CumbriaOVERDENTONOverDentonChurch(leshullCC-BY-SA2.0)1 LesHull

Over Denton Church

A very humble building, built from Roman stone, and includes a reused Roman arch, it can probably claim to be the oldest standing building in Cumbria.

Over Denton, Cumbria

Opening times

This church is well worth a visit and the key is available from the house opposite.

Address

Over Denton
Cumbria
CA8 7AG

The church stands at the northern end of the village and has been constructed largely of square-coursed sandstone rubble removed from Hadrian's Wall and Birdoswald Roman fort some 800m to the north.

The church consists of a single bay chancel and two-bay nave. The present entrance is in the south wall of the nave, it has a plank door beneath a shouldered lintel; the original entrance was in the nave's north wall and has subsequently been blocked.

There is one original lancet window in the nave and an early window in the south wall of the chancel, elsewhere the windows are 19th century and of one or three lights with trefoil or lobe shaped heads.

The chancel arch is Roman, reputedly to have come from Birdoswald fort. Externally the corners of the church are finished with large flush quoins, the roof is of stone slate with coped gables, and there is a bellcote at the apex of the west gable.

The church is thought to have been constructed in the early 12th century. In the 18th century the west wall of the nave and the bellcote were rebuilt, and in 1881 new windows were inserted. Lead rainwater heads were also added at this date.

The church was declared redundant in the late 1970s and the interior fittings removed.

  • Wildlife haven

  • Social heritage stories

  • National heritage here

  • Fascinating churchyard

  • Enchanting atmosphere

  • Captivating architecture

  • Level access to the main areas

  • Car park at church

  • Church of England

Other nearby churches

St Cuthbert

Greenhead, Northumberland

Originally designed by John Dobson. a church with an interesting spire and Kempe Glass.

Lanercost Priory

Lanercost, Cumbria

Set in a tranquil rural landscape, surrounded by fields and overlooked by Hadrian's Wall, Lanercost forms a magnificent and fascinating complex of historic buildings.

St Thomas a Becket

Farlam, Cumbria

Built in 1860 to an Athony Salvin design the building replaced the earlier church dating to 1169.