked-up arched walkways with pointed arches supported by groups of columns. Above the west door, there's a gallery where singers would stand. The church also has two old chests and pieces of carved stones.
The beautiful stained glass in the east window was made by William Wailes. There are more stained glass windows by Wailes in other parts of the church, as well as windows by Powells and by E. and C. O'Neill. Parts of the tomb of Richard Chambers, who passed away in 1518, are in the ambulatory. The church's pipe organ, which had two keyboards, was made by Nicholson and Lord. Sadly, it was destroyed in the 2006 fire.
Churchyard Features
The wall around the churchyard on the south side is also a listed building, at Grade II. It's made of sandstone blocks on a medieval base. This wall is where the south aisle wall of the old abbey church used to be. The base includes the dug-up foundations of the entrance to the abbey's cloister (a covered walkway). The entire abbey site is a protected historical area known as a scheduled monument.
See also
- Grade I listed churches in Cumbria
- Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria
- Listed buildings in Holme Abbey
- List of English abbeys, priories and friaries serving as parish churches
