Kendal Parish Church, also known as the Holy Trinity Church due to its dedication to the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, is the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Visitors to the church are struck by its size and the lightness of the interior. This lightness is due to the unusual construction of five aisles, separated by columns and allowing generous window area. The nave is 800 years old and the other aisles have been added over the centuries so that, in its heyday, a congregation of 1100 was regularly accommodated.

History

Anglo-Saxon church

The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

refers to a church built on the site during the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

period. It has been suggested that the Anglo-Saxons used material "robbed out" from the ruined

Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

at Watercrook to the south of the town.History
, Kendal Parish church site The shaft of an Anglian cross, housed in the Parr Chapel, is dated at approximately AD 850.

Norman church onwards

Westmorland was only subdued by the Normans in 1092 and

Ivo Taillebois Ivo Taillebois (died 1094) was a powerful Norman nobleman, sheriff and tenant-in-chief in 11th-century England. Life Ivo Taillebois was a Norman most probably from Taillebois, now a small hamlet in Saint-Gervais de Briouze, Calvados.K.S.B. Ke ...

(Anglicized, the name is translated to John Talbot) became the first Norman Baron of Kentdale, he gave the church and its lands to St. Mary's Abbey in York. In 1189, the inhabitants of Kendal were massacred in church by Duncan, Earl of Fife. The arch over the

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

was found carved with the date 1201 during

Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive wikt:refurbish, refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England church (building), churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century Victorian era, re ...

(1829). The building dates from at least 1232 according to written sources, with a record from this year referencing an

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

issued for fabric repairs. The Parr Chapel was built by the Parr family in the fourteenth century, and the family

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

are to be seen on the ceiling. The maidenheads also featured on the walls had long been associated with the Parr family badge/arms. The device of a maidens head couped below the breast vested in ermine and gold; her hair of the last, or; and her head encircled with a wreath of red and white roses was taken from the Ros of Kendal family (ancestors of the Parrs). The same motif can be found in the Royal badge created by Queen Katherine after she became Queen. The large tomb in this chapel is that of

William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal Sir William Parr, KG (1434–1483) Linda Porter. ''Katherine, the Queen'', MacMillan, 2010. . was an English courtier and soldier. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Parr (1405–1461) and his wife Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Tunstall of ...

, grandfather of

Katherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

, the last Queen Consort of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Organs

The church contains two organs: * at the West end, the main organ by J.W. Walker 1969 (45/3 M+P) incorporating a 19th-century instrument by Willis * at the East end, the choir organ by Bevington c.1885 (11/2M+P) was bought in 2002

Gallery

Kendal Parish Church - geograph.org.uk - 3337575.jpg, West end through the church gates Holy Trinity Church, Kendal (6941).jpg, View of the east end of the church Holy Trinity Church, Kendal, Cumbria - geograph.org.uk - 929632.jpg , View of the south side of the church Holy Trinity Church, Kendal, Cumbria - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 929641.jpg, Chancel of the church Kendal Parish Church, Kendal, United Kingdom (Unsplash).jpg, Nave of the church Holy Trinity (9110288942).jpg, Plaque with short history

References

External links

*
Kendal, Holy Trinity parish records at Cumbria Archive Centre, Kendal
{{Deanery of Kendal churches Church of England church buildings in Cumbria Diocese of Carlisle Grade I listed churches in Cumbria Grade I listed buildings in Kendal