Wythburn Church

This church is the oldest surviving church in the united benefice, dates from 1650, although there was a chapel here in 1554. It is typical of the older Lakeland churches in its simplicity, with the thick stone walls whitewashed, and the stone flags on the floor.

Map and Gallery:

 It was rebuilt in 1740 and in 1872 a more modern Chancel and Vestry were added to what had been a straight forward rectangular building, and probably at the same time, the west wall was rebuilt, with a modern window (which portrays St. Cuthbert with the head of St. Oswald), and a bell cot, which houses a single bell. The interior furnishings, including the Alter, Font and Pulpit all date from the late 19th century.

 The Chancel Rail commemorates the Revd. W. Des V. Hill, vicar from 1892 - 1923, and the windows in the sanctuary and over the font, commemorates the Rev. B. R. Lawson, who was the curate and vicar from 1849 - 1892, and whose grave is in the Churchyard.

 This parish was formerly the first parish in Cumberland (Dunmail Raise being the boundary between Cumberland and Westmorland), but with the formation of Cumbria in 1974, this is no longer true. It was also in 1856, the first parish in the Diocese of Carlisle on the road over Dunmail raise. At one time it was a flourishing parish with the usual craftsmen of the Dales, and farms and other dwellings scattered around the Lake shore. The creation of Thirlmere as a reservoir towards the end of the 19th century finally necessitated the closure of the churchyard in 1937, and the demolition of most of the houses and depopulation of the area.

 The church is now rather like a stranded boat without an ocean to sail on, or a crew. There are only four inhabited houses in the parish, all at Steel End, Services are held monthly in the summer, and a special anniversary service and tea takes place each June to which many people come. A former vicar of the parish, the Revd, Authur Haworth, wrote the following notes in 1949.

 "The remains of Pinfold Howe, Wythburn Post Office, Low Nag's Head and others, including the "Steading Stone", are under the waters of the Lake. At Deergarth Launchy Gill was the Steading Stone where manorial courts were held, and a local parliament which had "by laws" called the "Pains and Penalties of Wythburn." This included fines for turning out too many sheep on the fell, allowing horses and cattle to stray, or polluting the beck from which Wythburn receives its name. Opposite the church once stood the Nag's Head, and north of this was another inn, the Cherry Tree, the scene of the "merry night" in Wordsworth's Waggoner. Further along the road on the eastern side of the was the "Rock of Names" containing Wordsworth's and Coleridge's Initials. The remains of the stone on which these were carved were rescued from oblivion by Canon Rawnsley, after having been blown up by the workers creating the new reservoir, and stood by the side of the lake until recently, when they were transferred to Dove Cottage, Grasmere, and reassembled. At the North West end of the Lake stood Armboth House, a palatial mansion belonging to Countess Ossalinsky. It is part of the setting of Sir Hall Cain's novel "The Shadow of Crime"