Tuesday 24 March 2009

Askham, St Peter

St Peter's
Askham
Cumbria

The small church of St Peter, just outside the hamlet of Askham, is tucked away on the banks of the river Lowther. The church is in the middle of a collection of buildings and sites. To the West lays Askham Hall, a large inhabited pele tower screened from the road by trees (just my luck!!), Lowther Castle to the East, and the church of St Michael to the North. As well as these magnificent buildings, there are a number of medieval and older earthworks, including the remains of a pele tower hidden away in a small copse of trees less than a mile to the North.

The church was rebuilt almost entirely in 1832, replacing an earlier church. Indeed, records show that from around 1240, there was a place of worship here dedicated to St Kentigern. Sir Robert Smirke was employed to design the new\replacement church, following on from work he was undertaking on Lowther Castle.

There are only a few old relics of times past in the church these days. The first is an Elizabethan tomb chest (very intact)

The second is a font with the date 1661 engraved on it.

The third is a medieval corbel mounted up on the wall, with a face carved in it.

The church appears to be open most days for viewing.

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