Strikingly situated on a conical knoll W. of the River Eden with fine views of Roman Fell, St James’s is predominantly Norman and no-nonsense, with a robust Scot-repelling tower only 11 feet square. The arcade to the N. aisle is formed of stout columns topped with crudely carved capitals, and the oak king-post chancel roof is 400 years old. Set in the N. chancel wall is a 14th-century hagioscope. The famous 9th-century Ormside Bowl, a Saxon treasure of gold and enamel, was dug up in the churchyard in 1823, and is now in York Museum.
ORTON † All Saints
12m/18km N.E. of Kendal
OS NY622083 GPS 54.4695N, 2.5845W
On a site that has grand views towards Orton Scar and the Howgills, the white-washed rustic Perpendicular tower of the church is unmissable, supported by bulky stepped buttresses. The bulk of the church is 13th-century, its nave and aisles long, broad and low, with roof lights set over the chancel arch (the old crossing). The 1662 font is carved out of sandstone, and of particular note is a charming window in the baptistry by Beatrice Whistler, wife of the painter J. MacNeill Whistler. The principal restoration was by Paley and Austin, 1877, and there is good 19th-century glass.
PENRITH † St Andrew
Between Friargate and Market Square
OS NY516301 GPS 54.6642N, 2.7511W
Hawksmoor modelled his designs for this stately red sandstone Classical church of 1720–2 on St Andrew’s Church in Holborn. The 13th-century W. tower was retained from the earlier church on the site. The nave has two tiers of round-arched windows and a Tuscan doorway through the base of the tower. Inside are three galleries on Tuscan columns, an elegant tower staircase and a large Venetian E. window. Wall-paintings in the chancel are by Jacob Thompson. Outside in the churchyard is the Giant’s Thumb, a Norse cross from 920, erected as a memorial to his father by Owen Caesarius, King of Cumbria 920–37. There is also a cluster of hogback stones.
RAVENSTONEDALE † St Oswald
4m/6km S.W. of Kirkby Stephen
OS NY722042 GPS 54.4330N, 2.4296W
Approached by a long straight path, the church is delightfully set among imposing trees among the moorland heights, overlooking the Scandel Beck. Fragments of the old church were incorporated in the present Georgian structure of 1738–44. The almost intact Georgian interior has a three-decker pulpit, benches arranged in collegiate fashion, facing into the central aisle, Royal Arms, text boards and a W. gallery. Beyond the N. wall outside are remains of the Gilbertine Abbey, built here c. 1200.
ST BEES – the weathered but magnificent carving around the west doorway
ST BEES † Priory/St Mary and St Bega
4m/6km S. of Whitehaven
OS NX968121 GPS 54.4939N, 3.5935W
This is a cruciform monastic church of soft red sandstone with a choir of six bays, transepts, central tower and clerestoried nave of c. 1250. Although much restored, the church is unassailably imposing. The original E. end was not demolished during the Reformation and now forms part of the school library. The Norman W. front is magnificent, and the three principal orders of the doorway are carved with rich chevron mouldings and beak-heads. Inside are many pre-Conquest carved stones. W. Butterfield restored the tower space and transepts in 1855–8 and built the Romanesque spire; he later added the fine Art Nouveau wrought-iron chancel screen.
ULPHA: ST JOHN – a church of rustic appeal and solitude
WREAY: ST MARY – carvings of flora and fauna abound in the architectural details
TORPENHOW † St Michael
6m/10km S.W. of Wigton
OS NY205398 GPS 54.7469N, 3.2353W
A church with superb views of Solway, Scotland, Lake District and Pennines, St Michael’s is a broad-shouldered, bulky building with a finialled bellcote. Norman in origin, it retains many fine Norman features, of which the chancel arch is undoubtedly the best, with red sandstone carvings of demonic figures on the N. side, whilst on the S. side of the arch are human figures and animals in a lighter sandstone. The wooden nave ceiling is Baroque, brought here by Thomas Addison in the late 17th century. It is adorned with painted flowers, cherubs and scrolls, and is believed to have come from a livery hall in London. Odd and completely out of place, but with a certain eccentric charm.
ULPHA † St John
4m/6km N. of Broughton-in-Furness
OS SD198932 GPS 54.3285N, 3.2347W
A lovely old simple church, more or less as Wordsworth knew it, with fragments of 18th-century decoration and old timbers in a black and white roof. It is built of local stone in a beautiful spot, overlooking the River Duddon. See Wordsworth’s sonnets on the subject, especially the one beginning ‘The Kirk of Ulpha to the pilgrim’s eye’.
URSWICK † St Mary and St Michael
3m/4km E. of Dalton-in-Furness
OS SD268741 GPS 54.1583N, 3.1218W
This ancient church overlooks Urswick Tarn, and has a massive 13th-century (possibly Pele) tower with Perpendicular top stage. The aisleless nave with fine rustic king-post timber roof is dated 1598. There is an enigmatic and interesting carved 9th-century runic stone, but the exciting thing here is the woodwork: lots of it, very fine, carved in 1909–12 by Alec Miller to the designs of C. R Ashby at the Guild of Handicrafts.
WABERTHWAITE † St John the Baptist
1m/2km S.E. of Ravenglass across R. Esk, 6m/10km S.E. of Seascale
OS SD100951 GPS 54.3436N, 3.3855W
A lonely, simple and typical dale church, snug under Muncaster Fell and a surrounding screen of trees, the church is tucked into a bend of the upper reaches of the Esk estuary. It has a homely unadorned interior, lit by oil lamps and furnished with box pews, Royal Arms, a 17th-century pulpit and Norman font. Outside is an Anglo-Norse cross shaft from the 9th or 10th century. This is a perfect setting for a tiny church.
WHITEHAVEN † St James
High Street
OS NX976184 GPS 54.5508N, 3.5834W
St James’s Church overlooks the town – a Georgian statement to Whitehaven’s coal-fuelled prosperity in the 18th century. It was designed by Carlisle Spedding, principal colliery steward to Sir James Lowther. Outwardly rather dour, the interior is superb. Stucco roundels decorate the pastel (1970) ceiling, and the rows of Classical pillars supporting the three galleries lead to a domed apse and a beautiful painted altarpiece of the Transfiguration by Correggio’s pupil Procaccini.
WIGTON † St Mary
11m/18km