St Michael's Church, Beetham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Michael's Church, Beetham
St Michael's Church, Beetham, from the southwest
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OS grid reference	SD 496,796
Location	Beetham, Cumbria
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Michael, Beetham
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	12 February 1962
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Mainly limestone with sandstone dressings
Administration
Parish	Beetham
Deanery	Kendal
Archdeaconry	Westmoreland and Furness
Diocese	Carlisle
Province	York

St Michael's Church is a beautiful old church located in the village of Beetham, Cumbria, England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's still used for services today. This church is very important, so it's protected as a Grade I listed building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a special historical building.

A Look Back: The Church's History

St Michael's Church has a very long history! The oldest part, the bottom of the tower, might even be from the Anglo-Saxon era. This was a time in England before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Around the year 1200, a south aisle was added to the church. An aisle is a side section of a church. In the 1200s, the chancel was made longer. The chancel is the part of the church where the altar is located.

Later, in the 1300s, a special chapel called the Beetham chapel was built. The south aisle was made wider in the 1400s. Then, in the 1500s, the top part of the tower was built.

In the 1870s, the church was carefully repaired and updated. This kind of work is often called a "Victorian restoration." During this time, a new porch was added to the south side of the church.

Exploring the Church's Design

Outside the Church: What to See

The church is built mostly from limestone rocks, with sandstone used for details. The roof is made of lead. The church has a rectangular shape. It includes a main area called the nave and the chancel. There are also side sections called north and south aisles.

You'll also see a vestry on the north side and a chapel on the south. There's a porch at the south entrance. The tower at the west end has two levels. The lower part of the tower has a doorway from the 1300s. Above this door is a window with two sections.

The top part of the tower has openings for bells. At the very top, there's a wall with a pattern like castle battlements. There are also pointed decorations called pinnacles and a weather vane from the 1900s.

At the east end, the chancel has a large window from the 1800s with five sections. Both side aisles have windows from the 1400s with three sections. All these windows are in a style called Perpendicular Gothic.

Inside the Church: What's Inside

Inside, the south arcade has a Norman style. An arcade is a row of arches. This means it has round columns and round arches. The north arcade, built in the 1400s, has octagonal (eight-sided) columns and pointed arches.

The cover for the baptismal font is from 1636. A font is a basin used for baptisms. Most of the other furniture inside the church is from the 1800s and 1900s.

In the southeast chapel, there's a south window with pieces of stained glass. Some of these pieces are from the Middle Ages and the 1600s. They were put back into the window in the 1870s. The large window at the east end was made in 1881. Some windows in the nave were designed by Shrigley and Hunt.

The oldest monument inside is in the southeast chapel. It's a tomb with statues of people, called effigies, from around 1490. This monument was damaged in 1647.

Outside the Church: Special Features

In the churchyard, there is a war memorial. It remembers those who fought in the First World War. It's a cross in the Celtic style, made of sandstone, standing on sandstone steps. Limestone walls surround it. A plaque was added later to remember those from the Second World War. This memorial is also a protected building, listed as Grade II.

See also

• Grade I listed churches in Cumbria
• Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria
• Listed buildings in Beetham
• List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin