St. Augustine, Alston, Cumberland

Description

The church of St. Augustine, originally built in 1154, was rebuilt on the same site in 1768, and in 1869-70 was again rebuilt at a cost of £4,500: it is now an edifice of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave of three bays, south aisle, and a south-west tower with spire containing one bell, cast in 1714 and re-cast in 1845, and said to have been formerly hung at Dilston Hall until 1844; in the tower there are also the remains of a large clock, once belonging to the Radcliffes, of Dilston, and an inscription removed here from the market cross: the stained east window is a memorial to the Rev. Hugh Salvin, sometime vicar of Alston, d. 28 September, 1852, and was erected by his widow at a cost of £270; in the nave is a memorial window to the Rev. Edward Lawson Bowman B.A. vicar, 1875-89, d. 24 January, 1890, and there are others to Mary Anne Horrocks and to Robert and Ellen Hodgson: in the church are also monuments to the Rev. Hugh Salvin, mentioned above, to his twin brother Jeffery Salvin, capt. 4th Foot, d. 29 November, 1850; to the Rev. Thomas Lancaster, vicar, d. 9 December, 1789, and Ruth his widow, d. 6 March, 1801, and there are others to the Bridgewood, Hodgson and Wilson families: the church plate includes a fluted cup or porringer, dated 1726-7, a pewter flagon and paten, dated 1744, and a modern set presented by Mrs. and Misses Hodgson, of Salkeld Hall, in memory of the late Robert Hodgson esq.: in 1874 a sum. of £207 was expended on the church in carving and other decorative work, and in 1878 a new organ was erected at a cost of £670; the tower and spire were completed in 1886 at a cost of £1,170, of which sum £700 was contributed by Miss Hodgson, of Salkeld Hall.

Church Records

The parish register of baptisms dates from the year 1700, and of marriages and burials from 1701.