Bridekirk
Encyclopedia
Bridekirk is a village near Cockermouth
in West Cumbria
. It contains no shops but is does contain a small church.
church, reconstructed in the late 1860s. Surviving are the remains of a ruined chancel
with 16th-century east and south windows.
Incorporated in the new construction are two Norman doorways
. The church is famous for its 12th-century casket-shaped font
carved with inscriptions, birds, beasts and the baptism of Christ. It is signed by a 'Richard', believed to be the work of a famous carver from Durham
. Old tombstones stand guard around the church walls. There are patterned tiles inside the church.
The church and vicarage belonged to the monastery
of Guisborough
before the dissolution
. Two men born in the church vicarage became successful politicians:
Cockermouth
-History:The Romans created a fort at Derventio, now the adjoining village of Papcastle, to protect the river crossing, which had become located on a major route for troops heading towards Hadrian's Wall....
in West Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. It contains no shops but is does contain a small church.
Church: St. Bridgets
Bridekirk is named after its cruciformCruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
church, reconstructed in the late 1860s. Surviving are the remains of a ruined chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with 16th-century east and south windows.
Incorporated in the new construction are two Norman doorways
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
. The church is famous for its 12th-century casket-shaped font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
carved with inscriptions, birds, beasts and the baptism of Christ. It is signed by a 'Richard', believed to be the work of a famous carver from Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
. Old tombstones stand guard around the church walls. There are patterned tiles inside the church.
The church and vicarage belonged to the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Guisborough
Gisborough Priory
Gisborough Priory is a ruined former Augustinian priory in the town of Guisborough, now in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1119 as the Priory of St. Mary by Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale, an ancestor of the...
before the dissolution
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
. Two men born in the church vicarage became successful politicians:
- Sir Joseph WilliamsonJoseph Williamson (politician)Sir Joseph Williamson, FRS was an English civil servant, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1665 and 1701 and in the Irish House of Commons between 1692 and 1699....
, who was secretary of state in 1674 - Thomas TickellThomas TickellThomas Tickell was a minor English poet and man of letters.-Life:The son of a clergyman, he was born at Bridekirk near Cockermouth, Cumberland. He was educated at St Bees School 1695-1701, and in 1701 entered the Queen's College, Oxford, taking his M.A. degree in 1709...
(born 1685), a poet who was secretary to the lords justices of Ireland.