Saint Catherine's Churchyard
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Saint Catherine's Churchyard

Eskdale, Copeland Borough, Cumbria, England

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    Eskdale, Copeland Borough, Cumbria CA19 1TG England
    Coordinates: 54.39119, -3.27065
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St Catherine's Church is the Parish Church of Eskdale. The Church lies beside the river Esk on which spot there has been a church since the 6th Century AD.

The church guide states that little is known of the history of St Catherine's Church, Eskdale. Who built the chapel, and when, is unknown. There is, however, a strong tradition linking it with the loss of the White Ship in 1120, on St Catherine's Day. Amongst those lost was a nephew of Ranulph le Meschines: he was Richard Earl of Chester, and through him the Meschines family succeeded to the earldom. William Meschines founded the Priory of St Bees in 1125, and there were four dale chapels, belonging to the priory, founded about this time: Ennerdale, Loweswater, Wasdale and Eskdale. William was a devoted crusader: St Catherine is the patron saint of soldiers: dedication to her is very rare in Cumbria.

Factual history only really begins in 1881 when the church was restored.

Until 1901, this was the burial ground for Wasdale as well as Eskdale. Burials under the floor of the church were not uncommon. Among the tombstones of note are those of the legendary Huntsmen of the Eskdale and Ennerdale pack: Tommy Dobson and Willy Porter. The Hird monument commemorates members of the famous Ulverston clock-making family who had roots in the dale in the early 19th century. The poignant memorial to the Benson family near the church porch, records some of the victims of an epidemic of the 1860s. It is said to have been scarlet fever that claimed so many.

The church is near to Boot village, about half a mile from Dalegarth Station at the end of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.

[Details taken from the church guide, available in the church itself]










St Catherine's Church is the Parish Church of Eskdale. The Church lies beside the river Esk on which spot there has been a church since the 6th Century AD.

The church guide states that little is known of the history of St Catherine's Church, Eskdale. Who built the chapel, and when, is unknown. There is, however, a strong tradition linking it with the loss of the White Ship in 1120, on St Catherine's Day. Amongst those lost was a nephew of Ranulph le Meschines: he was Richard Earl of Chester, and through him the Meschines family succeeded to the earldom. William Meschines founded the Priory of St Bees in 1125, and there were four dale chapels, belonging to the priory, founded about this time: Ennerdale, Loweswater, Wasdale and Eskdale. William was a devoted crusader: St Catherine is the patron saint of soldiers: dedication to her is very rare in Cumbria.

Factual history only really begins in 1881 when the church was restored.

Until 1901, this was the burial ground for Wasdale as well as Eskdale. Burials under the floor of the church were not uncommon. Among the tombstones of note are those of the legendary Huntsmen of the Eskdale and Ennerdale pack: Tommy Dobson and Willy Porter. The Hird monument commemorates members of the famous Ulverston clock-making family who had roots in the dale in the early 19th century. The poignant memorial to the Benson family near the church porch, records some of the victims of an epidemic of the 1860s. It is said to have been scarlet fever that claimed so many.

The church is near to Boot village, about half a mile from Dalegarth Station at the end of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.

[Details taken from the church guide, available in the church itself]










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  • Added: 28 Oct 2013
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2517785