The name Silloth appears as early as the 13^th century deriving from ‘Sea Lathe’ the barn by the sea of the Cistercian monks of Holme Cultram Abbey.  Until 1854, when it was described as ‘a mere rabbit warren inhabited only by rabbits’ there were only a few scattered farms.  The town was built as a port and railway terminal in the mid-19^th century and developed as a holiday resort.

Christ Church was built to serve the growing town of Silloth.  The church was designed by Charles Ferguson, the son of Carlisle industrialist Joseph Ferguson and became a partner in the firm of JA Cory and Ferguson.  The foundation stone was laid on Wednesday 8^th September 1869 by Bishop Anderson a former Bishop of Rupertsland and in the autumn of 1870 the church was dedicated.

The church stands in a strategic position opposite the Green, on a site which was originally planned for the town hall.

Sailing boats entering Silloth harbour used to carry Irish granite as ballast.  This ballast provided the stone from which the church was built, and thus was a cheap source of building material.  The construction cost £4410, this sum was raised by subscriptions started by the Rector of St Paul’s Causewayhead.

The tower and spire were added seven years later, raising the total cost of building to £7700.  The spire is visible whether travelling from Carlisle, Aspatria or Workington.  It is topped with a weather vane of a ship.  During the Second World War, a navigation light was placed on top of the spire for aircraft using Silloth airfield.  This airfield was important for Costal Command and maintenance and training units. Through the war, fifty two aeroplanes crashed into the Solway Firth and the sea at Silloth became known locally as “Hudson’s Bay” after the planes that came down in it.  The bodies of all the young airmen that were retrieved from the sea were honoured by a special service held in Christ Church.

The clock was added in 1884 as a memorial to Mr George Moore of Whitehall, Wigton.  During his lifetime Mr Moore became renowned for his philanthropy.  The clock cost £220 and was made by Messrs Gillet & Co. of Croydon.

The church has a nave of five bays, clerestory, side aisles, chancel and apse.  The building is in the decorated Gothic style; it is faced externally with granite and internally with yellow brick with red brick to pick out the interior design.

The organ was installed in 1885 by Alfred Monk, London.

It comprises two manual and pedals with 3 combination foot pedals and swell pedal.

The organ pipes are beautifully decorated.  They are coloured blued with a design painted in red, gold and black.

The Bells

Christ Church Bells are reputed to be among the finest in Cumbria. The bells were presented to the Church by a number of gentlemen, the largest contributor being EH Banks Esq. of Highmoor, Wigton.  The eight bells were cast in 1883 by J Taylor & Son of Loughborough and we hung in a wood and metal A frame.  The tenor bell alone weighs 23 ½ cwt.  From the numerous scoops chipped into the wall, it is obvious that great difficulty was experienced in squeezing 95 cwt of bell metal into a space less than 13 ½’ square.

The bells at present are unable to be rung.  The last peal (of Bob Major) was rung on 20^th March 1971 and ringing stopped shortly after that.

Weight is recorded in cwt-qtrs-lbs (kg)

All the bells bear the inscription John Taylor & Son, Loughbrough, Leics. 1883

The clock strikes the hour on the tenor bell.

The ringing chamber which also houses the clock mechanism once boasted a manual ‘Ellacombe apparatus’ which allows one person to play tunes on the bells.  For many years, favourite hymn tunes could be heard ringing across the Green.  People were known to come to Silloth for the day purely for the joy of listening to Christ Church bells.  The mechanism is now in disrepair.