Kirkby Stephen Parish Church

The Parish Church, Kirkby Stephen
The Parish Church, Kirkby Stephen
	The Parish Church, Kirkby Stephen
	54°28′26.28″N2°20′54.79″W / 54.4739667°N 2.3485528°W
OS grid reference	NY 77517 08821
Location	Kirkby Stephen
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church / Central
History
Dedication	None ; St Stephen or St John] possible former dedications.
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II* listed
Specifications
Bells	8 in F
Tenor bell weight	15 Cwt
Administration
Province	Province of York
Diocese	Diocese of Carlisle
Archdeaconry	Carlisle
Deanery	Appleby
Parish	Kirkby Stephen with Mallerstang and Crosby Garrett with Soulby

Last updated June 16, 2024

Kirkby Stephen Parish Church is a parish church of the Church of England, located in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.^[1] The church is sometimes called St Stephen's Church, possibly by analogy to the name of the town, but there is no evidence of a formal dedication to Saint Stephen. It is a Grade II* listed building.^[2]

History

The church is approached from Kirkby Stephen market square, where it is almost hidden from view by the cloisters, built in 1810. It is sometimes called the "Cathedral of the Dales" and, in Cumbria, only Kendal Parish Church is larger.

There have been three churches on this site. The first was built in the Anglo-Saxon era, and part of a cross shaft bearing a relief of Loki, the Norse god, shown bound and chained, survives from this period.^[3] The Anglo-Saxon church was replaced in 1170 by a Norman church, and walling from this period survives in the west wall of the north aisle.^[2]

The church was mostly rebuilt again in c. 1230, but has been significantly altered since; the main thirteenth-century survivals are the nave arcades, the north transept, and the piscina and sedilia in the chancel. The south aisle windows and south door were replaced in the fifteenth century, and the tower was built in the sixteenth century. The chancel, the chapels flanking it to north and south, and the south transept were rebuilt in 1847; the north wall of the north aisle and the south porch were rebuilt in 1871. The clerestory and south aisle windows were also renewed in the nineteenth century, and much of the internal stonework was renewed or reworked.^[2]

The church has no official dedication. There is no factual basis to support a dedication to St Stephen or the rumoured previous dedication to St John.^[4] However, the church is sometimes referred to as 'St Stephen's Church', with reference to the place-name of Kirkby Stephen.

Parish

The church is in a joint parish with St Andrew's Church in Crosby Garrett and St Mary's Church in Mallerstang. The church is also the home of the Roman Catholic congregation, following an official sharing agreement entered into in 1990.

Memorials

The north, or Wharton, chapel has a late sixteenth-century altar tomb with effigies of Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton (1495–1568) and his 2 wives.

The south, or Hartley, chapel has an early fifteenth-century altar tomb with an effigy of Sir Richard Musgrave (died 1409), and a fifteenth-century altar tomb to Sir Richard Musgrave (died 1464). It is dedicated to St Paul.

Organ and bells

The church contains a three manual pipe organ dating from 1888. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.^[5]

The church has a ring of 8 bells, with the tenor weighing 15 cwt and tuned to F; all except the 7th bell were cast by John Warner & Sons of London in 1877, the 7th was cast by Edward Seller in 1849.

Gallery

The "Loki Stone", part of an Anglo-Saxon cross shaft
Engraving of the "Loki Stone" by Julius Magnus Petersen

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochester Cathedral</span> Church in Kent, England

Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in Rochester, Kent, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Rochester and seat (cathedra) of the Bishop of Rochester, the second oldest bishopric in England after that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The cathedral, built in the Norman style is a Grade I listed building.

Kirkby Stephen is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about 25 miles (40 km) from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrith. The River Eden rises 6 miles (9.7 km) away in the peat bogs below Hugh Seat and passes the eastern edge of the town. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,832. In 2011, it had a population of 1,522.

Mallerstang is a civil parish in the extreme east of Cumbria, and, geographically, a dale at the head of the upper Eden Valley. Originally part of Westmorland, it lies about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the nearest town, Kirkby Stephen. Its eastern edge, at Aisgill, borders on North Yorkshire; and since August 2016 it has been within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

St Mary Magdalene is a Church of England parish church in the town of Yarm, in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England, which is dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. Administratively, it is a parish of the Diocese of York. The current rector is the Reverend Darren Moore.

St Michael and All Angels Church overlooks Market Place in the town of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Macclesfield. It forms a team parish with three other Macclesfield churches: All Saints, St Peter's and St Barnabas'. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

St Peter's Church, Bolton-le-Moors, commonly known as Bolton Parish Church, is a Church of England parish church in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The parish church, dedicated to St Peter, is an example of the Gothic Revival style. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* listed building, having been designated in 1974. St Peter's is an active parish church in the Diocese of Manchester and is part of the Bolton deanery and Bolton archdeaconry.

