Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church located on a medieval site in Wigton. It was built in 1788, as noted in the porch, by joiners Pattinson and Holmes and masons Nixons and Parkin. The design is similar to that of St Michael's in Workington, built in 1770, and St Cuthbert's in Carlisle, built in 1778. The church underwent restoration in 1881, also noted in the porch, by C.J. Ferguson, and features a vestry added in 1912. Constructed from red sandstone sourced from Shawk Quarry, the church has V-jointed quoins on a chamfered plinth, along with a string course, eaves cornice, and parapet. The roof is made of graduated greenslate.

The church has a two-storey, eight-bay nave, a three-storey west tower with a porch, a north vestry, and a lower single-bay chancel. The tower features a panelled west door beneath an intersecting-glazing bar fanlight within a quoined surround, with a similar style applied to the casement window above. There is a round window above that has patterned glazing bars, and a large painted clock face with a modillioned surround. The tower also includes round-headed bell openings with louvred vents and a modillioned battlemented parapet adorned with pinnacles.

In the nave, south panelled doors in round-headed quoined surrounds are positioned beside round-headed leaded-paned windows, some of which contain stained glass. Above these are similar gallery windows. The chancel features a Venetian east window. Inside, the church has a Tuscan and Doric columned gallery, with upper columns that have individual entablatures. The ceiling is decorated with oval and circular-moulded plaster panels. There is an early 20th-century baptistery with a carved oak screen, numerous white marble wall plaques, and late 19th and early 20th-century stained glass. The side chapel includes a reredos made from re-used Flemish carved oak panels, and there is a three-decker pulpit. An OS bench mark is located on the quoin stone to the left of the entrance.