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St Patrick's Church, Preston Patrick
St Patrick's Church, Preston Patrick, Cumbria.jpg
St Patrick's Church, Preston Patrick
from the south
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OS grid reference SD 537,835
Location Preston Patrick, Cumbria
Country England
Denomination Anglican
Website St Patrick, Preston Patrick
History
Status Parish church
Dedication Saint Patrick (the church was formerly dedicated to Saint Gregory)
Architecture
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Grade II
Designated 20 September 1985
Architect(s) Sharpe and Paley
Paley, Austin and Paley
Architectural type Church
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 1852
Completed 1892
Construction cost £1,400
(equivalent to £120,000 in 2021)
Administration
Deanery Kendal
Archdeaconry Westmorland and Furness
Diocese Carlisle
Province York

St Patrick's Church is a special church located in Preston Patrick, a village in Cumbria, England. It's an active Anglican church, which means it belongs to the Church of England. This church is part of a group of eight churches looked after by the Kirkby Lonsdale Team Ministry. It's also recognized as a Grade II Listed building, meaning it's an important historical building that needs to be protected.

The Church's Story: A Look at Its History

For a long time, the area where St Patrick's Church stands was part of a much larger church area called Heversham. However, there was an older chapel on this exact spot.

In 1850, two architects from Lancaster, Edmund Sharpe and E. G. Paley, studied the old chapel. They thought it was built during the time of King Henry VII of England (between 1457 and 1509).

These architects then designed a brand new church. Building started in 1852, and the new St Patrick's Church opened its doors on November 28 of that same year. It cost about £1,400, which was a lot of money back then! The church was big enough to seat 1,386 people.

Later, in 1892, the back part of the church, called the chancel, was rebuilt. This work was done by Paley, Austin and Paley, who were the business partners that took over from Sharpe and Paley.

Exploring the Church's Design: Architecture

St Patrick's Church is built using different types of stone. The main part of the church, the nave, uses limestone. The back part, the chancel, uses sandstone. The roof is made of slate.

Some parts of the older chapel were used in the new church. For example, there's a window in the tower and some special carved spaces, called niches, in the chancel that came from the old building. The church's style is called Perpendicular Gothic, which was popular in England a long time ago.

Outside the Church

The church has a tower at the front (west end). This tower has four levels, with stone lines separating each one. At the very top of the tower, there are openings for bells on each side. The tower also has a battlemented top, which looks like the top of a castle wall.

On one corner of the tower, there's a small bell turret that goes even higher than the rest of the tower. The large windows at the front and back of the church each have four sections.

Inside the Church

When you step inside, the walls of the main area (the nave) are painted white. Along the north side of the nave, there's a row of arches, called an arcade. These arches are supported by large, single pieces of limestone.

The chancel, at the back of the church, has walls covered with smooth sandstone. On either side of the large east window, there are two canopied niches, which are decorative carved spaces.

The colorful stained glass in the east window was made by a company called Shrigley and Hunt. It shows scenes from the Te Deum, which is an old Christian hymn. You can also find two war memorials inside the church. One was made by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, and the other by Powells.

The church also has a large pipe organ with two keyboards, called manuals. It was built in 1891 by Wilkinson of Kendal and has been updated a few times since then.

Images for kids

More to Explore

  • Listed buildings in Preston Patrick
  • List of works by Sharpe and Paley
  • List of works by Paley, Austin and Paley
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