Warwick Bridge, St Pauls Holme Eden

The story of Holme Eden church is closely bound up with the history of the Dixon family - a very familiar name around the Carlisle area, where they owned several mills.

Peter Dixon Jr was a devout Christian, who offered to build and endow a church for the district. It was recognised that a new church was needed, as the existing parish church at Wetheral could 'not afford accommodation for more than a third of the inhabitants'.

Peter Dixon provided the land for a church, churchyard and burial ground, on a beautiful site beside the river Eden at Warwick Bridge, and met the cost of the building itself (approximately £1,500).

The new church and churchyard were consecrated by Hugh Percy, Bishop of Carlisle, on 2nd September 1845.

The church had been designed by John Dobson of Newcastle upon Tyne, a versatile architect, who was regarded as an ecclesiastical architect par excellence.

The exterior of the church is virtually unchanged from Dobson's original building. It is a very simple design in red sandstone with a slate roof, and consists of a nave, a small chancel with an apse at the east and, a spire 110 feet tall at the west end over the entrance porch, and a small vestry at the southeast corner.

The interior of the church however, has undergone considerable change over the years. In 1904 there was wholesale renovation of the interior. The plastered ceiling was boarded with pitch pine, the positions of the pews were altered, the floor at the east end was raised and the walls were painted - all at a cost of £240.

However, the building still reflects John Dobson's concern that the design should be functional. The layout is very simple, with no pillars or other obstructions.

It is acoustically excellent for both speaking and singing, well adapted for a congregation that would hear God's word and share in His worship.

Postcode: CA4 8RF

Website: www.edenchurches.co.uk

Opening Times
3rd Saturday, 10am - 12.30noon
Or by arrangement by telephoning 01228 561236

Service Times

1st Sunday	9.30am	Family Service
	6pm	Evening Worship or Holy Communion
2nd Sunday	9.30am	Holy Communion
3rd Sunday	9.30am	Holy Communcion
	6pm	Evening Prayer
4th Sunday	9.30am	Morning Worship