St Michael is in

Lamplugh Lamplugh () is a scattered community and civil parish located in West Cumbria on the edge of the English Lake District and historically part of Cumberland. It had a population of 763 in 2001, increasing to 805 at the 2011 Census. The main A50 ...

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 an active

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, ...

in the deanery of Calder, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

is Lamplugh, Kirkland & Ennerdale. The church is a grade 2 listed building.

History

St Michael, Lamplugh was built by William Butterfield in 1870 with some mediaeval features retained. A chapel or church is believed to have been on the site since 1150 with two previous reconstructions recorded in 1658 and 1771. The vestry was previously part of the Lamplugh family mortuary chapel. The bellcote houses two bells; one has been dated to the 15th century, the other dates from 1870 and was cast by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

of Loughborough. Some mediaeval features were retained: a doorway in the north chancel wall now blocked, though delineated externally by an 18th-century monument; the remodelled chancel and vestry, the latter with an original cusped window and door; and three gargoyles relocated to the external east wall. Pevsner claims that the

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 can ...

style adopted by Butterfield is unusual for the date and must have reflected the earlier building. The walls are of sandstone with ashlar details; the roof is of slate. Two of the windows are by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lichg ...

(1891 and 1901) and two are from the Kempe Tower workshop, Kempe & Co. Ltd., dated to 1910 and 1911. One, dated 1903, is by

Heaton, Butler and Bayne Heaton, Butler and Bayne were an English firm who produced stained-glass windows from 1862 to 1953. History Clement Heaton (1824–82) Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London: Allen Lane, p. 371. ...

of London and the other three are attributed to the London firm of Clayton and Bell. An Honours Board, which commemorates all those from the parish who served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, having been researched by the Lamplugh and District Heritage Society was erected by the Society in November 2018.

Architecture

St Michael, Lamplugh is built of local sandstone. The walls are coursed, squared rubble on

chamfer A chamfer or is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fu ...

ed plinth with stepped buttressing. The graduated slate roofs with stone copings and kneelers; bellcote at west end, apex crosses to east. There is an aisleless nave and chancel with vestry on south side. The hour-bay nave has plank inner door, with pointed head, to a gabled south porch. The Perpendicular

fenestration Fenestration may refer to: * Fenestration (architecture), the design, construction, or presence of openings in a building * Used in relation to fenestra in anatomy, medicine and biology * Fenestration, holes in the rudder of a ship to reduce the w ...

with vestry door and cusped, single-light window are original. The Perpendicular features are re-used, as are the three

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

s over the east window and the blocked doorway, infilled with late 18th century Dickinson Sons memorial on the north side of the chancel. The roof has a

scissors truss A scissors truss is a kind of truss used primarily in buildings, in which the bottom chord members cross each other, connecting to the angled top chords at a point intermediate on the top chords' length, creating an appearance similar to an opened ...

to the nave, with wide, pointed chancel and vestry arches with a traceried, four-centred opening above the chancel arch. The octagonal wooden pulpit in the north-east corner of the nave and the red octagonal stone font at the west end are 19th century. Mid 17th century tomb slab with extensive, but weathered, inscription set against west wall in vestry; early 18th century pedimented marble memorials in west nave wall. The altar has Christogram IHS. Chancel ceiling is blue. Organ The church also has a separate toilet and washroom. The church has two war graves: one from

: J.E. Sewell, aged 19 (12.6.1918), and one from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

: J. Benn, aged 22 (4.11.1943). The war memorial, immediately to the west of the church, unveiled and consecrated in June 1921, is inscribed with 30 names from World War I and four names from World War II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St Michael, Lamplugh Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle