St Andrew's Church is in the village of Dacre,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. It is an active

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the deanery of Penrith, the archdeaconry of Penrith, and the

diocese of Carlisle In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. 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, ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church stands near Dacre Castle.

History

The presence of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

on the site was recorded in the 8th and again in the 10th century. The church dates from the 12th century, with additions in the following century. The tower was rebuilt in 1810. Repairs were carried out to the church in 1854, and it was

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

in 1874–75.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

with green

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 ro ...

roofs. Its plan consists of a three-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

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 ...

with a

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

and north and south

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

s, a three-bay

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

with a north

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, with a west door, above which is the re-used head of a 13th-century two-light window. The bell openings have two lights, and the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a 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/brea ...

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

ed. The parapets of the aisle and nave are also battlemented. In both the north and south walls of the aisles are 19th-century two-light windows, and a 13th-century doorway, the one on the north side being blocked. The clerestory windows also have two lights. The chancel has 12th-century round-headed windows, a priest's door, one 13th-century window, and a 19th-century three-light east window. The two-light window in the vestry contains re-used

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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 th ...

Interior

Inside the church is a

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

tower arch. The arcades have pointed arches carried on round and octagonal

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 ...

. The present chancel arch dates from the 19th century. On a window sill is a fragment of stone with zigzag carving, which is probably from the original chancel arch. In the chancel is a 12th-century

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

. Among the monuments are memorials to the Hasell family of

Dalemain Dalemain is a country house around five miles southwest of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith in Cumbria, England. It is a Grade I Listed building (United Kingdom), listed building. Dalemain sits within the Lake District National Park. History There is ...

, including one to Edward Hasell, who died in 1825, by

Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

depicting a weeping woman. There is also a 14th-century

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, 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 certain ...

of a knight. In the church are two carved cross-shaft fragments, the smaller of which depicts a winged beast with a human face that has been dated to the 9th century. The other, dating from the 10th or 11th century, depicts beasts and people. Most of the stained glass is by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...

; a window of 1947 in the south wall is by L. C. Evetts. There is also etched glass by Lawrence Whistler commemorating Sylvia McCosh of Dalemain (died 1991).

William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 ...

(died 1999), the former

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

and MP for Penrith, is buried in the graveyard. The date and maker of the two- manual

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

are unknown.

External features

In the churchyard are four carved statues, the Dacre Bears, standing upright in different postures. They date from the medieval period, are in red sandstone, and each is about high. They are thought to stand in the four corners of the original churchyard, but otherwise their meaning and purpose is unknown. Each bear is listed at Grade II*. Also in the churchyard is a sandstone alms table supported by six pillars. It contains a brass

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

with an inscription containing the date 1732–3, but no

gnomon A gnomon (; ) is the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. The term is used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields, typically to measure directions, position, or time. History A painted stick dating from 2300 BC that was ...

. It is listed at Grade II.

References

External links

Photographs at Visit Cumbria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacre, St Andrew's Church Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Grade I listed churches in Cumbria English churches with Norman architecture English Gothic architecture in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle Monasteries in Cumbria

St Andrew's Church St. Andrew's Church, Church of St Andrew, or variants thereof, may refer to: Albania * St. Andrew's Church, Himarë Australia Australian Capital Territory * St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Canberra, founded by John Walker (Presbyterian minis ...