Crosthwaite Parish Church

The first church at Crosthwaite is believed to have been built in 553 AD under the direction of St Kentigern, who preached the Gospel in the area before moving on to Wales. No records survive of this building, or of its Saxon successor. Both were probably wooden structures. In 1181 Jocelyn of Furness wrote of a new church at Crosthwaite recently built for Alice de Romilly, the Lady of Allerdale.{{#tag:ref|Alice, the widow of William fitz Duncan, Earl of Moray, also founded Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire and restored the nave of Carlisle Cathedral. The church was little changed, and was evidently neglected, in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century there was extensive internal work,…

The church has a large organ. The present instrument dates from 1920 when the organ dating from 1837 was rebuilt and enlarged. It is dedicated to the men of Crosthwaite who died in the First World War. Their names are listed on a plaque in the north aisle. The church has a ring of eight bells, with the tenor bell weighing 15½ hundredweight (787 kilos). In 1765 there were four bells, increased to six in 1767, and to the present eight in 1882. Unusually for Cumbria, they are rung from the ground floor, and consequently have an elaborate system of rope guides. Ringing can be easily observed by the public through the glass partition windows. The first full peal on the bells was 5,040 changes of…