IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Great Salkeld, PENRITH, CA11 9NA

Interesting church in this quiet village east of Penrith. It has a pele tower, which was built in 1380 and added to the existing 12th century church building. It is a fortified tower, with internal iron gates, which defend the tower and its occupants (mainly the vicar) from Scottish raiders of the time. This was border country in those days and always liable to encroachment either way.

There is no dating information on the pub's web site, but it may be late 17th or early 18th Century with a later addition to left. The pub has been closed in recent years, but seems to be thriving again. Photograph is for record only - I have no connection with this business and cannot advise on its products or services.

Once a stopping place for Scottish cattle drovers bringing their beasts to the English markets. In places the wide verges along B6412 through the Eden Valley still show that this was an ancient droving route.

The nave with its small round-headed Norman windows is mainly 13th-century. The chancel is later; it and its arch ("a fine piece of Norman work" according to Arthur Mee) were restored in 1866. Remnants of a Roman altar can be seen in the church. The modern collage on the left depicts the patron St Cuthbert with his right hand uplifted in blessing. St Cuthbert's is listed Grade II* https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101100260-church-of-st-cuthbert-great-salkeld

The dedication recalls that St Cuthbert's remains were brought to Great Salkeld from Lindisfarne in 880, to safeguard them from Norse raids, and it is likely that a church was built to house them. The present building dates from Norman times, as the small round-headed windows of the nave indicate, the chancel with its rectangular windows being rebuilt later and restored in 1866. A pele tower (one of three such in Cumbria) was added at the west end around 1380 for defence against the Scots. Arthur Mee, who visited in 1937, found it "not unlike a Norman keep ... Immense for the size of the church, [with] an embattled parapet, a square turret all the way up and windows which are little more than slits." St Cuthbert's is listed Grade II* https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101100260-church-of-st-cuthbert-great-salkeld

Running past the west front of the church, the narrow path is flanked by three pairs of yew trees trimmed into eggcup shapes.

There has probably been a church in Great Salkeld since 880 AD, when the body of St Cuthbert was rested here after being brought from Holy Island. Rebuilding took place in 1080. The Pele Tower was added in 1380, with an iron door for defence of the inhabitants against the Scots. The entrance is only 2ft 7in wide, another indication of a fortified church. The pillars and capitals of the entrance appear to date around 1000. They are carved with figures of beasts, birds and serpents. In the tower are various slabs which were probably gravestones from earlier times. One contains symbols of the horseshoe and hammer, indicating it probably covered the grave of a blacksmith. There is a peal of six bells, and a clock manufactured in 1892. This building is regarded, along with Newton Arlosh and Burgh-by-Sands, as a fine example of the fortified churches erected in the border area during the 14th century.