St John the Baptist
Low Bentham, Yorkshire
All Saints, Burton in Lonsdale is a Grade II* listed church located the heart of this picturesque village with stunning views from its churchyard and spire across the North Yorkshire landscape.
Adjacent to the church is the site of Mowbray castle which was the centre of Mowbray estate in the middle ages. Throughout much of its history there was only a chapel of ease here, with the main church located at Thornton in Lonsdale a few miles away. However, between 1868 and 1876 it was rebuilt by the renowned architect EG Paley (of Paley and Austin). At that time Burton was expanding, with a flourishing pottery industry, cotton mill and coal mine and a population of around 900.
Built of sandstone in the early English style, the building is a wonderful example of the Gothic Revival style, with a welcoming north porch, aisled nave, transepts and chancel, and a spire that dominates the surrounding landscape. The church is well worth visiting for its stunning ceiling, stained glass by J Hardman of Birmingham and Shrigley & Hunt of Lancaster. Its bell chamber, accessed via a spiral staircase is also well worth the climb! . The peel is of 6 bells and the ringing chamber preserves the original rules for bellringers and offers commanding views of the surrounding countryside.
The church also has a strong connection to the commemoration of those who have died in military service for their country. Its first vicar was the Reverend F Binyon (1866-74), the father of the famous poet Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) who write ‘For the fallen’ which includes words repeated at every Remembrance service still today:
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
The church preserves a rare First World war Prayer request board on which the names of serving soldiers were inscribed. From the church you can also get copies of a World War One Remembrance Trail which connects the stories of people with the places they lived and memorials to them, including a Commonwealth war grave.