St Begas.

[brad]

thank  you to all for your help Brad

[clearly]

Hi Brad,
Just in case these are any good here is picture of the interior and exterior about 1907

[brad]

thank you so much . Awesome for all the replies. Brad

[Jos, Whitehaven]

Please can anybody help me out.Looking for the Catholic Chapel at Begas  near Cleator. Cumbria  ... the name is John Carrol and Catherine Carton who married there in 1869 the second of January.
Any help would be great plus a photo of the church would be great. Thanks  Brad.

Good day Brad,

Attached are modern-day photographs of the former site of St Bega's chapel which you are enquiring about (taken on 02/01/12 - coincidentally the wedding anniversary of your ancestors, John and Catherine). It may not be ideal for family history records, but perhaps of interest all the same.   

As referred to in a previous post replying to your enquiry, the site of the former chapel is now the car park for the church and churchyard.

Photograph No 1 - View looking towards the car park (the present St Mary's Church is in the opposite direction. The building behind the wall is the Grove Court Hotel (formerly the old National School House) - not connected to the Catholic Church.

Photograph No 2 - View taken from the middle of the car park / former chapel towards Dent Fell in the distance.

(TBC)

[Jos, Whitehaven]

Photograph No 3 - View from the car park looking towards the present St Mary's church, presbytery & buildings.

Hopefully, you should be able to work out the location of St Bega's compared to the present St Mary's from these photographs and the early 20th C postcard views.

I trust these  have added to your knowledge of when your forebears lived in Cleator & Cleator Moor (otherwise known as "God's Country"!).

[clearly]

As I'm not local to West Cumberland, I will leave Jos to answer this but the building in the first picture, in the centre but behind the first set of classrooms, seems to have a very large window.  Probably the school hall but could it have been the east window of the old chapel?
I know it has been said that the old chapel is under the car park but people to make assumptions sometimes and sometimes they get it wrong. Mind, I seem to remember some buildings being pulled down in that area in the 1990's.

Chester

[Geoff-E]

As I'm not local to West Cumberland, I will leave Jos to answer this but the building in the first picture, in the centre but behind the first set of classrooms, seems to have a very large window.  Probably the school hall but could it have been the east window of the old chapel?

No. 

As Joseph said, this was a different school - it is not shown on the 1899 map but was there in 1925.

Having studied the old maps and Google maps, I'm fairly certain the old church was in the area between the presbytery and the wall to the east of the car park.  The car park is what was shown on the old map as graveyard.

[brad]

thank you for all your replies it's awesome  especially the photo's they will be very useful.
What is the name of the school St.Mary's maybe they might have a picture somebody must have one after all there is a Fair bit written about the chapel.
But do appreciate your time and effort into helping us all , once again a big thank from us the committee for the Carroll reunion in New Zealand. Brad

[Geoff-E]

What is the name of the school St.Mary's

On the 1962 map, it was Cleator St Mary's primary school (as opposed to the one next door that was Cleator County Primary School)

This one may interest you it shows, from right to left, (I think)
St Mary's church
Presbytery (priest's house)
School house?
http://www.francisfrith.com/cleator-moor/photos/st-marys-church-c1965_c568009/