Church

St Kentigern, Crosthwaite

St Kentigern, Crosthwaite

St Kentigern's is a Grade II* Church of England parish church at Great Crosthwaite, on the edge of Keswick, Cumbria, in the Diocese of Carlisle.

Location
Crosthwaite, Cumbria
Country
England
County
Cumbria
City / town
Crosthwaite
Address
Church Lane, Crosthwaite, Cumbria, CA12 5QG
Postcode
CA12 5QG
Built
C14 origin; enlarged 1523; restored 1844
Architect
Sir George Gilbert Scott (restoration, 1844)
Denomination
Church of England
Dedication
Kentigern
Diocese
Carlisle
Parish
Crosthwaite
Grade
II*
Style
Tudor-Gothic
Materials
Roughcast walls, coursed rubble buttresses, freestone quoins and parapets; graded-slate roofs
Grid reference
NY 257 242
Opening hours
Summer opening (April to October): 9am to 5pm. Winter opening (November to March): 10am to 4pm.
Access
Level access to the main areas. Ramp or level access available on request

Overview

Historic England records a parish church of at least fourteenth-century origin, enlarged in 1523 and restored in 1844 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The walls are roughcast, with coursed rubble buttresses, freestone quoins and parapets, coursed rock-faced stone to the porch, and graded-slate roofs. The plan is a long nave and chancel under one roof, aisles, south porch and a three-stage embattled west tower. The seven-bay nave and chancel have an embattled red-sandstone parapet dated 1812. The listing describes the work as mainly Tudor-Gothic; Scott's porch is Early English in character.

Tradition associates the site with St Kentigern in the sixth century. The present building of 1523 stands on earlier stone foundations. The churchyard is the burial place of the poet Robert Southey (d. 1842). Canon H D Rawnsley, a founder of the National Trust, was vicar here.

Further Information