The church is in the Diocese of Carlisle. 2013 was our 150th Anniversary year, with a service taken by Bishop James on Sunday 21st July 2013; the new kneelers were commissioned and an exhibition of old photographs was arranged in the church. In 2009 this small community, with the generous help of friends from all over the country, raised over £40,000 and have re-roofed, repaired and redecorated the church.


This building was erected in 1863 on the site of an earlier chapel and was opened in January 1864, as described in the Westmorland Gazette ...

On Thursday, the 28th Inst., the beautifully situated new church in Longsleddale, entirely rebuilt at the cost of the Hon. Mrs. Howard, of Levens, was opened for worship by the Hon. Rev. Dr. Waldegrave, Bishop of Carlisle. The ancient church was one of the barn like edifices which were formerly scattered through our dales, but which are now disappearing, as the munificence of individuals and of parishoners is rapidly substituting for them structures of modern proportion and style. The site is the best in the parish, and was therefore retained. It is a mound stretching far across the valley, and looking both up and down the dale. The church is capable of accommodating about 100 persons, the population of the valley being 150, and a new school and parsonage have been erected by subscriptions, aided by a gift from the Diocesan Society, forming together a nice group of new buildings. At eleven o'clock the Bishop arrived, accompanied by the Mayor and Vicar of Kendal ..... The Bishop was assisted in the service by the Vicar of Kendal, and Mr. Dent, the Incumbent of the parish. His Lordship's sermon was well adapted to the occasion, and was most attentively listened to by a crowded church. At the conclusion the visitors adjourned to the schoolroom to partake of a cold collation ...

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More information can be found online on a website of historic resources: look under St Mary's Church, Longsleddale in the Gazetteer in Guides to the Lakes

Longsleddale Home Page