
The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland

St Kentigern (now)
Parish church
Situated in the former ward of Allerdale below Derwent, Caldbeck is located on the Caldbeck River, which flows into the Caldew and onwards into the Eden River, which then empties into the Solway. Dedicated to St Kentigern, the church consists of a rectangular aisled nave, with a rectangular chancel. This chancel, built off of the east end of the church, has a width equal to the central space of the nave. On the interior side of the S wall of this is part of an early window. A chantry was built off the S side of the chancel in the early-16thC. and is now used as the vestry. At the W end of the church is a tower. A stone porch in front of the S nave doorway contains re-used Romanesque carved stones. 12thC. stones have also been built into the W interior nave wall. Kept inside the church are a few loose voussoirs, similar in detail to those found in certain other Romanesque churches. Later building works on the church are known to have occurred in the early 16thC, early 18thC., 1880 and 1932-3.
Parish church
The church was rebuilt in 1846-7/8. Drawings survive of both the chancel arch and the S doorway prior to the 19thc. building, which show that both were of 12c. date. Various carved stones from these were re-used in the doorway to the vestry at the NW corner of the church. Other fragments have been incorporated into the E interior wall of the vestry. An ornate baptismal font of possible late-12thc. date is located in the SW interior of the nave. Various other medieval stones are also preserved within the church. Outside, re-used in the churchyard wall near the gate leading to the rectory are a series of chevroned voussoirs and other carved stones.