St Thomas' Church, Milnthorpe

St Thomas' Church, Milnthorpe
St Thomas' Church, Milnthorpe
	Tower of St Thomas' Church, Milnthorpe
	St Thomas' Church, Milnthorpe Location in Cumbria
	Coordinates: 54°13′36″N2°46′13″W / 54.2268°N 2.7702°W
Location	Milnthorpe, Cumbria
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Thomas, Milnthorpe
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	George Webster ; Joseph Bintley; Austin and Paley
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1835
Specifications
Materials	Limestone,; sandstone dressings
Administration
Parish	Heversham and Milnthorpe
Deanery	Kendal
Archdeaconry	Westmorland and Furness
Diocese	Carlisle
Province	York

Last updated September 04, 2019

St Thomas' Church is in the village of Milnthorpe, 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.^[1]

Milnthorpe is a large village and electoral ward within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland and straddling the A6 road, the town contains several old hostelries and hosts a market in The Square every Friday. The parish and ward of Milnthorpe had a population of 2,106 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 2,199 at the 2011 Census.

Cumbria is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's county town is Carlisle, in the north of the county, and the only other major urban area is Barrow-in-Furness on the southwestern tip of the county.

A parish 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, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events. The church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented.

History

The church was built in 1835–37 to a design by the Kendal architect George Webster, providing accommodation for a congregation of 600. The chancel was added in 1883 by Joseph Bintley.^[2] In 1912 the Lancaster architects Austin and Paley carried out alterations at the west end of the church.^[3] The west gallery was removed in 1982 and the church was sub-divided by a wall.^[2]

Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, it lies some 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Windermere, 19 miles (31 km) north of Lancaster, 23 miles (37 km) north-east of Barrow-in-Furness and 38 miles (61 km) north-west of Skipton, in the valley (dale) of the River Kent, from which comes its name. The 2011 census counted a population of 28,586. making it the third largest settlement in Cumbria after Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. Kendal today is known mainly as a centre for tourism, as the home of Kendal mint cake, and as a producer of pipe tobacco and tobacco snuff. Its buildings, mostly in the local grey limestone, have earned it the nickname "Auld Grey Town".

George Webster was an English architect who practised in Kendal, which was at the time in Westmorland, and later in Cumbria. All of his works were executed near his practice, and were located in Cumbria, in north Lancashire, and in the adjacent parts of Yorkshire. Most of his work was carried out on domestic buildings, but he also designed churches, and public and commercial buildings.

Chancel space around the altar of a traditional Christian church

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary, at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. It is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave. Direct access may be provided by a priest's door, usually on the south side of the church. This is one definition, sometimes called the "strict" one; in practice in churches where the eastern end contains other elements such as an ambulatory and side chapels, these are also often counted as part of the chancel, especially when discussing architecture. In smaller churches, where the altar is backed by the outside east wall and there is no distinct choir, the chancel and sanctuary may be the same area. In churches with a retroquire area behind the altar, this may only be included in the broader definition of chancel.

Architecture

St Thomas' is constructed in limestone with sandstone dressings. The church has a nave, a chancel, and a west tower. The nave contains paired lancet windows and has thin buttresses. The chancel is in Early English style. Many of the windows contain stained glass; these include two by F. Barrow of Milnthorpe dated 1872 and 1885, two by A. Burrow dated 1886 and 1890, and others by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (1879), Shrigley and Hunt (1898), and Abbott and Company (1928).^[2] There is a ring of six bells, cast in 1912 by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough.^[4]

Limestone Sedimentary rocks made of calcium carbonate

Limestone is a carbonate sedimentary rock that is often composed of the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera, and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). A closely related rock is dolomite, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO₃)₂. In old USGS publications, dolomite was referred to as magnesian limestone, a term now reserved for magnesium-deficient dolomites or magnesium-rich limestones.

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized mineral particles or rock fragments.

The nave is the central part of a church, stretching from the 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 building, the strict definition of the term "nave" is restricted to the central aisle. In a broader, more colloquial sense, the nave includes all areas available for the lay worshippers, including the side-aisles and transepts. Either way, the nave is distinct from the area reserved for the choir and clergy.

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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 Michael's Church is in the village of Pennington, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Furness, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of Holy Trinity, Bardsea, and St Peter, Lindal and Marton. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

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References

↑ St Thomas, Milnthorpe, Church of England , retrieved 18 August 2012
1 2 3 Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2010) [1967], Cumbria, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 527–528, ISBN 978-0-300-12663-1
↑ Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 248, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
↑ Milnthorpe, S Thomas, Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers , retrieved 18 August 2012

External links

Visit Cumbria: with photographs of the church

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[1] St Thomas, Milnthorpe, Church of England , retrieved 18 August 2012

[pev-2] 1 2 3 Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2010) [1967], Cumbria, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 527–528, ISBN 978-0-300-12663-1

[3] Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 248, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8

[4] Milnthorpe, S Thomas, Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers , retrieved 18 August 2012