Ambleside Church

Ambleside Parish Church of St. Mary The Virgin.
The church was built between 1850 and 1854, and consecrated on 14th June, 1854 by the Bishop of Chester, in whose diocese the church was then located. 14th June is still kept as the church's birthday with celebration services and gifts. At the time of the consecration, Ambleside needed a larger church because the railway, which reached Windermere town in 1847, was bringing increasing numbers of visitors, so the former parish church of St Anne was proving to be inadequate.

Map and Gallery:

 The Architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott, grandfather of Sir Giles who built Liverpool Anglican cathedral, and the style chosen was Early Gothic (the second pointed period of the 13th century). It is not so ornate as many later Victorian churches, and was one of the first in the north to incorporate ideas from the Oxford Movement, the 'Catholic Revival'. Unlike the traditional Lakeland churches it has a spire, and it incorporates sandstone in the building, called 'freestone' because it can be more easily worked (carved) than the local slate which forms the bulk of the church and gives it a mottles appearance. The exterior shows this clearly; random raggstone with very little visible mortar.

 You can gain some idea of the size of St Mary's by walking round the outside. The plan is simple; nave and chancel, no transepts; and so unusual in not being cruciform (cross-shaped). The tower is placed at the south east, another departure from tradition, to take advantage of the rock foundation. But even at the time of building it was realised that a tower with bells, together with a stone spire, built to the height then planned would be too heavy for the site, and the design was modified to give a total height of 180 feet to the top of the weathervane above the spire. Even this proven to be ill-advised, and throughout the church's history the combined weight of stonework and bells has been too much for the foundations and costly for the parishioners!

 Originally there were six bells, but these were replaced in 1901 by a full ring of eight, the heaviest between Glasgow and Liverpool/Manchester. They were cast by Taylor of Loughborough, given by local people, and installed in the tower by hauling them up from the outside. The 13th century design of the church left no provision for the clock face, and when a clock was given by Col. Rhodes in 1901 it was decided to have no clock dials to spoil the symmetry of the spire. Potts of Leeds supplied the clock and the chimes are similar to those in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament.

 The roof has seven gables, surmounted by crosses, all of different design. Above the main windows of the nave there is a clerestory of five trefoil windows on each side. The other windows are grouped lancets, in twos, threes, four, and in the east window five lights. You will notice that the 'new' vestry of 1968, beneath the Wordsworth chapel has Norman windows, (cheaper solution in this century!) The main choir vestry, octagonal in plain and projecting from the north east corner of the building, was added in 1889, being designed and built by Austin and Paley of Lancaster, and Newtons of Ambleside, respectively. It was the gift of sacristan, Miss Mary Ann Brown, in memory of her parents 'on condition that the choir were surpliced'. (From that time they have been).

 The church porches, to the north and south, have open raftered roofs and wrought iron gates. Our main entrance is on the north side where the ground makes a spacious concourse possible. The stone corbels at each side of the entrance arches are carved with Noah's Ark and grapes/wheat. These may represent Baptism and Communion, or God's old promise to Earth's people and his gift to the world of his own son. As in a 13th century church, the doors are not carved but have wrought iron decoration of straps and hinges, the work of the blacksmith. The closing rings of the doors are of the simple 'sanctuary knocker' type.

 As we go into the church we can see its simple plan: the nave with aisles and the chancel. We begin near the font our 'entry' to the church through Baptism, our 'growing up' in the pews, and coming to spiritual maturity with Communion at the rail in front of the High Alter, the focal point of the church. The roof is of timber, and the main beams and principle rafters are arranged as a very basic 'hammer beam' construction. The areas between the rafters were whitewashed in the early days but have since been boarded to provide extra warmth in a high and somewhat chilly building. The clerestory windows are in plain glass giving as much light as possible (and because the narrowness of the nave compared with its height would make stained glass designs invisible).

 Early churches would have had no aisles, like our smaller country churches. The need for processions, part of the acts of worship, led to the addition of north and south aisles. The old nave walls would then become arcades of arches and piers (and roofs would be raised to give more light through clerestory windows). The church was designed to show this modified pattern of the later 13th century, so we have simple arches resting on massive piers, alternately cylindrical and octagonal. The only decoration is of stiff foliage, whilst the piers themselves have only deep-cut plain moulding, of exactly the right style for the architectural period. To the 'man or woman in the pew' today they give a feeling of great strength, and timeless peace.

