Old Cumbria Gazetteer - St Mary, Rydal

St Mary, Rydal

St Mary's Church

Rydal Church

locality:-

Rydal

civil parish:-

Lakes (formerly Westmorland)

county:-

Cumbria

locality type:-

church

coordinates:-

NY36430622

1Km square:-

NY3606

10Km square:-

NY30

references:-

: 2005: Diocese of Carlisle, Directory 2004/5

BLK90.jpg (taken 5.12.2005)
photograph

BRR67.jpg (taken 7.10.2009)

evidence:-

old map:- OS County Series (Wmd 26 2)
placename:- St Mary's Church

source data:-

Maps, County Series maps of Great Britain, scales 6 and 25 inches to 1 mile, published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton, Hampshire, from about 1863 to 1948.
"St Mary's Church / Church Yd."

evidence:-

descriptive text:- Otley 1823 (5th edn 1834)

source data:-

Guide book, A Concise Description of the English Lakes, the mountains in their vicinity, and the roads by which they may be visited, with remarks on the mineralogy and geology of the district, by Jonathan Otley, published by the author, Keswick, Cumberland now Cumbria, by J Richardson, London, and by Arthur Foster, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, 1823; published 1823-49, latterly as the Descriptive Guide to the English Lakes.

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Page 109:- "... among ancient oaks, stands Rydal Hall, the patrimonial residence of Lady le Fleming, who has built and endowed a neat Chapel in the village. ..."

evidence:-

descriptive text:- Ford 1839 (3rd edn 1843)

source data:-

Guide book, A Description of Scenery in the Lake District, by Rev William Ford, published by Charles Thurnam, Carlisle, by W Edwards, 12 Ave Maria Lane, Charles Tilt, Fleet Street, William Smith, 113 Fleet Street, London, by Currie and Bowman, Newcastle, by Bancks and Co, Manchester, by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, and by Sinclair, Dumfries, 1839.

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Page 40:- "..."
"... [Rydal] is now also ornamented by a tasteful little chapel, of the English style of architecture, and its hexagonal tower finished with pinnacles, is a beautiful object from various points."

evidence:-

old map:- Garnett 1850s-60s H

source data:-

Map of the English Lakes, in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire, scale about 3.5 miles to 1 inch, published by John Garnett, Windermere, Westmorland, 1850s-60s.

GAR2NY30.jpg
cross, a church
item:- JandMN : 82.1
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old photograph:- Bell 1880s-1940s

source data:-

Photograph, sepia, St Mary's Church, nave, Rydal, Westmorland, by Herbert Bell, photographer, Ambleside, Westmorland, 1890s.

click to enlarge
HB0682.jpg
item:- Armitt Library : ALPS345
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old print:- Bradley 1901
placename:- Rydal Church

source data:-

Print, uncoloured lithograph, Rydal Church, St Mary's Church, Rydal, Westmorland, by Joseph Pennell, published by Macmillan and Co, London, 1901.

click to enlarge
BRL157.jpg
On page 225 of Highways and Byways in the Lake District, by A G Bradley.
printed at bottom:- "Rydal Church."
item:- JandMN : 464.57
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old map:- Nurse 1918

source data:-

Map, The Diocese of Carlisle, Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire North of the Sands, scale about 4 miles to 1 inch, by Rev Euston J Nurse, published by Charles Thurnam and Sons, 11 English Street, Carlisle, Cumberland, 2nd edn 1939.

NUR1NY30.jpg
"RYDAL"
item:- JandMN : 27
Image © see bottom of page

stained glass

evidence:-

database:- Listed Buildings 2010
placename:- Church of St Mary

source data:-

courtesy of English Heritage
"CHURCH OF ST MARY / / / LAKES / SOUTH LAKELAND / CUMBRIA / II[star] / 452640 / NY3643606214"

