St Kentigern's Church, Caldbeck
Encyclopedia
St Kentigern's Church, Caldbeck, (or St Mungo's Church), is in the village of Caldbeck
, Cumbria
, England. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the deanery of Carlisle, the archdeaconry of Carlisle and the diocese of Carlisle
. The church has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building. It is dedicated to Saint Kentigern, whose alternative name is Saint Mungo; hence the church's alternative title of Caldbeck, St Mungo.
and the addition of a chantry chapel
, were made in 1512 by John Whelpdale, and in 1727 a further stage was added to the tower. In 1880 the church was restored
by C. J. Ferguson; this included the timber roof of the chancel. A further restoration was carried out in 1932 by J. F. Martindale, including new windows in the aisle
s and clerestory
and the open timber roof in the nave
.
blocks, and the tower is in limestone
with sandstone quoins
; the roof is covered in green slate
s. It has coped
gable
s and on the east gable is a cross finial
. Its plan consists of a six-bay
nave with north and south aisles, a clerestory and a south porch, a two-bay chancel with a south vestry
and a square west tower. The vestry was originally the chantry chapel. The tower has three stages. The lower two stages up to the string course date from the medieval
period; the upper storey has an inscription giving the date of this as 1727. It contains louvred
, round-arched bell openings, and is surmounted by a battlement
ed parapet
. In the aisles are two-light windows with trefoil
heads; one of these is original, the others are similar but date from the 1932 restoration. The clerestory contains two- and three-light windows that also date from 1932. In the chancel are two original windows and, at a lower level, a squint
; over the vestry is a four-light window. The east window has five lights and an inscription to John Whelpdale. The opening from the tower into the nave is a Norman
doorway that has been moved from elsewhere. Inside the porch is another Norman doorway, which again has been moved. Also in the porch is a medieval grave slab and a stoup for holy water
. In the south wall is a blocked priest's door.
. The south wall contains a piscina
dating from the 13th century. On the west wall are the royal arms
of George IV
and a painted text dated 1731. The stained glass in the east window was made by William Wailes
and dates from 1867. It depicts events during the last days of Jesus. In the north aisle are two windows, one depicting Saint Kentigern and the other Saint Cuthbert
; they were made by James Powell and Sons
in 1938.
Close to the church is St Mungo's well, a holy well
where Christians were baptised
in the 6th century. In the churchyard is the grave of John Peel
, the local huntsman
who is the subject of the song D'ye ken John Peel? Also buried in the church yard is Mary Robinson Harrison
, also known as the Maid of Buttermere, or the Buttermere Beauty.
Caldbeck
Caldbeck is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland, the village had 714 inhabitants according to the census of 2001. It lies on the northern edge of the Lake District. The nearest town is Wigton, 6 miles north east of the village...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England. It is an active Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the deanery of Carlisle, the archdeaconry of Carlisle and the diocese of Carlisle
Diocese of Carlisle
The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 1133 by Henry I out of part of the Diocese of Durham, although many people of Celtic descent in the area looked to Glasgow for spiritual leadership. The first bishop was Æthelwold, formerly the king's confessor and now prior of the Augustinian priory at...
. The church has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building. It is dedicated to Saint Kentigern, whose alternative name is Saint Mungo; hence the church's alternative title of Caldbeck, St Mungo.
History
The earliest fabric of church dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. It was built on the site of a previous church dating from the 6th century. Alterations, including rebuilding of the chancelChancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and the addition of a chantry chapel
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
, were made in 1512 by John Whelpdale, and in 1727 a further stage was added to the tower. In 1880 the church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
by C. J. Ferguson; this included the timber roof of the chancel. A further restoration was carried out in 1932 by J. F. Martindale, including new windows in the aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s and clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
and the open timber roof in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
.
Exterior
The body of the church is constructed in sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
blocks, and the tower is in limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
with sandstone quoins
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
; the roof is covered in green slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
s. It has coped
Coping (architecture)
Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s and on the east gable is a cross finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
. Its plan consists of a six-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave with north and south aisles, a clerestory and a south porch, a two-bay chancel with a south vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
and a square west tower. The vestry was originally the chantry chapel. The tower has three stages. The lower two stages up to the string course date from the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
period; the upper storey has an inscription giving the date of this as 1727. It contains louvred
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
, round-arched bell openings, and is surmounted by a battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
. In the aisles are two-light windows with trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
heads; one of these is original, the others are similar but date from the 1932 restoration. The clerestory contains two- and three-light windows that also date from 1932. In the chancel are two original windows and, at a lower level, a squint
Hagioscope
A hagioscope or squint, in architecture, is an opening through the wall of a church in an oblique direction, to enable the worshippers in the transepts or other parts of the church, from which the altar was not visible, to see the elevation of the host.Hagioscopes were also sometimes known as...
; over the vestry is a four-light window. The east window has five lights and an inscription to John Whelpdale. The opening from the tower into the nave is a Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
doorway that has been moved from elsewhere. Inside the porch is another Norman doorway, which again has been moved. Also in the porch is a medieval grave slab and a stoup for holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
. In the south wall is a blocked priest's door.
Interior
In the baptistry is a 14th-century hexagonal fontBaptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
. The south wall contains a piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
dating from the 13th century. On the west wall are the royal arms
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
of George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and a painted text dated 1731. The stained glass in the east window was made by William Wailes
William Wailes
William Wailes, , was the proprietor of one of England’s largest and most prolific stained glass workshops.- Biographical :Wailes was born and grew up in Newcastle on Tyne, England’s centre of domestic glass and bottle manufacturing. His first business was as a grocer and tea merchant...
and dates from 1867. It depicts events during the last days of Jesus. In the north aisle are two windows, one depicting Saint Kentigern and the other Saint Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
; they were made by James Powell and Sons
James Powell and Sons
The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained glass window manufacturers...
in 1938.
External features
Holy well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
where Christians were baptised
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in the 6th century. In the churchyard is the grave of John Peel
John Peel (farmer)
John Peel was a British huntsman who is the subject of the nineteenth century song D'ye ken John Peel - "ken" being a dialectical form of "know" used in Scotland and the north of England.-Peel's life:...
, the local huntsman
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
who is the subject of the song D'ye ken John Peel? Also buried in the church yard is Mary Robinson Harrison
Mary Robinson (Maid of Buttermere)
Mary Robinson was known as "The Maid of Buttermere", is the subject of Melvyn Bragg's novel of that name, and is mentioned in William Wordsworth's Prelude....
, also known as the Maid of Buttermere, or the Buttermere Beauty.