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St Cuthbert's Church is situated north of the village of
Dufton Dufton is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies in the Eden Valley and below Great Dun Fell. It is mostly around 180m above sea level. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 169 ...
,
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. ...
, England. It should not be confused with the nearby St Cuthbert's church, Milburn. 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 activitie ...
in the deanery of Appleby, the archdeaconry of
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
, 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 ...
. The parish is one of ten parishes which form the benefice of the Heart of Eden. The Parish Church of St Cuthbert, Dufton, is situated north-west of the village of Dufton – the name of which means 'dove farm' – and nestles beneath the eastern fells above the Eden Valley, about north of Appleby and south-east of Penrith. From the new churchyard, fine views are to be had of Dufton Pike and the Pennines.


History and Etymology

The old churchyard is curvilinear, possibly indicating a Celtic foundation. 'Old Dufton', the site of a settlement on the fell above Dufton, has been identified as Romano-British. The first mention of 'the manor of Dufton' occurs in the Pipe Rolls of 1176 and of the church itself in Papal Taxation Records of 1291. Tradition has it that the original church was built on one of the sites where monks from Lindisfarne rested themselves and the body of
St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...
during their flight from the Vikings in 865/6.Church records indicate a rector's presence in 1293, while the dedication to St Cuthbert is referred to in 1366. However, the ornamental stones used in the rebuilding of the church, the two re-used round window-heads and the two
voussoirs A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
with chevron-ornament, reset in the north and south walls respectively, point to the existence of twelfth-century building. There is also evidence of earlier stonework : outside, in the south wall of the chancel, there is a small figure carved into a small stone panel which is thought to be of Roman origin, and set into the east wall of the nave is an ornamented medieval grave slab. The walls of the present building are of sandstone rubble and ashlar with dressings of the same material; the roofs are slate-covered. The interior is light and airy, with no chancel arch and a high canted ceiling with stucco panelling, spanning both nave and chancel. At the west end is a wooden-panelled gallery and underneath it a slim font. Restorations took place in 1673, 1784 and 1853. The 1784 restoration, undertaken by the rector and people, appears to have included the building of the west tower, the re-building of the north wall, and perhaps the upper parts of other walls. The 1853 restoration seems to have determined to a great extent the present character of the building. In 1946, the roof and east end were rebuilt, and the old glass re-used in the new east window. In 1983, some south-side windows were re-leaded. The brightness and airiness of the interior derive from the nature of the windows which are a feature of this church. They share a pattern of clear glass and brightly coloured, lozenge-shaped panes. They are said to have been made by Faucet of Appleby c.1784. In the centre of the east window is a dove, representing the Holy Spirit, descending in flames – and a reminder that Dufton means 'dove farm'. Three plaques describe various endowments for the poor and uneducated of Dufton and Knock. One of these on the north wall of the nave, includes an endowment in 1835 "to ten poor widows or householders of the parish of Dufton also to five poor widows or householders of the township of Knock, to each six and a half stone loaves of the finest wheaten bread" for distribution every Christmas Day.


Dufton's Famous Son

Among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonised by
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
in 1970 was
John Boste John Boste (c. 1544 – 24 July 1594) is a saint in the Catholic Church, and one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Life John Boste was born in Dufton, Westmorland around 1544, the son of Nicholas Boste, landowner of Dufton and Pen ...
(Boast) who is honoured with a plaque in the porch. The Boste family belonged to Penrith and Dufton, and parish records show that they were christened, married and buried in both places. John was born in Dufton in 1543. He reputedly attended
Appleby Grammar School Appleby Grammar School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria for students aged 11 to 18. Since 2011, it has been an Academy. Until 2013, the school was a registered charity. History The origins of App ...
where he became a master after leaving
Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
. At Oxford, John was elected a Fellow, which means he had taken holy orders in the Protestant Church of England. We know, however, that he later became a Roman Catholic, trained for the priesthood in France and, following ordination, returned to England to minister in secret to the Catholics of his native land, particularly those in the north. He became a wanted man and was eventually betrayed, arrested and taken to the Tower of London. For entering the country illegally as a Catholic priest and for celebrating Mass he was charged with treason and tried at Durham, where he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered on 24 July 1594. He died faithfully. The church originates from the medieval period, but was rebuilt in 1784 and restored in 1853 and again in 1946. It is Grade II listed.


Architecture

St Cuthbert's Church is built in the
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 ...
style.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Dufton Dufton is a civil parish in the Eden District, Cumbria, England. It contains eleven listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of p ...


References


Notes

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External links


Visit Cumbria: with photographs of the church
Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle Grade II listed churches in Cumbria Dufton