Kendal Parish Church, also known as the Holy Trinity Church due to its dedication to the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, is the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Visitors to the church are struck by its size and the lightness of the interior. This lightness is due to the unusual construction of five aisles, separated by columns and allowing generous window area. The nave is 800 years old and the other aisles have been added over the centuries so that, in its heyday, a congregation of 1100 was regularly accommodated.

Anglo-Saxon church

A church was built on the site during the Anglo-Saxon period using material "robbed out" from the ruined

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

at Watercrook to the south of the town.History
, Kendal Parish church site A record in the Domesday Book, and the shaft of an Anglian cross, housed in the Parr Chapel, are dated at approximately AD 850.

Norman period

Westmorland was only subdued by the Normans in 1092 and

Ivo Taillebois Ivo Taillebois (died 1094) was a powerful Norman nobleman, sheriff and tenant-in-chief in 11th-century England. Life Ivo Taillebois was a Norman most probably from Taillebois, now a small hamlet in Saint-Gervais de Briouze, Calvados.K.S.B. Keats ...

(Anglicized, the name is translated to John Talbot) became the first Norman Baron of Kentdale, he gave the church and its lands to St Mary's Abbey in York. In 1189, the inhabitants of Kendal were massacred in church by Duncan, Earl of Fife. In 1201, the present building was constructed; the arch over the piscina was found carved with this date during

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was 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. It was not the same proce ...

(1829).

Parr Chapel

The Parr Chapel was built by the Parr family in the fourteenth century, and the family

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

are to be seen on the ceiling. The maidenheads also featured on the walls had long been associated with the Parr family badge/arms. The device of a maidens head couped below the breast vested in ermine and gold; her hair of the last, or; and her head encircled with a wreath of red and white roses was taken from the Ros of Kendal family (ancestors of the Parrs). The large tomb in this chapel is that of

William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal Sir William Parr, KG (1434–1483)Linda Porter. ''Katherine, the Queen'', MacMillan, 2010. . was an English courtier and soldier. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Parr (1405–1461) and his wife Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Tunstall of T ...

, grandfather of

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

, the last queen consort of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

Organs

The church contains two organs: * at the West end, the main organ by J.W. Walker 1969 (45/3 M+P) incorporating an earlier instrument by Willis * at the East end, the choir organ by Bevington c.1885 (11/2M+P) was bought in 2002

References

External links