St Michael's Church, Beetham

St Michael's Church, Beetham
St Michael's Church, Beetham, from the southwest
St Michael's Church, Beetham Location in Cumbria
Coordinates: 54°12′34″N 2°46′27″W / 54.2094°N 2.7741°W / 54.2094; -2.7741
OS grid reference	SD 496,796
Location	Beetham, Cumbria
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St Michael, Beetham
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	12 February 1962
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Mainly limestone with sandstone dressings
Administration
Parish	Beetham
Deanery	Kendal
Archdeaconry	Westmoreland and Furness
Diocese	Carlisle
Province	York
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Linda Lonsdale

St Michael's Church is in the village of Beetham, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Kendal, the archdeaconry of Westmoreland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

It is possible that the oldest existing part of the church, the lower part of the tower, dates from the Anglo-Saxon era. The south aisle was added in about 1200, and the chancel was extended during the 13th century. In the following century the Beetham chapel was added, the south aisle was widened in the 15th century, and in the 16th century the top stage of the tower was built. In the 1870s the church was restored and a south porch was added. In the Buildings of England series, Hyde and Pevsner state that this was carried out by Joseph Bintley, whereas Price attributes it to the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin.

The church is constructed in rubble, mainly limestone, with sandstone dressings. It is roofed in lead. The plan is rectangular, incorporating a nave and chancel with a clerestory, north and south aisles, a north vestry and a south chapel. The church also has a south porch, and a west tower in two stages. The lower stage of the tower contains a west doorway dating from the 14th century, above which is a two-light window. The upper stage is slightly corbelled-out and contains three-light bell openings. At the top is a battlemented parapet with crocketted pinnacles and a 20th-century weathervane. At the east end of the church, the chancel has a 19th-century five-light window, and both aisles contain a 15th-century three-light window. At the west end is a 15th-century three-light window to the left of the tower, and a late 14th-century two-light window to the right. On the south side of the church is a gabled porch, and two- or three-light windows. On the north side is a doorway and five 15th-century three-light windows. All the windows are in Perpendicular style.