England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Loweswater St Bartholomew

The Parish

The chapelry of Loweswater, its mother parish being the vast parish of St Bees, lies in western Cumberland roughly 7 miles south of the market town of Cockermouth. Loweswater sits about 1 mile west of the B5289 road which links Cockermouth with Buttermere and the Honister Pass to Borrowdale. Loweswater is a rather dispersed settlement sitting on flattish ground between two of the Lake District's famous lakes, Crummock Water and Loweswater, the centre is gathered around church and the Kirkstile Inn but most properties are scattered across the area. Like most upland settlement in the Lake District it is subsistence hill-farming of the hardy Herdwick sheep that formed the backbone of the local economy, in addition there was some extraction of lead. Today it is tourism which keeps the area alive, hikers, mountain bikers and fishermen all frequenting the lakes and mountains which surround Loweswater. The chapelry is drained northwards by the River Cocker as far as Cockermouth where it meets the Derwent and turns westwards to reach the Irish Sea through the port of Workington. Loweswater is sited at 120 metres above the sea at its church but is surrounded by some of the highest Lake District mountains, "Wainwrights" made famous by the irascible guide book producer to hiking routes in the area, to the east rises Grasmoor topping out at 852 metres whilst Mellbreak to the south reaches 512 metres. Almost 5,500 acres of the parish of St Bees were assigned to Loweswater witch would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. This far north in western England is beyond the reach of Domesday Book and thus Loweswater has no mention within it.

The Church

St Bartholomew's church stands opposite to the Kirkstile Inn at the main crossroads in the small village that forms the notional centre.As can be seen this church is not some medieval masterpiece rather it is a Georgian replacement built between 1827 & 1829, early gazetteers state it replaced an "ancient edifice" which stood on the same site and was founded by a prior from St Bees. Pevsner clearly did not like the stark grey stone used for this church calling it "gaunt" and claiming it sat uneasily in the splendour of its location. Originally just a simple 4-bay box of a church in 1884 it was added to by the addition of the polygonal chancel, the transept, a porch and the steep roof. The lanes surrounding the church are narrow and lined with unforgiving stone walling, the car park of the Kirkstile may offer sanctuary and parking to a visitor. The churchyard sits within iron rail fencing with small gates for entry, it has no significant obstacles for the photographer.