St Charles Borromeo Church Grange-over-sands Cumbria
N 54° 11.507 W 002° 54.722
30U E 505739 N 6004863
St Charles Borromeo Church is on main road through Grange-over-sands. Open to public, with limited parking in grounds. Basic building has been extended over the years, always using yellow sandstone.
Waymark Code: WMMDX
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/17/2006
Views: 32
Town of Grange over Sands used to be in County of Lancashire, and church still falls under Lancashire Diocese.
The Roman Catholic Church of St Charles was an offshoot from St Mary’s, Ulverston, the Mother Church of the Furness district that came into being. Rev W Massey of Ulverston purchased the land with money he and Father John Bilsborrow (afterwards Bishop of Salford) had collected. The latter was appointed to take charge of the parish and arrived in Grange on August 27th. 1882. For eighteen months Mass was said in Kent’s Ford House, the residence of John Sutcliffe Witham, Esq. a great benefactor of this parish. The present altar was a gift of this gentleman and his dear wife, Ellen. The patron saints of this devoted couple and their parents seem to be represented by the marble statues that flank the reredos— St John the Evangelist, St Susanna, and St Helen and it is presumed, St John of Beverly.
The foundation stone of the Church was laid on May 29th, 1883. However in September of the same year Father Bilsborrow left and was succeeded by the Rev R. T. Langtree. The church was officially opened on January 22nd, 1884 and towards the end of that year the presbytery was completed and occupied.
The population of this parish in 1883 consisted of 20 families. More than half of the present day congregation live outside of Grange in remote little hamlets dotted around in the sixty or more square miles that comprise the parish. The River Leven flowing out of Windermere Lake is the western boundary, and then follow the road over Gummer’s How to take in the spacious valley of Winster and Witherslack. It must already be obvious to the reader that this is not the easiest of parishes to administer, and so to a large extent it is dependent on the generosity of the many visitors to Grange during the summer holidays.
Despite the fact that Grange is such a quiet and peaceful little township with no industry of any kind, St Charles’ was the first Church in the Lancaster diocese to suffer damage by enemy action. This was in May 1941, and although the obvious damage has now been made good, the shaking of the building by blast calls for constant vigilance. When the Diocesan Thanksgiving Shrine was opened in Blackpool in 1957, a party from St Charles’ was the first to go there to give thanks to Our Blessed Mother.
When logging your visit, please add a photo of some external detail (or interior if possible).
Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 05/09/1883
Age of Church building determined by?: Cornerstone or plaque
If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Catholic
If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: From: 10:00 AM To: 6:00 PM
If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday
Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 10:30 AM
Street address of Church:
Kents Bank Road
Grange over sands, Cumbria England
LA11 7EY
Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link]
Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link]
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