Church Of St Cuthbert

The Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church largely dating back to the 12th century, with significant alterations and additions made in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. It was repaired in 1662 by Sir Philip Musgrave and renovated in 1834 for the Musgrave family. The church is constructed from red sandstone rubble, with 19th-century angle buttresses, and the tower is built of regularly dressed red sandstone blocks. It has a graduated greenslate roof with coped gables and cross finials. The church comprises a three-bay nave, a 19th-century south porch, a two-storey square west tower, a 19th-century north vestry, and a two-bay chancel. The nave has a 19th-century round-headed doorway within the porch, a large 14th-century three-light south window, and smaller 19th-century windows, all featuring cusped heads. Two fragments of a medieval grave slab are built into the south wall to the left of the porch. The north wall contains a blocked 12th-century round-headed window and a 14th-century two-light window. The vestry displays shields bearing Musgrave coats-of-arms. The tower, dating from around 1450, exhibits two-light cusped-headed west windows featuring the Musgrave and constituent family coats-of-arms. Similar windows are used for the bell openings. The battlemented parapet has unusual rectangular openings, and the tower is topped with a short spire and a weather vane. The chancel includes a blocked priest’s doorway, a lancet window to the left, 14th and 15th-century two-light windows, a 19th-century pointed-arched east window, and a 19th-century north door. Signs of wall raising are evident throughout, particularly in the chancel. The interior of the nave features an 1834 oak trussed roof and a 19th-century rear gallery with panels of Musgrave family arms. A medieval font shaped like a cushion capital is also present. Heraldic stained glass exists, some panels pre-dating the 17th century. The chancel has a 19th-century panelled oak ceiling. Various white marble wall plaques from the 1650s to the early 19th century commemorate members of the Musgrave family. Under the carpet lies a 15th-century brass depicting William Stapleton and his wife, considered the finest brass in the county. Numerous 18th and 19th-century white marble and brass wall plaques honour rectors and Musgrave family staff. 19th-century linen-fold panelled choir stalls are also incorporated, alongside stained-glass windows that contain fragments of earlier glass brought from a Musgrave house, likely in 1834.