St Lawrence's Church is in the village of Morland,

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. C ...

, England. It is an active Anglican

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, ...

in the deanery of Appleby, the archdeaconry of Carlisle, and the

diocese of Carlisle The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 11 April 1132 by Henry I out of part of the Diocese of Durham, although many people of Cumbric descent in the area looked to Glasgow for spiritual leadership. The first bishop was Æthelwold, who was the k ...

. The parish of Morland includes the historic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Thrimby, with its church of St Mary, Little Strickland. The benefice of Morland is united, under the name North Westmorland, with the parishes of Askham and Lowther, Bampton, Bolton, Cliburn, Clifton and Brougham, Crosby Ravensworth, Shap and Great Strickland. The church 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, a ...

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 ...

. It has the only Anglo-Saxon tower in Cumbria.

History

The precise date of the tower is uncertain, but it has been dated to between 1041 and 1055. It was raised in height in 1588, and the small spire was added later. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

dates from the 12th century, and includes some

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

features. The

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

s were added later in that century, followed by the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

s during the next century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1600, and the north aisle in the 18th century. The church was restored in 1896 by C. J. Ferguson, and work was carried out in the 20th century by W. D. Caröe.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

stone, with slate roofs, and a short lead-covered spire on top of the tower. It has a

cruciform plan Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

, consisting of a three- bay nave, north and south aisles, a south porch, north and south transepts, a chancel, a north vestry, and a west tower. The tower dates from before the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, and is in three stages. It has no

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es or external doors, and its windows are very small. The bell openings are deeply set with baluster

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s. On the west side of the tower is a blue clock face. In the transepts are 13th-century lancet windows. The windows on the south side of the chancel, and the east window, have four lights and are

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

in style. The windows along the side of the north aisle are

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

with keystones. The south porch is

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d, with stone benches inside. The inner doorway dates from the 13th century, and has a pointed arch.

Interior

Four steps lead down into the interior of the church. The tower is entered by a very narrow door. The south

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

is carried on round piers with octagonal abaci, and has pointed arches. The north arcade is similar, except that one of the piers is octagonal, and has a capital decorated with scallops. There are fragments of Norman zigzag carving incorporated in the wall above the north transept, and in the west wall of the north aisle. The reredos dates from 1926, and is by Caröe. The altar rail dates from the late 17th century, and is carried on balusters. The pulpit has been reduced from a three-decker and is dated 1721. The font consists of a small octagonal bowl; its cover is inscribed with the date 1662. Also in the church is a poor box, cut from a log, and dated 1648. Only the east window contains stained glass; this dates from 1926 and is by

Powells Powells or Powell's may refer to: Places * Powell Islands (Powells), Raa Atoll, Maldives Cities, towns, communities * Powells Corners, Ontario, Canada United States * Powells Crossroads, Tennessee * Powells Point, North Carolina * Powellton, ...

. In the south transept is a coffin lid from the 13th century, carved with a foliated cross. The two- manual pipe organ was made in 1913 by Binns, and restored in 1951. In the tower are three bells, dated 1687, 1726, and 1764.

External features

Associated with the church are three structures that have been listed. To the southeast of the chancel is an altar tomb dating from the 15th century, probably formerly inside the church. It is constructed in

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

blocks, and has three brass plates, the oldest inscribed with the date 1781. The tomb is listed at Grade II*. To the southwest of the tower is a sundial consisting of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

cross-base, with a column dating probably from the 19th century. It is listed at Grade II. Also listed at Grade II are the gatepiers and attached walls at the entrance to the churchyard. The gatepiers are rusticated, and surmounted by ball finials, There is a weathered inscription on the east side; only the date 1723 is legible.

Notable burials

Michael of Glasgow Michael of Glasgow is the earliest known bishop of Glasgow of the 12th century. Records of his episcopate do not survive from the records of the Kingdom of Scotland, however a bishop and a bishop with the name Michael is recorded in foreign record ...

(fl. 1114), nominal bishop of Glasgow.

Gallery

File:Morland church general view.jpg, Morland church - general view File:Morland church tower view.jpg, Morland church; the Anglo-Saxon tower File:Morland church south transept.jpg, Morland church, south transept File:Interior St Laurence Morland, east.jpg, alt=Interior of St Laurence's Church Morland, eastern view, Interior of St Laurence's Church Morland, eastern view File:Interior St Laurence Morland, west.jpg, alt=Interior of St Laurence's Church Morland, western view, Interior of St Laurence's Church Morland, western view

References

External links

Photographs from Visit Cumbria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morland, St Laurence's Church Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Grade I listed churches in Cumbria Standing Anglo-Saxon churches English churches with Norman architecture English Gothic architecture in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle