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            St Martin’s, Bowness-on-Windermere, Lake District, Cumbria

Some background information:

The parish church of St Martin’s, which is situated in the town centre of Bowness-on-Windermere, has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It’s constructed in slate rubble with sandstone dressings and roofed in lead. Its plan consists of a nave and chancel with a clerestory, north and south aisles running the whole length of the building, a south porch, a northeast chapel, and a west tower.

St Martin’s, which stands on the site since at least 1203, was originally founded as a chapel of ease to the mother church at Kendal. In 1480 it burnt down – only the font, the base of the tower and one door surviving. But promptly a new church was built and consecrated in 1483, at which time it became a parish church in its own right. Back then the church had a simple plan, consisting of a nave with aisles, and a west tower. It contained box pews, a rood loft and a three-decker pulpit. On the walls and roof beams were murals and painted biblical texts. 

In 1812 the west gallery was added and in 1870 the whole church was restored by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin. They extended the chancel, raised the tower, to which they added a saddleback roof, and replaced the seating. During the restoration, painted inscriptions that had been covered in whitewash were rediscovered. Around this time murals were painted on the walls by Henry Hughes of London, who also restored the east window. In 1911 a vestry was added at the northeast, which was made into a chapel in 1922.

In their "Buildings of England" series Hyde and Pevsner describe the interior of the church as being "a strange sight", because it is constructed entirely in thickly plastered, white-painted rubble. The piers, which have a square cross section, are chamfered. The font, a survivor from the original church, is made of sandstone and consists of a small octagonal bowl, whose corners are carved with heads. The bowl may date from the 12th century, but its stem and base are definitely later. At the base of the tower stands a wooden statue of Saint Martin and a beggar, dating from the 17th century. The reredos dates from 1870, is made from marble, and contains mosaics that depict the symbols of the Four Evangelists and the Passion.

The church’s oldest window is the east window, which contains stained glass from 1260. The central three windows depict the crucifixion. They’re flanked by windows containing saints. On the walls of the nave and on the beams are inscriptions. In the spandrels of the arches are quotations from a book by Robert Openshawe published in 1590. And on an arch facing the lectern is a prayer for deliverance dated 1605, following the Gunpowder Plot. Elsewhere there are different biblical texts.

Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in South Lakeland, Cumbria with more than 3,800 residents. Due to its position on the banks of Windermere the town has become a tourist honeypot. Although their mutual growth has caused them to become one large settlement, the town is distinct from the town of Windermere as the two still have distinguishable town centres. By the way, Bowness will be one of the official stop off points for the Olympic torch before it makes its way to the Olympic Games 2012 opening ceremony in London.

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Bowness-on-Windermere (show map)

Taken on: August 31, 2011

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Europe

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Großbritannien

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Lake District

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Bowness-on-Windermere

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parish church

English parish church

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church interior

English

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Holzbalkendecke « less

Sets appears in: • England 2011 • British parish churches more » • Buildings - Great Britain « less

Groups appears in: • England • The Lake District UK more » • Cumbria, England • Churches - Please read the rules before posting • Churches of Europe (Max. 3 pictures per day) • Churches, Chapels, Domes, Mosques, Temples, Shrines and Monaster • CHURCHES & HOUSES OF WORSHIP • Pictures Of England « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, f/2.8, 1/30 sec, 5mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	5mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Fired, Red-eye reduction
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 7.0
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