Parish Registers dating back to 1691 record a chapel of St Columba in High Casterton but little is known of it and prior to 1833 villagers would have travelled to Kirkby Lonsdale to worship.
The event which would eventually change this situation was the establishment in Cowan Bridge in 1824 of a school for clergy daughters by the then vicar of Whittington the Rev. William Carus-Wilson. By 1832 a combination of growing pupil numbers and the desire for a more healthy location for the school, resulted in it being moved to a new building in Casterton. Carus-Wilson already had the idea for a school chapel which would also be open to the people of the village, and he donated the piece of land known as ‘Kiln-Haw’ on which to build it. Funds were soon raised and the chapel quickly built, and on October 5th 1833 ‘Casterton Chapel’ was consecrated by the Bishop of Carlisle.
The architect was names Crowther but no builder is recorded and it is likely that a number of local builders farmers and others assisted in its construction. It is said that the limestone was donated by the Underley Estate from their nearby quarry and lime from a kiln close by in Mill Lane. Such a communal effort would help to explain the very low cost of the building, only £750, when Barbon church built 60 (low inflation) years later cost more than four times as much. The chapel, which was built to hold 480 people including 130 housed in a wooden gallery at the west end, was plain and functional with little adornment to minimize cost, and all windows had plain glass. This was very much in the manner later recommended by Carus-Wilson in his book ‘Helps to the Building of Churches, Parsonage Houses and Schools’ published in 1842. For example the walls are of rough-hewn stone which the author thought gave the appearance of antiquity, as well as economy, believing that regular-coursed walling greatly increased the cost while adding nothing to the strength of a building. A single tolling bell was provided for the steeple, the organ on the gallery was purchased second hand from a chapel in Highgate for £40, and the font of ‘Dent Marble’ was donated by Mr Nixon, a marble manufacturer. The gallery was disliked by the Clergy Daughters on account of its poor ventilation, and Miss Williams, the Head Teacher, convinced the trustees to commission the design of a chancel to be added to the eastern end of the church, enabling the gallery to be removed. There was much opposition to these changes in the village, but in 1864 the Carlisle consistory court gave their approval and the shape of the church became much as it is today. The sandstone used in the chancel extension contrasts oddly with the limestone of the nave.
So we are here to look at the geology connected witht he building, though geology can be subdivided, the above mentions limestone and sandstone, both sedimentary types of rock, though there are enough EarthCaches which talk about these types, we are here to look for a fossil. Now it is not the biggest, but worth seeing all the same. We are here to look at an example of fossil coral.
There are different types of fossil coral:
Rugosa
These were a type of coral which is now extinct, and was also known as Tetracorallia. Rugosa could either be solitary, with one polyp, or living in colonies. Each individual coral. was formed of a coralite, in which the coral polyp lived, and could retract into. These appear as small circular marks, with inward facing lines.
Lithostrotion vorticale
Is a form of Rugosa, but appears like a honeycomb.
Rughelse Coral
These appear as branches extending outwards.
Siphonodendron coral
These appear as long noodle like fossils.
You need to look behind the bench, next to the stained glass window.
This being an EarthCache, in order to log it, I ask that you complete the below tasks. Please send the answers to me, and do not include them in your log. You can send them to me by using the message facility or email, both of which can be found by looking at my profile.
1. What type(s) of fossils can you see?
2. What is the rationale for your answer?
3. It is stated that the stone here is limestone, in what way does the fossil differ from the rest of the rock, in terms of texture, and definition?
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