 Sitting down in one of the pews you will notice that it is of pitch pine, and some of them were rented in the last century. A sigh of the present day is decorative kneelers which have been worked and given by many local people,

Before the re-ordering of the west end of the nave, the tiled areas in the NW and SW corners were raised platforms where in Victorian times children's benches enabled them to see that was going on in the services. Our carpeted area gives space for today's toddlers.

The font is of sandstone, square with a cross on each side. The base is of clustered pillars and the basin is supported on their capitals which take the form of arum and water lilies. It was given by Revd. Mr Jeffries, a retired Rector of Grasmere. The covers of carved oak, Christ and angels, was given in 1950 in memory of Jane Ann Routledge, schoolmistress.

 The pulpit is also of sandstone, an octagon of recesses panels, and nearby is an oak litany desk in memory of Revd. Francis Lewis, former headmaster of Kelsick Grammar School, Ambleside. The school has been replaced by Lakes School, Windermere.

The brass lectern in the form of an eagle, was given by Mrs Hopkinson of the Oaks. Its symbolism is that the eagle, representing evangelism (and St John) carries the Gospel message (the Word) around the world (the orb on which the eagle stands) making it God's Kingdom (the orb is 'crowned') Small children love to stroke the eagle's brass feathers and to see themselves reflected in the shiny surface.

 The chancel screen is a low sandstone wall, pierced with quatrefoils. Above it the chancel arch has, on the nave side the dove descending (ministry of the word) and on the chancel side the vine/wheat of the Sacrement. From here it is possible to get an impression of the size of St Mary's and to view the roof of the nave, looking like an upturned boat.

 When the church was first built, it was estimated that it could hold 900 to 1000 people. Today it is more than full at our Chritingle and midnight mass services and for our traditional rush-bearing service in July. On may other occasions it is comfortably full, and always well populated each Sunday. Visitors are always welcome.

 The Wordsworth Chapel:
The idea of a memorial chapel was raised shortly after the poet's death and the windows were installed, but the chapel was not furnished as such until the centenary in 1952-4. It is now set aside for private prayer and mid week services. The seating was completed in the 1970's with the memorial bench in memory of Ruth Fyson, head of music at Charlotte Mason collage. In the chapel the Mother's Union banner is kept, and nearby are those of children's church and Quest group.

 The Organ:
The first organ was bought from St Mary's, Windermere for £200 and sold for £80 to a church in Wales, when the present Hope Johns organ was installed in 1898. The cost £1130 and was one of the first with electric action, the invention of its builder. New stops have been added since, and it was rebuilt in 1935 as a memorial to William Stalker, a former organist. It is a three manual instrument; the console being in the Wordsworth Chapel with organ case and chamber being on the south side of the chancel.

 The Organ:
The first organ was bought from St Mary's, Windermere for £200 and sold for £80 to a church in Wales, when the present Hope Johns organ was installed in 1898. The cost £1130 and was one of the first with electric action, the invention of its builder. New stops have been added since, and it was rebuilt in 1935 as a memorial to William Stalker, a former organist. It is a three manual instrument; the console being in the Wordsworth Chapel with organ case and chamber being on the south side of the chancel.

 The Sanctuary:
Oak rails with wrought ironwork and 'Maria Regina' and 'IHS' monograms were given by Jonas Balme in 1897. The episcopal chair was given by the Revd C.H. Bayley, and the oak panelling around the sanctuary is the gift of the people of the parish in memory of the men of Ambleside who died in the Second World War.

The credence table and the alter are of oak, and in 1899 the alter site was raised by six inches ( as was the reredos to accommodate the marble floor given by Major Benson Harrison).

 The Reredos:
The gift of Margaret Freeman in memory of her family, was made by Bridgeman of Lichfield for the architects Austin and Paley. It was dedicated in 1895 and is of alabaster, with figures of four saints (Oswald with cross, Aidan with gazelle, Columba with a book and model of Iona abbey, and Kentigern with fish and ring). The panel to the left has the Agnus Dei, whilst that to the right has a pelican and young (both of these being symbols of the sacrifice of Christ) and centrally placed is a white marble cross.

 Most churches show a majority of Victorian features today, with a love of shiny things. You will notice here much polished wood, brass, marble, mosaic, and plenty of colour in our glowing windows. Recent features tend to be discreet, and must be approved by Diocesan Advisory Committees and granted a Faculty (legal permission) before being placed in the church. Memorials too show a trend from marble (18th century) through brass in the 19th century to slate and oak in the 20th, and inscriptions have become less 'flowery' too.