History of St Luke's, Lowick and Blawith

We know that Lowick Bridge was standing by 1537 because there is reference to Bryggefield (modern Bridgefield) – this is at least 50 years before Penny Bridge was built.  There were early chapels of Ulverston Parish at both Lowick (dedicated to St. Andrew) and Blawith by 1577; Lowick was in the patronage of the Lord of the Manor but Blawith had no wealthy residents and so the inhabitants were paying £5 per annum for their Reader.   The Reader would have had no vicarage and would have moved from house to house staying two or three weeks at each – a custom known as “whittlegate”.  Up until 1827 Holy Communion would have been held at Blawith only three times each year.

The present church at Blawith was built in 1862, funds were raised from the Duke of Buccleugh and other non-residents; Lowick had a new chapel built in 1818 and dedicated to St Luke but that was replaced by the current church in 1885.  Lowick had finally become an independent parish in 1856 and a new school, with space for 150 pupils, was built on the edge of Lowick Common.  The school remained open until 2006.  Blawith had a new school built in 1859.

Blawith and Lowick were combined under one parson at various times in the past, finally becoming one ecclesiastical parish in 1940 under Reverend Samuel Greenhalgh.

The area has always been known for farming but there were many small scale industries in past times including a colony of weavers at Stable Harvey and a pill box manufactory at Greenholme.  Many small villages or hamlets in the 18th – 19th centuries are now just one farm or a couple of dwellings e.g. Kiln Bank, Picthall (was Pict How) and Greenholme.

References:

Lowick Hall, A Chronicle: Adam and Marianne Naylor, 2013

Two Lakeland Townships: A P Brydson, 1908.  Thanks to Geoff Holme

The earliest mention of Blawith Church is on a map of 1577 in the 20th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st., but it is clear that both Lowick and Torver Churches existed several centuries earlier and it is more probable that Blawith possessed a church or chapel (for these mountain churches were little more than chapels subject to the Mother Church at Ulverston in the Diocese of Chester) at an equally early date with Lowick and Torver.

From the History and Directory of 1882 it is reported that Blawith is a township and Chapelry comprising portions of the Manors of Ulverston, Egton-with-Newland, Torver, and Conishead, and extends to the foot of Coniston Lake. The word Blawith is pronounced like 'Blaith', the British word for wolf, which animal formerly infested that countryside.

The village of Water Yeat set at the foot of Coniston or Thurston Water, eight miles from Ulverston is in this Township, and about a mile from Water Yeat stands Blawith Church, a small but very neat edifice opened for Divine Service in 1863. It was erected at a cost of £1600 and contains 171 sittings, all of which are free. The style is Gothic, and in the beautiful stained glass windows at the East End are depicted the Ascension, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Adoration of the Magi. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and superseded the old dilapidated chapel which stands some 100 yards up the road on the other side of the road. In 1970 this old ruin was designated officially as an ancient monument.

In 1715 the inhabitants elected a young man to be the reader and schoolmaster, and petitioned Bishop Gastrell to licence him, though he was under canonical age. In reference to this request the Bishop writes in his Journal, 'The inhabitants pretend to the right of electing their own curate.' The salary at that time was £4 per annum. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Duke of Buccleuch and in the incumbency of the Reverend John Ashburner who resides in a neat Manse called Meadow Lodge, erected in 1849 by the late incumbent, but purchased by the patron in 1879, and presented to the living as a Parsonage house. The Benefice has received several grants from Queen Anne's Bounty, most of which was laid out in the purchase of the land, which with the other sums in the hands of the Bounty Board and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, makes the living worth £1 55 per annum.

The school near to the old Chapel, rebuilt in 1859 has an endowment of £12 per year, for which 5 children are taught free. It is very efficiently conducted by Mr. Richard Walker, and this too, under what might be considered insuperable difficulties; he is without hands. In spite of this handicap Mr. Walker drew a plan on parchment of Blawith graveyard showing the graves and the numbers, and the names of those buried there. Margaret Lancaster, in 1772 left £50, with the interest to be applied in teaching 4 poor children, and William Lancaster of Houghton Hall, by a will dated 1777 left £110 in trust for the charitable use of the school. In 1831, Mary Redhead bequeathed to the Trustees of Blawith School the sum of £50, the interest thereof to be applied to the education of poor children. The interest of £21 the bequest of Mrs. Sherwin of Highfield Cottage is given to the schoolmaster yearly.

Brown How, the occasional residence of J. Robinson, Esq., Leek, Staffordshire, is a pleasant mansion delightfully situated at the foot of Coniston Lake, Highfield Cottage, the abode of Mrs. Sherwen is also a pleasant dwelling in the township.

