Scaleby Church of All Saints (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Scaleby.
In the historic county of Cumberland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Cumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY44706314
Latitude 54.95979° Longitude -2.86532°

Scaleby Church of All Saints has been described as a probable Fortified Ecclesiastical site, and also as a Pele Tower although is doubtful that it was such.

There are major building remains.

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Church. Probably early C13 with tower of early C14 and restorations of 1827-28 and 1860-62. Large blocks of dressed red sandstone, probably from the nearby Roman Wall; graduated green slate roof with coped gables and cross finial. 3 storey square west tower, 5 bay nave/chancel. Fortified tower has walls 1.3 metres thick, with slit windows and chamfered plinth, rebuilt above string course before 1790, with battlemented parapet of 1827 and corner pinnacles of 1828: square bell chamber openings, existed before 1790. Nave/chancel has buttressed walls with pointed lancets. Recessed C19 east window, suggests an infilled arch of the demolished chancel. C19 porch and vestry cover original north and south entrances: porch has stone slate roof with coped gable and cross finials: original entrance has round arch with 2 continuous chamfers and hood mould projecting to either side of porch. Interior: C19 vaulted pine ceiling. C19 pews have panels of carved Gothic tracery with lectern and pulpit of similar details. White marble wall plaques to members of the Fawcett and Farrer families of Scaleby Castle and Scaleby Hall, all early C19. 3 early C20 stained glass windows. Bowl and stem font is dated 1707 with inscription MH, NB, WB, CG, CHURCH WARDENS. Free standing inscribed Roman Altar, probably from Birdoswald, has been reused in C14 with carvings on back and side of clerics (heads missing). Interior of round arch east entrance to tower has draw-bar hole. There is a bench mark on the south-west corner of the tower. (Listed Building Report)

The strength of the lower part of the tower suggests that it almost certainly originated as a vicar's pele, but there is now little external evidence of this. (PastScape ref. Field Investigators Comments F1 BHP 13-MAR-72)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1335573
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 11649.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 3820.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Visit Cumbria
  Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Brooke, C.J., 2000, Safe Sanctuaries (Edinburgh; John Donald) p. 268-71
  Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 85 (plan)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 97
  Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1967, Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth) p. 185
Periodical Articles
- Graham, T.H.B., 1921, 'Scaleby' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 21 p. 139-51 online copy
  Whitehead, H., 1884, 'Church Bells of the Border - Scaleby' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 7 p. 230-4 online copy
Guidebooks
- Palmer, Mrs J., 1972, Guide Book to All Saints Church Scaleby
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Carlisle Diocese Church Buildings Audit 2007
  Kelland, C.H., 1982, Ecclesiae Incastellatae: A Documentary and Architectural Study of the Concept of 'Fortified Churches' in England and Wales (M.Phil. Thesis, 2 vols, University College, University of London) p. 207

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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Help is acknowledged.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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