St Martin’s Church, Brampton, Cumbria. Photo: The Victorian Society
St Martin’s is the only church designed by the great architect, Philip Webb. Webb is best known as a progenitor of the Arts and Crafts Movement and designer of country houses, but St Martin’s shows his characteristic ingenuity, creating a church quite unlike others of the period. It is listed at Grade I.
This uniqueness causes some problems, especially with access which is via a long flight of steps. The Society were consulted on proposals to address this via a combination of ramps and platform lift at the base of the tower, while the Society accepted the necessity of providing access, the Society could not accept that this was the most suitable solution. The Society objected to the proposal in the Diocese of Carlisle Consistory Court, maintaining that the proposal would seriously harm the building and that less harmful options had not been fully explored. The Chancellor agreed with our concerns and refused permission. The Society recognise this is difficult for the parish, but we hope it will allow a more sensitive proposal to be developed.
St Martin’s Church, Brampton, Cumbria Photo: The Victorian Society
Notable features in St Martin’s
The church has an altar panel by Byam Shaw and altar carpet to a Morris design. The stained glass is by Morris & Co, mostly to Edward Burne-Jones’s designs. The east window has 15 subjects as a memorial to Charles Howard from 1880 with angels, saints, the Good Shepherd and pelican, mostly with totally original designs, whilst the side windows are re-used designs.
Stained glass by Morris & Co, mostly to Edward Burne-Jones designs. Photo: The Victorian Society
Brampton stained glass by Morris & Co, mostly to Edward Burne-Jones designs. Photo: The Victorian Society
