St Mary of Furness Roman Catholic Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary of Furness Church |
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| District | Diocese of Lancaster |
| Province | Province of Liverpool |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Hindpool, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 1867 |
| Website | |
| Diocese of Lancaster: St Mary of Furness | |
St Mary of Furness is a Roman Catholic church. It is located on Duke Street in Barrow-in-Furness, England. This church is a special place of worship for many people.
The community that worships here started in 1858. The church building you see today was constructed between 1866 and 1867.
Building the Church
The church cost £6,000 to build. This large sum of money was given by Spencer Cavendish. He was the 8th Duke of Devonshire.
An English architect named E. W. Pugin designed the church. It was built to be very spacious. Originally, it could seat about 800 people. Over time, it was made even larger. Now, it can hold around 1,000 worshippers.
Special Status
In 1976, St Mary of Furness received a special status. It became a Grade II listed building. This means it is an important historical building. The church's presbytery, which is the house for the priest, also received this status. This protection helps to preserve the building for the future.
Church Features
The church has a very impressive organ. This organ contains about 3,000 pipes! It was first built by a company called Messrs. Hill and Son. They made it for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society.
The tall, pointed part of the church, called the spire, was not added right away. Even though it was part of the original plans, the spire was only built in 1888.
Repairs and Preservation
Over time, some of the stone on the spire started to decay. Because of this, the church was placed on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register. This register lists important buildings that need repairs.
To fix the spire, repair work was done in 2015. This work was paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It also received money from the Places of Worship scheme. These repairs helped to keep the church safe and beautiful.
See also
- Listed buildings in Barrow-in-Furness
- List of places of worship in Barrow-in-Furness