St Mary's Church is the Anglican parish church of Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire, England, standing on a bank overlooking Lymm Dam. It is a grade II listed building. It is an active church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth.

St Bees Priory is the parish church of St Bees, Cumbria, in England. There is evidence for a pre-Norman religious site, and on this a Benedictine priory was founded by the first Norman Lord of Egremont William Meschin, and was dedicated by Archbishop Thurstan of York, sometime between 1120 and 1135.

St Denys' Church is a medieval Anglican parish church in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. While a church and a priest have probably been present in the settlement since approximately 1086, the oldest parts of the present building are the tower and spire, which date to the late 12th and early 13th centuries; the stone broach spire is one of the earliest examples of its kind in England. The Decorated Gothic nave, aisles and north transept were built in the 14th century. The church was altered in the 19th century: the north aisle was rebuilt by the local builders Kirk and Parry in 1853 and the tower and spire were largely rebuilt in 1884 after being struck by lightning. St Denys' remains an active parish church.

St Mary's Church is in the town of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Windermere, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with that of St Martin's Church, Bowness-on-Windermere; St Anne's Church, Ings; St Cuthbert's Church, Kentmere; St James' Church, Staveley and Jesus Church, Troutbeck. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

St Andrew's Church is in the village of Crosby Garrett, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Appleby, the archdeaconry of Carlisle, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of Kirkby Stephen Parish Church and St Mary, Mallerstang. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

St Lawrence's Church is in the village of Crosby Ravensworth, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Appleby, the archdeaconry of Carlisle, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of five local churches to form The Leith-Lyvennet Group of Parishes. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

St Mary's Church is in the town of Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Kendal, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of six local churches to form the Kirkby Lonsdale Team Ministry. The church contains Norman architecture and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

St Margaret and St James' Church is located about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) to the south of the village of Long Marton, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Appleby, the archdeaconry of Carlisle, and the diocese of Carlisle. The parish is one of ten local parishes which form the benefice of the Heart of Eden. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

St Lawrence's Church is in the village of Morland, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Appleby, the archdeaconry of Carlisle, and the diocese of Carlisle. The parish of Morland includes the historic parish of Thrimby, with its church of St Mary, Little Strickland. The benefice of Morland is united, under the name North Westmorland, with the parishes of Askham and Lowther, Bampton, Bolton, Cliburn, Clifton and Brougham, Crosby Ravensworth, Shap and Great Strickland. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It has the only Anglo-Saxon tower in Cumbria.

St Andrew's Church is in the centre of the town of Penrith, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Penrith, the archdeaconry of Carlisle, and the diocese of Carlisle. The parishes of Penrith ; St John, Newton Reigny and St John the Evangelist, Plumpton Wall are united in a single benefice. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. At one time St Andrew's had a chapel of ease or mission church in Brougham Street in the Penrith suburb of Castletown called St Saviours and another, All Hallows at the hamlet of Bowscar just to the north of the town.

St Columba's Church is in the village of Warcop, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Appleby, the archdeaconry of Carlisle, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with St Theobald, Musgrave. and nine other parishes to form the Heart of Eden benefice. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. On Saint Peter's Day, 29 June, each year the church hosts a rushbearing ceremony.

St Mary the Virgin's Church, Cavendish is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Cavendish, Suffolk.

St Mary's Church is a Grade I listed building, a parish church in the Church of England in Ottery St Mary, Devon.

The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church of Bampton, West Oxfordshire. It is in the Archdeaconry of Dorchester in the Diocese of Oxford.

References

↑ The Buildings of England. Cumbria. Nikolaus Pevsner
1 2 3 Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST STEPHEN, Kirkby Stephen (1136925)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 April 2024.
↑ "A Virtual Walk through Mallerstang". Retrieved 8 May 2014.
↑ "Old Cumbria Gazetteer, St John or St Stephen, Kirkby Stephen". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
↑ "NPOR [D00908]". National Pipe Organ Register . British Institute of Organ Studies . Retrieved 8 May 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] The Buildings of England. Cumbria. Nikolaus Pevsner

[:0-2] 1 2 3 Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST STEPHEN, Kirkby Stephen (1136925)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 April 2024.

[3] "A Virtual Walk through Mallerstang". Retrieved 8 May 2014.

[4] "Old Cumbria Gazetteer, St John or St Stephen, Kirkby Stephen". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.

[5] "NPOR [D00908]". National Pipe Organ Register . British Institute of Organ Studies . Retrieved 8 May 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]