Church of St Michael is a Grade II* listed building in the Cumberland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 April 1967. A Norman Church.
Church of St Michael
- WRENN ID
- wild-gargoyle-barley
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Cumberland
- Constituency
- Penrith and Solway MP: Markus Campbell-Savours (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 11 April 1967
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Norman
- Address
- Church of St Michael, Bowness
- OS grid reference
- NY 223 626
- Coordinates
- 54.9524, -3.21357
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Michael is a church that dates back to the 12th century, with restorations from the 18th century and extensions added in 1891. It is constructed of coursed red and calciferous sandstone sourced from the nearby Roman Wall, sitting on a chamfered plinth, while the extensions are made of dressed red sandstone also on a chamfered plinth. The roof is made of graduated greenslate and features coped gables.
The church has a four-bay nave, a south gabled porch, and a west open twin bellcote. There is a 19th-century north transept and a single-bay chancel that shares a roof with a 19th-century north vestry. The south door has a chamfered surround, while the north door features a moulded surround with carved stone leaf capitals. There is one blocked original lancet window in the south wall and a similar window in the north wall, with additional 19th-century single and paired lancets.
Inside the chancel, there are three 19th-century lights in the east and south windows, and one original lancet window located between the vestry and the chancel. The church also houses a Norman font, which is octagonal at the base of the bowl and square at the top, decorated with leaf motifs and beaded strips and stems. The bells, now located inside the church, date from 1616 and are medieval. The chancel arch is from the 19th century, and there are early 20th-century furnishings and fittings throughout the church.
Local climate
Church of St Michael sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,100 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 87% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 79% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 50 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 91% of listed buildings. Of these, 24 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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