St Michael's Church, Workington is 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 ...

of the town of

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

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 part of the deanery of Solway, in the archdeaconry of West Cumberland.

History

The oldest part of the church dates from around 1150, as evidenced by a marble plaque located at the rear of the church bearing that date and naming ''Walter'' as the first rector. However, there is evidence that an earlier seventh-century monastery was located on the same site. Nearby

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

finds confirm settlement well before the 12th century in the area surrounding the mouth of the river Derwent. 11th-century texts describe the arrival of monks from

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...

, carrying the bones of

St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

, in Workington (then called Derwentmouth) following the destruction of the kingdom of

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

by the Vikings in 875. It is presumed the monks stayed at the monastery on the site currently occupied by St Michael's Church before leaving Derwentmouth by boat. The 12th-century church was typical of many

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

churches, being constructed for both worship and protection. It originally consisted of a simple nave and chancel, with a fortified tower only accessible through the nave. The original tower constitutes the base of the current one. The church served a local population composed mostly of fishermen and farmers, as well as the Curwen family, the local

lords of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

. Effigies of Sir Christopher Curwen and his wife, dated 1450, are located within the church. Much of the church was rebuilt in 1770, but in 1887 a large part was destroyed by fire. The church was rebuilt over the course of three years, and was heavily redecorated in 1938. Fire once more destroyed much of the church in 1994, this time closing it for seven years, before it was reopened and rededicated in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Workington, St Michael Grade II* listed churches in Cumbria Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle St Michael

History

See also

References