History of St Andrew’s, Coniston

Coniston village as we know it was originally known as Church Coniston or Coningston Fleming, owned by the Fleming family of Rydal – this distinguished it from Monk Coniston which belonged to Furness Abbey.

In 1578 there is record in Coniston of a Chapel of Ease of Ulverston Parish; Coniston gained parochial status in 1586.  In 1620 the Church seems to have been dedicated to St. Martin because what is now Church Beck was marked as St Martin’s Beck on maps of the time.

In the late 16th Century the copper mines had begun to be exploited and German miners moved to the area from the Keswick mines.  The expansion of copper mining and slate quarrying saw a rapid expansion in the population of Coniston and in 1859 the Furness Railway opened its branch line to Coniston, allowing the products of the mines to be transported easily to distant markets and for the area to be opened up to tourism. 

In 1855 there were eight public houses listed in Coniston – many remain to this day: the Waterhead Hotel, Black Bull, Crown, Rising Sun, the Ship Inn at Bowmanstead plus the Miners’ Arms, New Inn and Railway Tavern.

In 1888 a market charter was listed and in 1894 Monk Coniston became part of Coniston Parish.

The old church was rebuilt in 1819 and extended and renovated in 1891 – at this time it was dedicated to St. Andrew. Cornish miners who had moved to the area established a Primitive Methodist chapel in 1859 and a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in 1875 which, along with the Catholic church of a similar date, is still in use today.