England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Lowther St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Lowther lies in northern Westmorland quite close to its border with neighbouring Cumberland. Lowther is situated about 5 miles south of the Cumberland market town of Penrith and sits just west of the A6 road which connects Penrith with Kendal. Much of the village of Lowther was created after the original village was demolished to make-way for the estate of Lowther Castle, the new settlement being on the fringes of the park and called Newtown. Today Newtown sits alongside developments alongside the the A6 in what is a relatively dispersed settlement. Given the presence of the Lowther estate it is not surprising that much of the economy was dependent upon the estate, the Lowther family attempted to provide jobs in Newtown through carpet & linen manufacture but these enterprises were ultimately unsuccessful. Today the economy is largely based on pastoral farming albeit augmented by the tourist trade enabled by the proximity of both the English Lake District & the Pennines. Lowther is drained by the River Lowther which heads northwards and by the Eamont & Eden makes its way to the Irish Sea through the Solway Firth. Newtown is sited at around 220 metres above the sea, some 40 metres above the church site, in upland countryside that border the nearby Lake District, whilst being within the National Park it is outside the fell country but local heights still rise to over 300 metres within a few miles. Lowther parish was extensive as are many in upland Britain, it covered just over 3,500 acres and would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. There is no mention of Lowther in Domesday Book which has scant coverage of this northern area.

The Church

St Michael's church sits within the estate of Lowther castle a few hundred metres north of the lane which crosses the estate from the A6 to Askham. The church has its origins in the late 12th century, Pevsner dates the northern arcade to this Romanesque period. Much else is later and 13th century Early English Gothic. The church, however, received a major rebuild by the Lowther family in 1856 which totally replaced the facade with the exterior we see today in a Victorian style masking the internal architectural detail. The church sits amongst a parkland setting, the gates being just as the slope starts to descend towards the River Lowther where a small area permits parking, a short walk across the park takes you to the church which has no obvious obstructions to photography around it.