Basic Site Details Name: | St John the Evangelist Church | Town, district or village: | Plumpton | City or county: | Cumberland | Country: | England | Parish: | | Status: | | Grid ref: | | Notes: | Four years after the completion of Brackenburgh Tower, Sir Robert Lorimer was called back to design a new church in the nearby village of Plumpton, five miles north of Penrith on the A6. It had been anticipated that the new church would cost some £4,000, but in the event only £3,000 was raised, resulting in the scaling down of Lorimer’s original proposals.
Built of the local Lazonby new red sandstone in an Arts and Crafts style, the first sod was cut on 24 July 1907 and the new church consecrated by Bishop Diggle of Carlisle on 17 October 1908. The east gable buttress has a date-stone while a brass inscription plate inside the church records the names of architect and patron. Unusually, Lorimer chose to omit an east window and light the altar and sanctuary entirely from the side, (a device later employed by Basil Spence at Coventry Cathedral). Lorimer also designed the altar and pulpit. Unfortunately, the proposed fixed pews of Austrian oak were replaced with loose chairs as part of the original cost savings.
The triptych now behind the altar at Plumpton was also designed by Lorimer but not installed until 1999, having spent 23 years in storage. Rescued from the redundant St Mary’s Water of Leith Mission Church, Bell's Brae, Edinburgh, the paintings have been attributed to William Hole (1846-1917).
Contractors: masonry, Thomas Lowthrian and Son of Plumpton, £1,571-12-6; joinery, Richardson and Son of Penrith £498
| Building Type ClassificationThe building is classified under the following categories: | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes | | Church | | |
EventsThe following date-based events are associated with this building: | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | 1907 | 1908 | Build/construction | Church and lych gate |
PeopleDesign and ConstructionThe following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column. | | Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | | (Sir) Robert Stodart Lorimer | | | 1907 | 1908 | Church and lych gate |
ClientsThe following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design: | | Name | Notes | | Harris, Joseph | colliery owner. |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this building: | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Armstrong, Barrie and Wendy | 2005 | The Arts and Crafts Movement in the North West of England | | Oblong Creative Limited | p33-34 | | Pevsner, N (ed) | 1967 | Cumberland and Westmorland (The Buildings of England) | | Harmondsworth: Penguin Books | | | Savage, Peter | 1980 | Lorimer and the Edinburgh Craft Designers | | Edinburgh: Paul Harris Publishing, 1980 (also paperback ed, London & Edinburgh: Steve Savage, 2005) | p174 |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this building: | | Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | | National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS | Lorimer and Matthew Collection | | LOR XSD/39 |
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