source data:-

courtesy of English Heritage
"DATES OF MAIN PHASES, NAME OF ARCHITECT: Parish church of 1824, by George Webster of Keswick; with chancel added 1884."
"MATERIALS: Local slatestone rubble with bigger quoins and freestone dressings, slate roof."
"PLAN: Nave with lower and narrower chancel, west tower with vestry on its south side, north porch, north organ chamber."
"EXTERIOR: The nave is simple Perpendicular in the non-archaeological style of the 1820s. Nave and chancel have moulded cornices and coped gables which return above the eaves as short parapets, and the nave has lead rainwater heads dated 1824. The nave is 4 bays and has 2-light windows with wooden tracery. The 3-stage tower has diagonal buttresses in the lower stage, panelled clasping buttresses in the upper stage rising above the embattled parapet as corner pinnacles. The west doorway is in a deep splay and has a segmental pointed arch, above which is a single pointed window. The second stage has round clock faces in square moulded frames, beneath drip moulds. There are Y-tracery belfry openings with louvres. On the north side of the tower is the embattled porch, now roofless, which has arched east and west entrances with continuous deep splays, and opens directly to the gallery stair. The chancel has diagonal buttresses, 3-light Perpendicular east window, 2-light Decorated and 1-light south windows, and a single-light north window. The organ chamber has a plain parapet and 2-light Decorated east window. The embattled gabled vestry added to the south side of the tower has a south lancet window."
"INTERIOR: The interior is plain, with a simple 2-centred chancel arch with roll moulding, flat C20 nave ceiling, and polygonal boarded chancel ceiling with moulded ribs, on a moulded cornice. The nave and gallery retain original doors with vertical panels. Walls are plastered. There is a parquet floor in the nave and decorative tiles in the chancel. Access to the gallery is by a stone stair leading directly from the north porch, which has iron balusters and wooden rail, and leads to a panelled gallery and tower doors."
"PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: The west gallery is on 3 Tudor arches with posts, the central bay narrower and with quatrefoils in the spandrels. The gallery front has Gothic panelling, above which is a glazed screen that was added in 1995. The polygonal wooden pulpit, with blind cusped panels, is also one of the original fixtures of the church, as is probably the plain octagonal font. The benches are late C19, with moulded ends incorporating arm rests. Stained-glass windows commemorate, among others, Dr Thomas Arnold (d 1842), headmaster of Rugby School (who holidayed nearby), and the step-daughters of Dora, William Wordsworth's daughter, by Henry Holiday (1891), below which is a memorial brass plaque of some interest."
"HISTORY: Built as a chapel-of-ease in 1824. The patron was Lady le Fleming of Rydal Hall. The architect, George Webster of Keswick (1797-1864), was a prominent local architect responsible for over a dozen churches. His original specification for the church is in the Cumbria Record Office, Kendal. William Wordsworth, who lived at nearby Rydal Mount from 1813 until his death in 1850, helped to choose the site and composed 2 poems inspired by the foundation of the church. Wordsworth was chapel warden in 1833, but was not enamoured with the building, expressing his `regret that the architect did not furnish an elevation better suited to the site in a narrow mountain pass, and...better constructed in the interior for the purpose of worship'. An early visitor was the 11-year-old John Ruskin in 1830, who noted the `chasteness &elegance' of the windows and the neatly carved pulpit. The chapel has numerous associations with other literary and cultural figures of the C19 and is the venue for an annual Wordsworth Memorial Lecture. Wordsworth complained that the original church had no chancel or vestry, which was rectified in 1884 when chancel, organ chamber and vestry were added."
"SOURCES:"
"N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland, 1967, p 286."
"Parish church of St Mary Rydal, n.d."
"M. Wheeler, Wordsworth, Rydal and Victorian Literature, 1995."
"REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The church of St Mary, Rydal, is designated at Grade II[star] for the following principal reasons: [bullet] It is a well-preserved early C19 church in a simple Perpendicular style, retaining its original character and detail, including the gallery and pulpit, with later extensions that harmonise with the earlier work through use of similar materials. [bullet] The church is of special historical interest for its association with William Wordsworth, who lived nearby, was a regular worshipper and helped choose the site of the church, and other C19 literary and cultural figures. [bullet] The stained glass is of high order."

evidence:-

outline view:- Black 1856 (23rd edn 1900)

source data:-

Print, lithograph, Outline Views, Grasmere and Coniston - Mountains as seen from Redbank, Grasmere, and Mountains as seen a little beyond Tent Lodge on the Road from Coniston to Ulverstone, by J Flintoft, Keswick, Cumberland, engraved by R Mason, Edinburgh, Lothian, about 1900.

click to enlarge
BC08E3.jpg
"... Church ..."
item:- JandMN : 37.12
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

old print:- Sylvan 1847
placename:- Rudal Church

source data:-

Print, engraving, Rydal Church, St Mary's Church, Rydal, Westmorland, published by John Johnstone, Paternoster Row, London, et al, 1847.

click to enlarge
SYL115.jpg
On p.50 of Sylvan's Pictorial Guide to the English Lakes.
printed at bottom:- "RYDAL CHURCH."
item:- Armitt Library : A1201.15
Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-

outline view:- Black 1841 (3rd edn 1846)

source data:-

Print, engraving, outline view, Mountains as seen from Red Bank, Grasmere, and Mountains as seen a little beyond Tent-Lodge on the Road from Coniston to Ulverston, by J Flintoft, Keswick, Cumberland, engraved by R Mason, Edinburgh, Lothian, about 1846.

evidence:-

old drawing:-

source data:-

Drawing, ink, Rydal, Westmorland, by Jane Arnold, no date.

incumbents:-

Fleming, Fletcher	1825 - 1856
Tatham, John	1857 - 1870
Atkinson, John	1872 - 1879
Riddle, A E	1881 - 1886
Stock, E Ernest	1887 - 1897

sundial

BRR69.jpg Organ, by Muir Wood, Edinburgh, 1807, rebuilt by W Wilkinson and Son, Kendal, 1870.
(taken 7.10.2009)
photograph

BRR70.jpg Makers plate:-
"Built / by / Muir Wood & Co. / Edinburgh / .1807. / Rebuilt & Enlarged / by / W. Wilkinson &Son / Kendal / 1870" (taken 7.10.2009)
photograph

BRR68.jpg Plaque:-
"REMEMBER BEFORE GOD / WILLIAM WORDSWORTH / POET LAUREATE / BORN 7 APRIL 1770 / DIED AT RYDAL 23 APRIL 1850 / RESIDED AT RYDAL MOUNT 1813-1850 / CHAPEL WARDEN 1833-1834" (taken 7.10.2009)
photograph

BYX25.jpg (taken 30.7.2013)

notes:-

The chapel was built in 1823-25. A local resident, William Wordsworth, helped choose the site and wrote two poems commemorating the rebuiling. Lady Fleming, who paid for it, was not entirely satisfied with its arrangements; some of the defects were corrected in 1884. There were major repairs in 1957-58 and 1992-93.

: : church leaflet

hearsay:-

Built by Lady Le Fleming of Rydal Hall, 1823-25. William Wordsworth, living nearby at Rydal Mount,.

dedication

person:-

: St Mary

place:-

Rydal / Carlisle Diocese

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