The 1882 History and Directory of Furness and West Cumberland states that Lowick is a Township and independent Ecclesiastical District, and includes the hamlets of Lowick Bridge, Lowick Green, and is about 6 miles north of Ulverston. Part of the village of Nettleslack, about 4½ miles from Ulverston is also in this Township. Excellent views of Coniston Water, and the towering mountains and steep crags in its vicinity, may be obtained from several parts of the Township.

The large and open vale of Lowick is in a high state of cultivation, and well adapted for grazing and the feeding of cattle. In the Township are a spade and shovel manufactory and a tannery; and a cattle fair and show are held on the first Friday of September. They were established in 1887 by the Lowick Bridge Agricultural Association. They have now become a regular institution, and have done much towards the improving of breeds and livestock. Premiums are awarded to the successful competitors and the show is well patronised.

The Manor of Lowick passed by marriage to William Blencowe, and is now the joint property of Mrs. Gasgarth, the Lady of the Manor, and Colonel Montague, descendants of the said John Blencowe, the former of who resides at Lowick Hall, the old Baronial Mansion of the former owners. The old hall was once profusely ornamented with sculpture, but it has all now disappeared. Many beautiful family pictures remain, some of which are very ancient. The building has undergone thorough repairs of late years, and is now a very pleasant residence, partly embosomed in woodlood, yet commanding delightful views. Among the customs of the Manor is that of appointing four housekeepers annually for reviewing and assigning timber for necessary repairs. A running Gressom of a year's rent is paid every seven years.

The church at Lowick was rebuilt in 1818 and it is dedicated to St. Luke; but a chapel occupied the spot before the year 1577. The church is a plain stone building, in the joint gifts of Mrs. Gasgarth and Colonel Montague of London. Two windows are ornamented with the Armorial bearings of the Blencowes and the Everards, separately and incorporately. The church will seat 260. A school was erected in 1856 at the cost of £600 raised by public subscription and aided by a government grant. It is attended by 150 children and is efficiently conducted by Mr. W. Grocock. A Mission Room was erected at Gawthaite in 1868.

From the local newspapers of the time we learn that the foundation stone of the present church standing at Lowick was laid on 26th July 1884, by Mrs. Woodburne of Thurstonville, assisted by Miss Montague (one of the descendants of John Ambrose) and by Miss Atkinson. The dedication was conducted by the Bishop of Carlisle, Harry Goodwin on June 1st 1885. The church replaced the ancient church which had been in existence prior to 1648, and being most dilapidated was almost rebuilt in 1818. The churchwardens and others interested in the building of the new church in 1884 raised a sum of £1500, which, presumably the church cost to build. The whole of the materials required being gratuitously carted by the farmers residing in the parish. Two things strike one immediately about the building of St. Luke. It cost about £1500 to build and the work was done in ONE YEAR from the laying of the foundation stone to the dedication service.

For those who are old enough to recall the turn of this century or thereabouts, the following may be of interest to those who have some family connections. The History and Directory of Furness and West Cumberland reports:

Blawith

The principal landowners are as follows - John Robinson, Esq. - Mrs. Sherwen - Major Harrison - Wordsworth Harrison, Esq. - Mr. Dixon - William James Woodend - George Lewthwaite, Esq.

The rateable acreage of the township is computed at 2995 acres and its value at £1932; the population in 1881 was 160.

Lowick

The principal landowners are as follows - Mrs. Gasgarth - T. Woodburne - John Atkinson, Solicitor - Major Sawrey of Ireland - John Gunson - G.S. Inglis - The Rev. S. Inman - W.S. Inman, Solicitor.

The estimated acreage upon which rates are levied is 1570, the gross rental of the township is £2735and the rateable value is £2497; the township has 2000 acres of common land.

There have been many attempts to unite the parishes into one parish, and the following, extracted from documents, parish records and newspaper cuttings tell the story of those attempts and the outcome of them:

"Protest to the Bishop, that the Lowick Parochial Church Council respectfully protest against the putting into measure uniting the benefices of Lowick and Blawith for the following reasons:-

1. The huge area of the united parishes would not be satisfactorily worked by one clergyman. The length of the united parishes being upward of 9 miles, and many miles broad, with a very large number of people living on the fells. This latter fact alone renders a motor car of very little use.
2. That if the union should take place, the Sunday school in both parishes would most probably have to close as the incumbent could not attend both on account of distance and lack of time.

3. That at the present there is a non-conformist place of worship in either parish, and the union would give opportunities for one.
4. That the usual two services cannot be held every Sunday in each church. There will be great financial loss, as it is only with great difficulty that they are able to pay their way under present conditions.
5. That if the union takes place, and the parish is deprived of a full time incumbent, the church life of the parish, which is already at a low ebb, will be in danger of being extinguished altogether."