Description

1945/13/208 TROUTBECK
12-JAN-67 JESUS CHURCH

(Formerly listed as:
TROUTBECK
JESUS CHAPEL)

II*
Parish church of 1562 with tower of 1736, remodelled mid C19.

MATERIALS: Slate-stone rubble with freestone dressings, slate roof.

PLAN: Nave and chancel under a single roof, with west tower.

EXTERIOR: The tower is 3 stages, unbuttressed and with embattled parapet incorporating raised merlons at the angles. The lower stage has a segmental-headed doorway under a rubble-stone head, with boarded doors, and date tablet above it. In the second stage are triple-round-headed lights under a relieving arch, and in the upper stage are simple square-headed bell openings with louvres, and a clock on the west and south faces (dated 1867). On the north side is an added lean-to service room. The main body of the church is C16 fabric but in plain C19 Gothic style. It has 6 pointed windows in the south wall and 7 in the north wall, and a 5-light Perpendicular east window. A south priest's doorway has a studded door with strap hinges of c1820s, and incorporates a horizontal sliding vent.

INTERIOR: Nave and chancel are a unified space. The tie-beam roof has diagonal struts and 2 purlins each side, and is probably of 1562. There is a boarded door to the nave from the tower base, in a chamfered wooden frame with segmental head. The C18 fielded-panel gallery door, with overdoor, is above it. Walls are plastered. Floors are paved with stone and there are raised floorboards below pews.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: The west gallery, probably C18, has a panelled front and is carried on chamfered posts. The stairs, which has a newel with acorn finial, and balusters closed by later boarding, is in the tower base and is possibly earlier. Above the gallery is a Royal Arms of 1737 painted on boards. The font, a shallow octagonal bowl on a tall stem, is probably C20. Mid C19 benches have shaped ends, some of which are numbered and others are labelled 'free'. The late C19 polygonal freestone pulpit has blind traceried panels. In the chancel are Jacobean stalls, communion rail, and dado made up of arched and lozenge panels brought from Calgarth Hall, Windermere. The east window is by Morris & Co, designed by William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Madox Brown (1873). One north window (c1897) is in pre-Raphaelite style but is unsigned.

HISTORY: Said to have been consecrated in 1562 and with a west tower added in 1736. Dates of C19 repair and remodelling are uncertain. It is said by Pevsner to have been repaired in 1828 (the priest's doorway is approximately of this date) and restored in 1879, but the date of the remodelling of the nave and chancel is also said to be c1850 in the church guide.

SOURCES:
N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland, 1967, p 294.
Guide kept in church.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Jesus Church, Troutbeck, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* It is a small rural church which, although it has a plain C19-Gothic external character, is a rare church of Elizabethan origin, retaining its original roof, and has a most unusual C18 tower of a strong vernacular character.
* There is interior woodwork of special interest, notably the west gallery with C18 stair, re-used Jacobean woodwork in the chancel, and C18 Royal Arms.
* The 1873 east window is by Morris & Co, one of the leading stained-glass making firms of the later C19.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Jesus Church at Wikipedia
• Jesus Church official website
• Wikidata Q17543785

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)