Betjeman’s Best British Churches. Richard Surman

as ‘The Cathedral of the Dales’, St Stephen’s was probably founded in the 8th century. Rebuilt in the 13th and 15th centuries, it was heavily restored in 1847. Stately and impressive Early English arcades separate the nave from the aisles. The embattled W. tower of c. 1506 replaced a central Early English tower which fell in the 15th century. Inside, an 18th-century bread cupboard is curved around a pier and there are 15th- and 16th-century monuments to the Musgraves and Whartons. Most interesting of all is the Loki stone, a relief carving of the Norse God of Mischief.

      KIRKBY THORE † St Michael

      8m/13km S.W. of Penrith

      OS NY638259 GPS 54.6273N, 2.5621W

      In the lovely Eden Valley, this is a simple church of red sandstone. The base of the tower is early Norman, while the chancel, nave and upper parts of the tower are 13th-century. There is reused stone from the nearby Roman fort of Bravoniacum incorporated into the fabric. Inside is a pulpit made of reused finely carved 17th-century panels, and an octagonal font of 1688. The rather odd pointed and moulded chancel arch is from a Victorian restoration, and the bell, said to be the county’s largest, is thought to have come from Shap Abbey.

      KIRKOSWALD † St Oswald

      7m/11km N. of Penrith

      OS NY555409 GPS 54.7611N, 2.6928W

      The little sandstone town with its moated castle and house, now a museum, is one of the best in the county. Like many churches dedicated to St Oswald, this one is associated with a spring, but it is almost certainly the only one in which a pure spring of water rises from the conical hill at the foot of which the church stands, flows under the length of the nave and issues as a drinking-well outside the W. wall. The tower of 1897 stands oddly at the top of the hill 200 yards away from the church, which has interesting medieval fabric and a collegiate chancel of c. 1523.

      LANERCOST

       † Priory of St Mary Magdalene

      3m/4km N.E. of Brampton

       OS NY555637 GPS 54.9662N, 2.6952W

      Beautifully situated in the quiet wooded valley of the River Irthing and entered through an ancient gatehouse, the nave and N. aisle of the priory were restored and refitted in the 18th century to serve as the parish church. The priory was founded about 1169 by Robert de Vallibus (de Vaux). Edward I, Queen Eleanor, Robert the Bruce and David King of Scotland cross and re-cross its history in the 14th century. The earliest portions, such as the base course on the S. of nave and transept, are Transitional; the remainder elegant Early English. It has a beautiful clerestory and W. front with bold recessed doorway and arcading. Inside are Burne-Jones lancets in rich colours, and monuments by Boehm; in the S. chapel is the tomb of Lord Dacre of Battle of Flodden fame. The E. end of the present church, built after the priory was dismantled, has a little 16th-century glass, but is mostly clear. In low evening sunlight, the priory glows: a place of magic.

      LONG MARTON † St Margaret & St James

      3m/4km N. of Appleby-in-Westmorland

       OS NY666239 GPS 54.6100N, 2.5177W

      The building is early Romanesque in origin, especially the nave with huge quoins. Parts of the S. doorway, with its crude tympanum adorned with winged beast and dragon, might be as early, but this part of the church was reset during a 19th-century restoration.

      LOWTHER † St Michael

      4m/6km S. of Penrith

       oS NY519244 GPS 54.6129N, 2.7462W

      Beautifully placed above the River Lowther, the church has portions dating from the 12th, 13th and 17th centuries. The shell was almost completely rebuilt by Sir John Lowther in the 17th century with a dome and lantern on the tower, unfortunately since removed. The church has some splendid Lowther monuments, including William Stanton’s John, Viscount Lonsdale, d. 1700, a fine semi-reclining figure now behind the organ. Outside, in rather dismal isolation, a figure of the 2nd Earl – William – is seated in a frankly sinister late 19th-century mausoleum.

      MARTINDALE † St Martin Old Church

      In hills above Ullswater, 10m/16km S.W. of Penrith

      OS NY434184 GPS 54.5577N, 2.8761W

      One of the loneliest churches in Cumbria, St Martin’s stands at 1,000 feet above the sea; it was for a time disused. The Old Church, originally 11th-century, was renewed in 1633. With its simple bellcote, porch and rustic slatework, it has an almost domestic appearance; inside is 17th-century woodwork, a good carved pulpit and massive beams. It is used for services about three times a year and has neither heating nor electricity; it is often visited by walkers seeking peace and solitude.

      MARTINDALE † St Peter New Church

      In hills above Ullswater, 10m/16km S.W. of Penrith

      OS NY436191 GPS 54.5644N, 2.8736W

      With only a few farms for company at the top of the Hause Pass, the present church of St Peter was erected in a sort of Early English style in 1880–82 by B. Cory. There is good 20th-century glass by Jane Grey. Another 20th-century window, dedicated to St Nicholas, commemorates the loss of HMS Glorious off the Norwegian coast during the Second World War.

      MILLOM † Holy Trinity

      N. of Millom town centre,

       5m/8km S.W. of Broughton-in-Fumess

      OS SD171813 GPS 54.2207N, 3.2728W

      This late Norman sandstone church shelters against the ruins of the 13th-century castle. There is some later medieval work, including Curvilinear and Reticulated window tracery. The Victorian restoration did the church no favours, but a 12th- to 13th-century chancel arch remains, and in the Huddleston Chapel there is a fine alabaster monument, 1494, commemorating Richard Huddleston and his wife Lady Mabel Dacre.

      ORTON: ALL SAINTS – the church is dominated by the limewashed Perpendicular tower

      MILLOM † St George

      St George’s Road, town centre;

       5m/8km S.W. of Broughton-in-Fumess

      OS SD171799 GPS 54.2089N, 3.2717W

      Inspired perhaps by the rapid expansion of Millom through mining and ironworks in the late 19th century, the new church of St George was built by Paley & Austin in an elaborate Decorated style, with blind arcades and geometric tracery. There is a fine central tower with recessed spire – a landmark visible for miles around – and a good wagon roof to the nave. Stained glass commemorates the life of the poet Norman Nicholson, who is buried in the nearby town cemetery.

      MORLAND † St Lawrence

      6m/10km W. of Appleby-in-Westmorland

      OS NY598225 GPS 54.5965N, 2.6235W

      This delightful church has a fine Saxon W. tower. Its plan is unusual: nave, N. and S. transepts are mostly Norman, the chancel was rebuilt in the 16th century. From outside the church has the look of a miniature minster, and is beautifully set adjacent to Morland House and gardens.

      NETHER WASDALE † St Michael

      15m/8km N.E. of Seascale

      OS NY124040 GPS 54.4245N, 3.3504W

      St Michael’s plain external appearance conceals a surprisingly elegant, simple, gas-lit Georgian interior, with plaster reliefs of cherubs on the coved ceiling. It was originally a chapel of ease for St Bees Priory, and dates from the 16th century – a single-cell building with bellcote. The pulpit and lectern came from York Minster, and there are traces of wall-paintings on the S. wall.

      ORMSIDE † St James

      2m/3km S.E. of Appleby-in-Westmorland