This is a micro cache accessible from the pavement.
There has been a Christian place of worship in Cleator nearby since the reign of Henry I or possibly earlier serving a mainly agricultural area. As Catholicism came out of hiding after the Reformation the Benedictines established a mission in nearby Whitehaven in 1706. In the first half of the 19th century the presence of local iron ore and coal deposits resulted in an influx of miners to support the burgeoning iron industry. Many of these men were Irish Catholics so in 1853 a church was built to accommodate them and their families. The population continued to grow soon necessitating a larger building and Edward Welby Pugin from a well known family of church architects was commissioned to bring this to fruition. The foundation stone was laid in 1869 and the new church opened on 23 June 1872 with the 150th anniversary celebrated with a varied series of events in 2022.
The church is a Grade II listed building and there is plenty of information about the internal and external features here . It is generally open during the day. Of special interest outside is the Grotto, a replica of the one at Lourdes, the building of which provided employment for some of the people affected during the Great Depression in the early 20th century.
Thanks to the Parish Priest for permission to place this cache.
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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