St Kentigern's Church, Aspatria

St Kentigern's Church, Aspatria, Cumberland, appeared to be just another Victorian town church when I walked up the path. These always have a degree of interest, but I was not expecting the treasure trove of antiquity hiding within. Norman doorways, ancient stones, Anglian crosses, hogback tombs and even one which dates back to about 450 AD seem common. Although replaced in 1846, the builders preserved a number of features from the previous, Norman structure, including a doorway and aforementioned ancient masonry, some of which had lain buried, only coming to light through the demolition.

Even the font is rather mysterious. Defaced at the Reformation and mended afterwards, it depicts a demon with wings, presumably a reference to the medieval Romanist concept of the devil departing from the child when faced with the baptismal oils and waters.

Curiously, for all these genuine and ancient fragments and stones, a Victorian vicar arranged for the erection of a replica Gosforth Cross to be placed in the churchyard. Although artistically impressive and easier to inspect than the original, it seems ironic that a church with so rich a history of its own should seek to copy another’s. My knowledge of early medieval carving is scant, but even I can tell the different between mutton and lamb-dressed-as-mutton.

One of the joys and challenges of seeing old churches is trying to distinguish between the old and the not-so-old. Perhaps we should review our own practice as a church and the doctrines to which we hold; it is always worth assessing their origins and heritage. If they are Biblical, then let us keep them; if merely some tradition from another, subsequent era, we may review and even dispense with them. Clerical dress, children’s talks, weekly collections, post-service cups of tea, a final song after a sermon, standing for hymns, ministerial degrees and all the rest, may be useful and helpful, though we should be careful to draw distinction between the original and the merely traditional.

A  D