All Saints CE Parish Church, Orton, Cumbria. Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment and Visual Inspection.

Following a request by IWA Architects and All Saints Parochial Church Council, Oxford Archaeology North undertook an archaeological desk-based assessment and visual inspection of All Saints Parish Church, Orton, Cumbria, (NY 62216 08389) prior to extensive renovations being carried out at the site. The work involved a desk-based assessment and a visual inspection of the church, and was carried out in July 2004.
The desk-based assessment involved the examination of all pertinent documents relating to the church held in the Cumbria County Record Office in Kendal, and the
consultation of the Sites and Monuments Record of Cumbria County Council, also based in Kendal. In addition, a number of published sources from the Record Office and OA North were consulted to provide further information.
The assessment presented a general history of All Saints Church, Orton, and a more specific history of the development of the building where this known. The church is
first mentioned when it was awarded to Conishead Priory between the years of 1154 and 1163. The origins of the stone church are believed to date from this era, although it may date to the early thirteenth century. The church was originally built in a cruciform shape, with a north and south aisle added in the thirteenth century. Around the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, new windows were inserted into the aisles, the north aisle was extended, the roof timbers were repaired, and the tower was built. During the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, most expansion was concerned with land, as further plots were acquired to increase the size of the churchyard.