St. Martin's Church

There was a previous church here at least as early as 1203. It was originally a chapel under Kendal, which was the mother church for a large part of South Westmorland. The old Parish of Windermere once extended from the Lancashire-Westmorland county boundary, to the south, and northwards to include part of the village of Ambleside. It still includes all of the lake. The earlier church was burnt down in 1480. Of that church there remains only the font, the base of the tower and its low external door. An ancient floor existed five feet below the present, as indicated by the height of the door archway on the west face of the tower. After the fire the parishioners rebuilt their church on the original site and it was completed and re-consecrated in 1483. The appearance of the present church owes much to the 1870 restoration and enlargement under the architects Paley and Austin of Lancaster.

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