St Mary's Church, Abbeytown

St Mary's Church, Abbeytown
West front of St Mary's Church, Abbeytown
St Mary's Church, Abbeytown Location in Cumbria
Coordinates: 54°50′43″N 3°16′58″W / 54.8454°N 3.2829°W / 54.8454; -3.2829
OS grid reference	NY 177 508
Location	Abbeytown, Cumbria
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Mary, Abbeytown
History
Founded	1150
Founder(s)	King David of Scotland Henry of Scotland
Architecture
Status	parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	11 April 1967
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roofs
Administration
Parish	Holme Cultram
Deanery	Solway
Archdeaconry	West Cumberland
Diocese	Carlisle
Province	York
Clergy
Rector	Revd Canon Bryan Rothwell
Vicar(s)	Revd David Tembey

St Mary's Church is in the village of Abbeytown, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Solway, the archdeaconry of West Cumberland, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of six local churches to form the Solway Plain Team Ministry. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

The present church has been formed from part of the church of Holmcultram Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that had been founded in 1150 by King David of Scotland and his son Henry. In 1507 the Abbot, Robert Chambers, added a west porch. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538, the local parishioners were worshipping in the nave of the church, and they were allowed to continue to use it. The tower fell on New Year's Day 1600, destroying the choir and the north transept. By this time the endowment was owned by the University of Oxford, who carried out repairs, hampered in 1604 by a fire. During the 18th century, more repairs and alterations were carried out. Between 1727 and 1739, the nave was shortened from nine to six bays, the aisle arcades were filled in, the clerestory was removed, and galleries and a flat ceiling were added. The galleries were removed in 1883. In 1884–85 a vestry was added. In 1913 the church was restored; this included removal of the flat ceiling. An ambulatory was added to the south side of the church in 1973. On 9 June 2006 a fire was started in the church by a thief. This destroyed the wooden roof, and damaged the stonework and the stained glass. A new oak roof was installed in 2008.