Witherslack: St Paul

Name:
Witherslack: St Paul
Record Type:
Church
Church code:
607239
Diocese:
Carlisle
Archdeaconry:
Westmorland & Furness
Parish:
St. Paul Witherslack

Statutory Designation Information

Listed Building?
This is a Grade II* Listed Building
View more information about this Listed Building on the National Heritage List for England web site
Scheduled Monument?
There is no Scheduled Monument within the curtilage or precinct

National Park

The church is in the following National Park: Lake District

Conservation Area

The church is not in a Conservation Area

Heritage At Risk Status

On Heritage At Risk Register?
This church is not on the Heritage at Risk Register
 

Approximate Date

Approximate Date:
Post Medieval

Exterior Image

Exterior image of 607239 St Paul, Witherslack
Caption:
Exterior image of 607239 St Paul, Witherslack
Description:
Exterior image of St Paul, Witherslack.
Year / Date:
2017, December, 03
Copyright:
Ian Taylor
Originator:
Ian Taylor

Summary Description

By ancient woodland, ‘twelve apostle’ mature yews stand sentinel along the churchyard boundaries, symbolically sanctifying what lies within. Handsome gates and piers frame admittance past a sundial, once the place for parish announcements, now overlooked by a single hand clock of 1731, set within an imposing tower with stepped plinth, embattled parapet and most effective but subtle tapering profile. Set above a slate slab plinth to the south and east, high roughcast walls are redolent of the surrounding quarries and crags, but disfigured by repairs. The transomed windows belie this is a church heightened in 1768, leaving clues to its original, yet subsequently enhanced, essential character. After the simple exterior, the interior is a refined revelation: though re-orientated e-w from its original n-s, the juxtaposition of Jacobean and Neo-classical developments, the hatchments and heraldic glass, all enrich rather than conflict; even the Victorian pews lend dignity. Only the organ feels a little uneasy, squeezed in against and obscuring a north window. A fitting tribute to a former Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral (hence the dedication) with royalist connections.

Visiting and Facilities

The church is open for worship.
Work in progress - can you help?
 

Church Website

Church Website:
https://www.crosthwaiteandlyth.co.uk/stpauls.php

Sources and Further Information

Ian Taylor (2017, December, 03) Exterior image of 607239 St Paul, Witherslack [Digital Archive/Graphic material]
Exterior image of 607239 St Paul, Witherslack
John Salmon (2008, August 14) Interior image of 607239 St Paul, Witherslack [Digital Archive/Graphic material]
Interior image of 607239 St Paul, Witherslack
CWGC (2016) Commonwealth War Graves Commission CWGC Unique File Reference Number: 2001 [Bibliography/Data]
Number of War Graves: 2
Church of England (2021) A Church Near You https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/12395/ [Digital Archive/Index]
View information on worship and access at this church
Church Buildings Council (2019) Church Bells 3 Bells [Archive/Index]
3 Bells