St John the Baptist's Church, Blawith

St John the Baptist's Church, Blawith

St John the Baptist's Church, Blawith
St John the Baptist's Church, Blawith
Location in Cumbria
OS grid reference SD 288 883
Location Blawith, Cumbria
Country England
Denomination Anglican
Website Churches Conservation Trust
History
Dedication Saint John the Baptist
Architecture
Functional status Redundant
Architect(s) E. G. Paley
Architectural type Church
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 1862
Completed 1863
Construction cost £1,600 (£120,000 as of 2012)
Closed 1998
Specifications
Capacity 171
Materials Whinstone, slate roof

St John the Baptist's Church, Blawith, is a redundant Anglican church in the settlement of Blawith, Cumbria, England. It stands to the east of the A5084 road, south of Coniston Water in the Lake District. The church is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[1]

Contents

New church

St John's was designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley and was built in 1862–63. It is constructed in whinstone with a slate roof, and was built to replace an older church, also dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.[1] Its plan consists of a nave, with a short chancel and a bellcote. The windows are lancets containing plate tracery.[2] The church cost £1,600 (£120,000 as of 2012),[3] and had seating for a congregation of 171. Its architectural style is Gothic Revival, and it contains stained glass windows in the chancel depicting the Ascension, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Adoration of the Magi.[4] In 1914, Paley's successors Austin, Paley and Austin carried out a restoration, and in 1926 Austin and Paley renovated the northwest wall and buttresses.[5] The church was declared redundant on 1 March 1988, and was vested in the Trust on 23 June 1993.[6]

Old church

The ruins of the older church remain nearby, on the other side of the road (). This church was built in the 16th century and it was rebuilt in 1749.[7] It was "little better than a barn, of small dimensions, without a tower or steeple" and by 1861 was in "so ruinous a condition" that it had to be replaced.[8] The remains consist of stone walls rising to a height of between 3 metres (10 ft) and 6 metres (20 ft), with a taller structure at the west end. The ruins have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Church of St John the Baptist, Blawith, Cumbria, Churches Conservation Trust, http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Ourchurches/Completelistofchurches/Church-of-St-John-the-Baptist-Blawith-Cumbria/, retrieved 28 March 2011 
  2. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002) [1969], North Lancashire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 73, ISBN 0-300-09617-8 
  3. ^ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Lawrence H. Officer (2010) "What Were the UK Earnings and Prices Then?" MeasuringWorth.
  4. ^ St John the Baptist, Blawith, GENUKI, http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Blawith/StJohntheBaptist.shtml, retrieved 21 September 2010 
  5. ^ Price, James (1998), Sharpe, Paley and Austin: A Lancaster Architectural Practice 1836–1942, Lancaster: Centre for North-West Regional Studies, p. 98, ISBN 1-86220-054-8 
  6. ^ (PDF) Diocese of Carlisle: All Schemes, Church Commissioners/Statistics, Church of England, 2010, p. 1, http://www.churchofengland.org/media/810401/carlisle%20-%20all%20schemes.pdf, retrieved 3 April 2011 
  7. ^ a b "Ruins of former Church of St John, Blawith and Subberthwaite", The National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), 2011, http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1326663, retrieved 11 May 2011 
  8. ^ Pastscape: St John's Church, English Heritage, http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=38512, retrieved 21 September 2010 

External links