Old Church in Hensingham, Whitehaven

[BlueHeather]

Am a new member here and just having a browse around when i came across this wonderful old  photo of the Kings Arms - I wonder whether one of the little girls in the photo could have been my Mum or one of the young boys one of my uncles....as she was born in the Kings Arms as were all her Brother - the Nichol family - my mum was Catherine Burns Nichol (known as Kitty) and my grandfather and Grandmother Lizzie Nichol ran the pub until the mid 60's I think.

[Elizajb]

Hi, just having a browse and saw the Hensingham name come up. Does anyone know if the old St John's church had a school attached? I have a photo of a group of girls, including my grandmother which I was told was taken inside the St John's church and reading the posts, it would have been before the new church. My grandmother was born in Hensingham. Her mother was matron of the Galemire infectious diseases hospital at Cleator Moor, which I believe is now a vet clinic.

[Geoff-E]

Old maps of Hensingham can be found here www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html?coords=298700,516800

You can select which map you wish to view on the right.

The 1899 1:2500 map shows the school to have been at the end of the village on the road to the NE.  However, there is "Sunday School" to be seen on the SE side of the square.   The building appears to have had a change of use - it is now a bookie's! http://tinyurl.com/d6p2d5g

[Elizajb]

Thankyou Geoff-E for the map references but I apologise, it looks like I've made a mistake. I've just looked at my photo and realised there's a hand written note on it which says it's St Nicholas church choir. Is that in Whitehaven? I think my 85 year old aunt has written the note from her memory of something her mother (one of the girls in the group) had said once. My grandmother would have been about 10-12 by the looks of the photo so taken about 1906-1908 possibly. There are organ pipes in the background but the photo isn't very good. There are about six men and two boys in the group as well and the two girls in the middle of the front row are holding a good sized shield.

[clearly]

This is a photo of the interior of St John's Old Church just before it was demolished.  It is a Christmas postcard and says on the reverse : "From all the family. This is Hensingham Old Church but it is pulled down now. The new one is getting built so when you come back you will see a great change"

It's not the best of images but the original has a bit too much contrast.

[Geoff-E]

... it's St Nicholas church choir. Is that in Whitehaven?

Yes (sort of) http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/whitehaven-st-nicholas-church-and-gardens.htm

[Jos, Whitehaven]

This is a photo of the interior of St John's Old Church just before it was demolished.  It is a Christmas postcard and says on the reverse : "From all the family. This is Hensingham Old Church but it is pulled down now. The new one is getting built so when you come back you will see a great change".

Clearly,

Although you do not give any date on the postcard would I be somewhere close to the mark in guessing this might be from December 1911?  The foundation stone for the 'new' St John's, Hensingham was laid by the Countess of Lonsdale on 7 November 1911 (see Photograph No. 3 below).

For comparison to the 'old' St John's Church, Hensingham the other photograph below (No 1) shows the interior of the 'new' St John's as it was in 2011, the centenary year.

[Jos, Whitehaven]

Below is a photograph of the exterior of the 'new' St John's Church, Hensingham as it appeared in 2011 (for comparison to the 'old' church seen in earlier posts).

[Elizajb]

How lovely to see the photos of this area. I have attached my photo in case anyone should recognise an ancestor of their own. It's rather poor quality so I do apologise for that. My grandmother is the girl in the back row with a small cross marked above her head. I hope this works, never done it before.