St Mary's Church, Ulverston

St Mary's Church, Ulverston
Tower of St Mary's Church, Ulverston
St Mary's Church, Ulverston Location in Cumbria
Coordinates: 54°11′56″N 3°05′29″W / 54.1989°N 3.0915°W / 54.1989; -3.0915
OS grid reference	SD 290,787
Location	Ulverston, Cumbria
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	ww.ulverstonparish.church
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	2 March 1950
Architect(s)	E. G. Paley and successors (restorations)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone and limestone, Slate roofs
Administration
Parish	St Mary with Holy Trinity, Ulverston
Deanery	Furness
Archdeaconry	Westmoreland and Furness
Diocese	Carlisle
Province	York
Clergy
Rector	Revd Canon Alan Bing
Laity
Reader(s)	Janice Eadington, Marilyn Fell, Steve Parkinson
Organist/Director of music	Rachel Stanbrook
Churchwarden(s)	Helen Huck, Anthony Muckelt
Parish administrator	Nicola Worthington

St Mary's Church is in Church Walk, Ulverston, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Furness, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with that of St John, Osmotherley. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

It is not known when the first church was built on the site. The tower of the present church was built between 1540 and 1560, replacing an earlier church which, it is said, was damaged when its steeple fell following a storm, damaging the rest if the building. The church was restored and enlarged in 1804. In 1864–66 it was rebuilt, other than the medieval tower, by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, providing seating for about 1,400 people. The successors in Paley's practice, Austin and Paley, extended the chancel, added fittings to the interior, and built a south porch in 1903–04. The same firm converted the south chancel aisle into a war memorial in 1923. The interior of the church was reordered in 2008–09; this included the provision of a refreshment and meeting area.

The church is constructed in sandstone and limestone rubble with red sandstone dressings and slate roofs. Its plan consists of seven-bay nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower, dating from the 16th century, is in three stages, with buttresses at the angles, and an embattled parapet. It contains a west doorway, above which is a three-light window containing Perpendicular-style tracery. The bell openings have three lights, are louvred and have hoodmoulds. The north wall of the nave contains pointed windows with Perpendicular tracery, all with two lights, other than the western window, which has three lights. The west window has five lights. The windows in the clerestory have flat heads and three lights, and are mullioned. The south wall contains a priest's door, with four windows to its left and two to the right; all have two lights. The porch is gabled and has a cross finial. The east window in the chancel has five lights. The inner doorway dates from the 12th century, it is in Norman style, and has zigzag decoration. Hyde and Pevsner in the Buildings of England series state that it is neither complete, nor is it in its original position.