St Oswald, Ravenstonedale

St Oswald
Ravenstonedale
Cumbria

Above. A view of the church looking North West.

Above. A view of the church looking South

Above. A view of the West tower

Above. A view of the church over the remains of the Gilbertine Abbey. Check the link for more information.

Above. A view of the apsed chancel from the balcony.

Above. A view from the chancel looking back to the balcony.

Above. The three tiered, oak panelled pulpit with its sounding board.

Above. The Lords Prayer...possibly for those in the congregation who had forgotten the words!

Above. Poor quality of photo, so I'm not able to tell who this window is dedicated to.

Above. Again, poor quality photo prevents me from seeing who the window is dedicated to.

Above. Window depicting St Margaret of Scotland, and dedicated to the memory of Mary Ann, wife of Anthony Metcalfe-Gibson of Coldbeck.

Above. Window dedicated to the memory of Anthony Metcalfe-Gibson, probably dated to 1902.

Above. Window depicting St Aiden.

Above. Window depicting the Good Samaritan, and dedicated to the memory of Richard Gibson of Coldbeck, who died in 1880. The window was gifted by John Fothergill Brownber, his 'relative'.

Above. Window dedicated to the memory of William Fothergill Brownber, and gifted by his son John Fothergill.

Above. Window depicting St Cecilia, and dedicated to the memory of Mary Blanche Hewitson, who died in 1890.

St Patrick, Preston Patrick

St Patrick
Preston Patrick
Cumbria

St Patrick is sited in a most beautiful location....high on a hill overlooking the valley floor, with Kendal some seven miles to the North, Endmoor a few miles up the road (A65) and Kirkby Lonsdale about eight miles to the East.

Above. A view of the church from the bottom of the drive way, looking North.

It's thought that the church was originally dedicated to St Gregory. There is a well situated near to the church grounds dedicated to St Gregory, possibly somewhere near to the summit of a hill to the North West of the church called St Gregory's hill. It's not clear when the dedication changed, or why.

Above. A view of the church from across the A65

Above. A view looking into the chancel.

Above. Looking down the nave

There was a church on this site in the 1500's and although it was completely rebuilt there are still elements of this building to be seen today. The two niches that can be seen on the wall either side of the chancel window date from the original building.

Above. 15th century niche inserted into the wall of the Chancel.

Above. 15th century niche inserted into the wall of the Chancel.

The window, shown below also dates from the original church.

Above. 15th century window inserted into the wall of the tower.

The church we see today was built in 1852 to designs by Sharpe and Paley, whilst the chancel was added in 1892. St Patrick's possesses a fine collection of stained glass windows, most of which are shown below.

Above. The East window showing St Tristan (far left), St John the Baptist, St Alban the Martyr and St Augustine, by Shrigley and Hunt.

Above. Window entitled "Healing Faith".

Above. Window entitled "Suffer the little children to come unto me". Dated 1926, and presented to the church by the mothers and children of the parish. By Heaton, Butler and Bayne.

Above. Window showing a number of biblical figures. The only two I can identify, are St George, bottom, second left, and St Andrew, bottom, second right. Created by Powell of Whitefriars.

Above. A window dedicated to the memory of Edward Henry Burgh. By Heaton, Butler and Bayne.

Above. Window dated 1871, and dedicated to the Rev J Hebdon. Created by F.Burrow.

The church yard is accessible, and there is plenty of parking within the confines of the church grounds, but the church, as a rule, seems to be kept locked.

St John, Skelsmergh

St John
Skelsmergh
Near Kendal
Cumbria

St John's can be found just off the A6, about three miles North of Kendal. The church sits high up above the main road to Shap, and can be seen for miles around. The church we see today was built between 1869 and 1871 to designs by Joseph Bintley, a Westmorland architect who was responsible for a number of buildings in the area.

Above. View of the church from the churchyard to the West.

It is thought that there has been a church on or near this site for many centuries, with some records mentioning a small chapel here in the mid to late 1600's. The antiquarian the Rev Thomas Machell mentions a ruined chapel in his report on the area in 1692 when he also reported on the state of nearby Skelsmergh Hall and its tower.

Above. View of the church from the North.

From the early 17th century the ruined chapel had not been suitable for locals to worship in due its poor state of repair. Most had to travel the three or four miles to Kendal to worship at the Parish church of Holy Trinity. A local group, the Skelsmergh Chapelry Committee was set up in 1870, to promote the building of a church for this outlaying collection of hamlets and farms, and to raise the money required to build their church. A small patch of land was bequeathed to their cause by Mr W F Harrison of Martropps, Near Weybridge, Surrey.

Above. A view of the chance from the nave.

The foundation stone was laid by The Venerable J Cooper on the 5th of May, 1870 only a few months after the committee had set out its plans. The church was complete by 1870, and finally consecrated on the 2nd of November by the Bishop of Carlisle. With the consecration of the church, the new chapelry of Skelsmergh, Scalthwaiterigg and Patton was created, with an estimated congregation of around two hundred worshipers.

Above. A view to the West end of the church.

At around the same time, Joseph Bintley was asked to provide plans for a new vicarage. The land was bequeathed by Mr T. Rogers of Greenside near Milnthorpe. The vicarage was completed by the end of October 1876.

The church has undergone a number of improvements over the years. In 1884 the Committee met again to discuss and plan improvements set forward by the Vicar of Kendal, Rev. R. J. Pearce. A small organ chamber was built on the South side of the church, in order to house an organ built by T. Wilkinson & Sons of Kendal, who's works were situated next to Fry-Days on New Road.

Above. The East window in the chancel, by Heaton, Butler and Payne.

The huge three light window, shown above, was also inserted into the East end of the church at this time (1884) It was presented to the parish by Septimus Norton of Thornleigh, who resided at nearby Skelsmergh Hall, and was a memorial to members of the Thornleigh family.

In 1899 another window was installed, this time in the North wall, as a memorial to John and Frances Morton of Skelsmergh Hall. A war memorial was erected in 1919 and additions were made to it after the end of the Second World War. The church yard was extended in 1950, so as well as the original churchyard on the hill side, there also one over the road to the rear of the church. In 1955, the doorway in the West end of the nave was bricked up, and a new porch was erected in the South Western wall. A window was set in the wall where the door had been. There is a small amount of parking near the church, and as far as I'm aware, the building is left open for inspection.

Check this link for an 1870 ground plan of the church.

The official web site St John's.

St James, Tebay

St James
Tebay
Cumbria

Sandwiched between the M6 motorway and the A685, this small , Medieval looking church can be found at the end of Church Lane. Actually built in 1880, St James was funded entirely by the railway company, North Eastern Railway, and its workers, and was built to designs by C.J. Ferguson.

Up until the building of St James, worshippers would most likely have had to make their way to Orton, a journey of some three miles to the North.

I haven't managed to get inside this church yet, but follow this link for some excellent photos of the memorials and windows contained within.

There's a great deal of additional information about this church here.

Another visit is required to get the obligatory internal photos!

St Michael, Beetham

St Michael
Beetham
Cumbria

St Michael's has a fine collection of stained glass. Here are the majority of the windows in this beautiful Norman church. As information becomes available, it will be posted here.

Above. Window depicting St Elizabeth (far left), the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdelene.

Above. Window depicting St John (left) and St Andrew (right) and dedicated to G.B. Cole, vicar.

Above. The huge East window over the chancel.

Above. Window depicting St George (left) and St Martin (right)

Above. Window depicting St Oswald (left) King Charles (middle) and St Alban (right)

Above. Window depicted to St Osyth (left) St Ethelburga (middle) and St Lioba (right) and dedicated to the memory of John Yeates Thornton, who died in 1859.

Above. I can't read who the window depicts, but it it dedicated to N.D. Hutton, mother of William Hutton, vicar of Beetham, and his daughters G.M. Bannerman and M.T. Hutton.

For more information on the church, go to this link.