The Kentmere village church is St Cuthbert’s. St Cuthbert is a saint of the north of England, who lived on Holy Island, or Lindisfarne. His body now rests in Durham Cathedral. He was originally buried on Lindisfarne but when the Danes attacked in 875 A.D. the body was taken to various places in the north of England and even as far as southern Scotland. It is possible that his body rested at Kentmere during these movements, but there seems to be no evidence for this. Or it may be that the St. Cuthbert’s church in Kentmere was dedicated to him because he was and is a popular saint in the north of England.
If any resident wishes to have access to the church, please ring Iain Johnston on 01539 822571 or Christine Hevey on 01539 821689.
Services
Information on services is available here>>
Guide Book
There is an excellent guide book>> to the church written by Iain Johnston. Short guides to the church written in French>> and Dutch>> are also available.
Roof Restoration
In 2016 there were extensive repairs to the church roof as shown in the sample photographs at the bottom of this page. More detailed information about the roof restoration work and further photographs are available here>>
History of St Cuthbert’s
Work has started to enhance our knowledge of the history of the church from information gathered during the 2016 roof restoration.
The first findings were reported in the Staveley & District History Society Journal, No 38-1, Winter 2016-17 >>
Taking the lid off (Part one)>> by Robert Courtier and Iain Johnston explores some of the findings concerning the history of the church which were revealed during the restoration work on the roof structure during 2016.
Photographs
Old postcards and photographs of the church can be seen in our gallery>>
St Cuthbert’s Roof Restoration
Before
During
After