Church Of St Kentigern

The Church of St Kentigern is a parish church located in Caldbeck, with origins dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. It has undergone alterations in 1512 and 1727, as well as restorations in 1880 by C.J. Ferguson and in 1932 by J.F. Martindale. The church is constructed from large blocks of mixed sandstone, while the tower is made of limestone with flush sandstone quoins. It features a graduated greenslate roof with coped gables and a cross finial.

The building includes a three-storey square west tower, a six-bay nave with north and south aisles, a south porch, and a two-bay chancel with a south vestry. The medieval tower has a small round-arched window up to the string course, and the upper storey, marked by an internal inscription stating "THIS STEEPLE WAS BUILDED IN THE YEAR 1727," has louvred round-arched openings beneath a battlemented parapet. The aisles contain 1932 windows with trefoil heads under hoodmoulds, inspired by an original window in the east wall of the south aisle. The clerestory windows are also from 1932.

The porch features a reused Norman arch with beakhead carving at the front and zigzag patterns behind. The chancel has two original lancet windows and a lower squint, while the five-light east window bears a weathered inscription commemorating John Whelpdale, who rebuilt the chancel in 1512. The south wall includes a four-light window above an early 16th-century chantry chapel, now serving as a vestry.

Inside, the tower contains a broad newel staircase, and the first-floor opening into the nave features Norman zigzag arch stones that were relocated there in 1932. The porch has a medieval graveslab attached to the wall and a recess for a holy-water stoup. The nave showcases six-bay arcades with round and hexagonal columns, which do not perfectly align with the pointed arches. A 14th-century hexagonal font is located in the baptistry, and a 13th-century piscina is found in the south wall of the aisle. The west end displays the Royal Arms of George IV and painted wall text from 1731, while the open timber ceiling is from 1932. The high openings in the east wall of the nave are original, and the chancel features a timber roof from 1880. The east window was created by Wailes in 1867, and there is a 13th-century graveslab of Thomas de Bray. A blocked priest's door is present in the south wall.