St Michael and All Angels Church is in the village of Hawkshead,

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, 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 Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the

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. Its benefice is united with those of four local parishes to form the Benefice of Hawkshead with Low Wray and Sawrey and Rusland and Satterthwaite. The church is recorded in the

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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 ...

. Hyde and

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, in the ''

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'' series, describe it as being "one of the best Lake District churches".

History

A chapel existed on the site in the 12th century, which was extended to the length of the present church in about 1300. The north and south

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 in 1500. In 1578 its status was raised from being a chapelry that of a

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 ...

; credit for this has been given to Edwin Sandys, who was born in the village, and who became

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

. The roof of 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 ...

was raised in 1585, and the clerestory was created. In about 1793 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 ...

and hearse house were built. In 1680 James Addison, from the village of Hornby in the Lune Valley, was commissioned to clean the interior walls of the church, to paint 26 biblical texts with decorative borders, and to paint borders round the pillars and arcades. These were repainted in 1711–12 by William Mackerath, who added a list of

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

s, and a text in local dialect near the pulpit. These were restored in 1875 by William Bolton. Between 1875 and the end of the century, rendering was removed from the exterior of the church, and

battlement 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 interv ...

s and pinnacles were added to the tower. A south porch was added in 1935. In 1965 a new organ was installed, which allowed the creation of a chapel dedicated to St James.

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 a slate roof. Its plan consists of a nave and

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 ...

without any division, north and south aisles and chapels, a northwest vestry, a south porch, and a west tower. On the west side of the tower is a doorway with a two-light window above. On the south side is a small window and a clock face. The bell openings are louvred with straight heads, and the

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'). ...

is embattled with corner pinnacles. The vestry has three-light

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 ...

ed windows, and along the side of the north aisle are similar windows. The north (Sandys) chapel has a three-light east window, a five-light north window and a doorway above which are the Sandys arms and the date 1578. On each side of the clerestory are four three-light windows. The east window of the chancel has five lights containing

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 ...

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

. Along the side of the south aisle are three windows of two and three lights. On the side of the south chapel are a doorway converted into a window, and a two-light window; its east window has three lights.

Interior

The interior of the church is thickly

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used. ...

ed. The five- bay arcades consist of segmental arches carried on round piers, without capitals or bases. The wall paintings are still present. In the north chapel is the chest tomb dated 1578 of the parents of Archbishop Sandys, with recumbent

effigies 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 ...

. On the west wall of the church are elaborate monuments moved from St Dionis Backchurch, London, when it was demolished in 1878. The stained glass in the east window dated 1894 is by Hardman, and in the windows on the south side of the church, dating from between 1884 and 1901, are by H. W. Lonsdale. The two- manual pipe organ by

Rushworth and Dreaper Rushworth and Dreaper was a firm of organ builders, and later general instrument suppliers associated with Paul McCartney based in Liverpool. The manufacturer was founded in 1828 by William Rushworth, operating until 2002. Upon its liquidation, ...

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was installed in 1965, replacing an earlier organ. There is a ring of eight bells. Five of these were cast in 1765 by James Harrison I, one dating from 1810 is possibly by John Stevenson, and the other two were cast by John Taylor in 1958.

External features

In the churchyard is a sundial carrying a plate dated 1693, which is listed at Grade II.

References

External links

Photographs from Visit Cumbria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkshead, St Michael and All Angels Church Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Grade I listed churches in Cumbria English Gothic architecture in Cumbria Gothic Revival architecture in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle St Michael and All Angels Church