Mortuary Chapel is a Grade II listed building in the Cumberland local planning authority area, England. Chapel.

Mortuary Chapel

WRENN ID
scattered-slate-sepia
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Cumberland
Constituency
Penrith and Solway MP: Markus Campbell-Savours (Lab)
Country
England
Type
Chapel
Address
Mortuary Chapel, St. Cuthbert Without
OS grid reference
NY 434 492
Coordinates
54.83457, -2.88232
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Mortuary Chapel, built around 1835 by Sarah Losh, serves the adjoining cemetery. It is constructed from dressed calciferous sandstone and features a stone-slate roof. The chapel is a single storey and one bay, designed as a reconstructed copy of St Perran's Oratory from Perranzabuloe, Cornwall, which was believed to be the earliest Christian church in the country at the time of its discovery in 1835. The chapel measures approximately 10 metres long, 6 metres wide, and 4 metres high.

It has entrances in the east and south walls, both featuring round-headed arches with roll-mouldings and spingers adorned with carved heads, including a lion's head in a key position—these details were added by Miss Losh and are not found on the original St Perran's Oratory. There is a single window in the south wall with a roll-moulding surround, a round head, and a diamond leaded casement, while the east wall has a round-headed splayed lancet window. The doors are made of iron-studded oak planks with slit vents. The gables have projecting purlins, with slates extending over them. Inside, there are stone wall seats. Currently, the chapel is used as a storage shed for the nearby Sexton's Cottage.

Local climate

Mortuary Chapel sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,160 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 90% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 83% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 55 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 95% of listed buildings. Of these, 32 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.

More on this building

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