St Paul's Church is in the village of

Witherslack Witherslack is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha, in the south of Cumbria. It lies on the north eastern side of Morecambe Bay, England. The eastern side of the village borders Whitbarrow ...

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 Kendal, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, 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 ki ...

. 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 II*

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 ...

. The authors of the ''

Buildings of England The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

'' series describe it as "an almost perfect example of a plain

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church of that date, honest and unpretentious".

History

The church was built between 1668 and 1669. It resulted from a bequest made by

John Barwick John Barwick (1612–1664) was an early English royalist churchman and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. Early life He was born at Witherslack, in Westmorland. John was the third of five sons, and he and his brother Peter Barwick (later his biog ...

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, who died in 1664, to provide a burial place in the village of his birth, rather than the dead having to be carried across the tidal estuary of the

river Kent The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. It originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles (32 km) into the north of Morecambe Bay. The upper reaches and the western bank of the estuary ...

for burial at St Michael's Church in

Beetham Beetham is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, situated on the border with Lancashire, north of Carnforth. It is part of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the 2001 census the parish had a populatio ...

. There had previously been a church in the village dedicated to Saint Mary, but this was ruined in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. John Barwick's brother,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, who was physician to Charles II, successfully petitioned the

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the C ...

for a new church and a burial ground. The new church was a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

to the mother church at Beetham. The land for the church and burial ground were granted by the 8th Earl of Derby. The church was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

in June 1671 by the Bishop of Chester. The height of the walls of the church was raised and a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

was added in 1768 by John Hird. Hird also added a screen at the east end of the church. In 1881 St Paul's became an independent parish church. The church was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

in 1861, and was renovated in 1880. In 1891 the parish of Witherslack was joined with those of Meathop and Ulpha. There was a further amalgamation of parishes in 1973 when Witherslack joined with St Mary, Crosthwaite and St Anthony,

Cartmel Fell Cartmel Fell is a hamlet and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 309, increasing at the 2011 census to 329. The village of Cartmel and Cartmel Priory are not in th ...

Architecture

Exterior

St Paul's is constructed in stone

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 Dictionary ...

with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

dressings and a

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. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof. Its plan consists of a

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 ...

and a

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. Ove ...

in a single chamber, a south porch and a north vestry, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages. It has a west window of two round-headed lights in the bottom stage, two similar windows in the middle stage on the north and west sides, together with a square clock face on the south side with a single hand. In the top stage are two-light bell openings, with round heads and louvres. At the summit of the tower is a projecting

embattled A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. Along both sides of the church are four round-arched three-light windows with straight heads. 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, is surmounted by a ball

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

, and leads to a round-headed doorway into the church. There is a similar doorway between the first and second windows, above which is an inscribed plaque. On the north side of the church is a small window between the second and third larger windows. To the east of these is a small gabled vestry, with a pointed doorway on its west side and a three-light east window. The east window of the chancel consists of five stepped lights, above which is a round-headed window, and a ball finial on the apex of the gable.

Interior

The screen at the east end of the church contains two Ionic columns and

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

was constructed in 1880, using material from a 17th-century three-decker pulpit. It has a

sounding board A sounding board, also known as a tester and abat-voix is a structure placed above and sometimes also behind a pulpit or other speaking platform that helps to project the sound of the speaker. It is usually made of wood. The structure may be spe ...

dated 1768. The small

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

is in the shape of a

baluster A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

, and dates from 1666. The

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

of 1889 was designed by

Paley, Austin and Paley Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, England, Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, whi ...

. Also in the church are Royal arms of 1710, and hatchments, including that of John Barwick. The stained glass in the east window includes the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Barwick. Its design has been attributed to Henry Gyles of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, and the window dates probably from 1671. In the church are monuments, including a tablet to John Barwick. Another monument is to a child who died aged two years, and includes a while

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

of a baby. There is also a memorial to the 16th Earl of Derby who died in 1908. The single-

manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...

organ was built in 1878 by

Brindley & Foster Brindley & Foster was a pipe organ builder based in Sheffield who flourished between 1854 and 1939. Background The business was established by Charles Brindley in 1854. He was joined by Albert Healey Foster in 1871 and the company acquired the ...

External features

In the churchyard is a

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

dated 1757, carrying a plate dated 1671. It is constructed in

and stands on three square steps with a square base supporting a round column. The sundial is listed at Grade II. Also listed at Grade II are the gate

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

and overthrow to the south of the church.

References

External links

Visit Cumbria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witherslack, St Paul's Church Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Grade II* listed churches in Cumbria English Gothic architecture in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle Paley, Austin and Paley buildings