St Stephen, New Hutton

St Stephen

New Hutton

Cumbria

New Hutton sits between the M6 motorway to the East, and Kendal, about three miles to the West. It is more of a hamlet than a village, literally consisting of about a dozen houses.

Above. Looking South over New Hutton towards the church.

The church was built 1828 to 1829 to designs by George Webster of Kendal.

Above. St Stephens from the South.

Above. St Stephen from the South.

Above. The North gates into the church yard.

Above. Overgrown gate pillar with greyhound.

Above. A close up of one of the gate posts.

Above. The lychgate.

Above. One of the dedication slabs in the lytchgate.

Above. The second dedication stone in the lytchgate.

There's very little information about this church, including the curious use of greyhounds on the fence columns to the front and rear of the church. As usual if anything comes to light, I'll include it here.

St John the Baptist, Old Hutton

St John the Baptist

Old Hutton

Cumbria

Old Hutton is situated on the B6254 about four miles South East of Kendal. The village is spread out along the road between Oxenholme and the M6 motorway. The church we see today dates from 1873 but stands on the site of earlier buildings. A church or, more likely, a small chapel, stood here until about 1628. This original chapel was dedicated to St John the Baptist, and stood until it was replaced by another place of worship built in 1699. The church of 1873 cost £1250 with the majority of the funds being raised from the parishioners and local gentry. The church was built to designs by Brade and Smales.

Above. Looking at the East end of the church.

It doesn't seem that the church had a dedicated burial ground until around 1822. It was extended in 1863 and then once again in 1920. Old Hutton was a parish under the wider parish of Kendal, with its own parsonage being provided in 1831. Old and New Hutton became a joint parish in 1924. In 1984, Grayrigg was added to the parish.

Above. The circular apse at the East end of the church.

Above. Close up of the belfry.

Above. Looking down the nave towards the chancel.

Above. Inside the apse of the chancel.

Above. Looking West down the nave.

As far as I can remember, there are only two stained glass windows in this church. The first, a single light window, can be found in the East wall of the chancel.

This window depicts the crucifixion and was created by Abbot and Company of Lancaster in 1948.

The second window is a two light window, erected to the memory of Thomas Fawcett who died in 1881, and his wife, Mary, who died in 1883. The church appears to be open most days for inspection.

Heraldry in Holy Trinity, Kendal (continued!)

Yet more heraldry in Holy Trinity

Kendal

Cumbria

The heraldry theme continues with another set of photos from another recent visit to Holy Trinity in Kendal. First off, the 13th century Strickland chapel, which houses the tomb of Walter Strickland, son of Thomas, aged 9. There will be another entry on the blog about this tomb, so for now, here's the low down on the heraldic symbols on this small tomb. As you can see from the image below, there is a small shield at the bottom right hand side of the tomb, to the right of the date, 1656.

Above. Walter Strickland's tomb in the Strickland chapel.

Above. A close up of the shield on Walter's tomb.

As seen elsewhere on this web site, the Strickland coat of arms consists of a simple trio of shells on a plain background. Apart from the chevrons on the lower parts of the tomb, the date and this shield are the only embellishments on the tomb.

Above. A shield on the side of the un-inscribed tomb in the Strickland Chapel.

The shield on the long side of the tomb in the Strickland Chapel, bears a very precise and excellently rendered shield. It contains the Deincourt arms in the top left and bottom right hand quarters, representing the Deincourt ancestry of Sizergh. The top right and bottom left quarters contain the Strickland arms...the three cockle shells seen elsewhere throughout the church.

Above. A shield on the short side of the un-inscribed tomb in the Strickland Chapel.

The other shield on this strange tomb, represents the Fitzhugh coat of arms

Above. One of the shields on the Parr tomb in the Parr Chapel.

This is one of the three shields on the long side of the tomb, said to belong to Queen Katherine Parr's grandfather, Sir William Parr. The top left and bottom right quarters show the arms of the Ros family of Wark. The top right and bottom left quarters contain the arms of a family I've not yet been able to identify.

Above. Another shield from the long side of the Parr tomb in the Parr Chapel.

This shield shows the Marmion family arms.

Above. Sir William Parr's coat of arms on his tomb in the Parr Chapel.

Sir Williams coat of arms is made up of the following family arms. The top left quarter shows the arms of the Ros of Wark family, and the Parr arms. The bottom left quarter shows the arms of the Marmion family. The top right quarter shows the arms of the Fitzugh family, whilst the bottom right quarter shows the arms of the Ros of Wark family again.

Finally for this post, some of the most beautiful and vibrant glass in the whole of the church. These photos are close up shots of some of the coats of arms to be found in windows throughout the church.

Above. Arms from the first Noble Window in the South wall.

The coat of arms in this window contains elements of the Irton family arms, the three gold rings in the top half of the shield, and the Noble family, represented by the three lions heads in the bottom half of the shield.

Above. Centre pane from the 19th century Yeates window in the South wall.

The top left and bottom right shields contain the arms of the Yeates family (three shields on a yellow and red shield) The top middle shelled shows the family arms of the Bretagh family (a lion over a red grid pattern on a white background) The top right shield shows the arms of the Irton family (a single chevron with three rings over it) The middle bottom shield shows the arms of the Jues family (three gold stars diagonally across a blue band)

Above. The top of the right hand pane of the 19th century Yeates window.

This shield shows the simple Irton family arms. A single chevron with three rings above it.

Above. The top of the middle pane of the 19th century Yeates window.

This shield shows the Yeates family arms. Three gates separated by gold and red chevrons.

Above. The top of the left hand pane of the 19th century Yeates window.

The Bretagh (Bretargh) family arms consisting of a lion a the top of the shield, with cross-crosslets beneath it.

Above. The bottom left of the left hand pane of the 19th century Yeates window.

I've not been able to identify this family arms yet.

Above. The bottom of the middle pane of the 19th century Yeates window.

A shield overlaid by another shield. I'm not sure what this indicates, or who the coats of arms belong to.

Above. The bottom right of the right hand pane of the 19th century Yeates window.

The shield here shows the arms of the Jues family. Three stars on a diagonal band of blue.

Above. The right hand pane of the 19th century Chambre window.

A complicated shield, this incorporates elements of the Charlton family (the lion in the central shield surrounded by the fleur-de-lys) What the other elements of this coat of arms relate to is beyond me at this stage!!

Above. The middle pane of the 19th century Chambre window.

This coat of arms represents the Chambre arms dated from about 1716, and consists of four 'marlets' (birds of some kind) between an ermine cross.

Above. The left pane of the 19th century Chambre window.

This coat of arms depicts the Charlton family arms. Simply showing a 'lion rampant' filling the whole of the shield.

As usual, as more information is obtained about these beautiful renditions of various Westmorland and Cumbrian family coats of arms, it will be posted here.

Gothic corbels in Holy Trinity, Kendal

Gothic corbels in Holy Trinity

Kendal

Cumbria

The nave of Holy Trinity in Kendal is a really decorative part of the church. Not only are there sixteen clerestory windows dedicated to all manner of Kendal's famous and rich, but the rich dark wooden ceiling contrasts starkly with the white-washed walls and pale stone columns. Looking high into the ceiling space, you can make out the gothic corbels that are used to hold the struts from the vaguely King Post roof. Each corbel is mounted between a clerestory window, and best of all...is different from its neighbour. No two of these nineteen corbels are the same. I've attempted to identify the figure that each represents, and if possible, to explain what they mean...but this will be an ongoing project as I'm certainly no expert!!

Above. Possibly a stylised lion or other big cat, eating its tail. Similar to one of the gargoyles on the exterior of the church.

Lions were traditionally symbols of Jesus, and were thought to be able to hide their trail from hunters by using their tails. Lions also represent the resurrection of Jesus.

Above. Possibly a depiction of a medieval woman. Her hair is either braided against her scalp, or she is wearing a headpiece.

Above. Another (possibly) stylised cat eating its tail.

Above. The upper two thirds of a human face, minus the jaw. I can't tell if this is how it's meant to be, or if the corbel has been damaged.

Above. A simple human face.

Above. This certainly looks to me like a monkey's face.

Above. A simple dog, holding its tail above its back.

Dogs were traditionally thought to be able to heal their wounds by licking them, so people used to leave a dog next to an injured or sick person, in the hope that their wounds would be healed. On a more spiritual level, dogs healing wounds were symbolic of people confessing their sins.

Above. This appears to show a heart, with two hands above it and two feet below it. It looks to me almost like a Roman Catholic symbol.

Hands traditionally represent healing, blessing praise or servitude, depending on their position and attitude. I guess this corbel, with its hands coming from the heart, could mean praise to god coming from the heart of the congregation gathered below. I'm not sure how the feet would have come into this though....remember, I did say I was no expert!!

Above. Yet another stylised lion or other big cat.

Above. Another lion, this time resting its head on one of its paws.

Lions were thought to sleep with their eyes open, constantly watching, and therefore represented god keeping perpetual watch over his flock.

Above. This appears to show a sheep\lamb overlaid with a cross...possibly representing Jesus as the Lamb of God.

A lamb standing with a banner, as demonstrated here, represents Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and represents the risen Christ, triumphant over death.

Above. Possibly another stylised lion. This corbel has been damaged in the past....I wonder if this beast had wings, which would have made it a Gryphon?

If this was indeed a winged gryphon, it would have represented many things to religious people. Gryphons were traditionally monogamous creatures, mating for life and never seeking another mate should their partner die. From this, the church used them as a symbol of their views of marriage. Gryphons, being a combination of a flying and walking beast, were also seen to represent Jesus, who the church obviously believed to be both of man and god. As Gryphons were a mixture of eagles, the kings of the air, and lions, the kings of the animals, they were also considered to be a representation of god.

Above. This corbel appears to show a dragon, looking away and to the right...its huge teeth can be seen.

Alternatively, this could be a basilisk....a medieval representation of Satan and embodiment of sin.

Above. There's no doubt that this is a lion.

Above. A rather portly human face, sticking its tongue out at those looking up at him!

Above. I would say this is one of the older corbels. The stone matches the oldest of the columns here in the nave. This looks to be a serpent\dragon's head, looking sky-ward. I think you can just make out its tongue. Possibly representing the devil\Satan mocking heaven\god.

Alternatively, this corbel could be an antelope of some type (albeit with a single horn). If you flip the image 180 degrees, you can see that what appears to be a bony spine running down the centre of the beast's head, could in fact be a twisted horn, much like an antelope's. The beast also has a single leg represented in the carving...ending in a three toed hoof.

More often than not, serpents or dragons are seen to be beneath the feet of either St George or St Michael, and are usually shown looking up at their slayer. The serpent or dragon here is certainly looking up as if it's not in its correct position.

Above. This looks to be a very rotund dog with a muzzle or even a halter?

Above. A human face with a full beard.

I'll keep investigating the symbology behind these fantastic carved corbels, so keep checking back for more information.