Welcome to our parish of St Cuthbert in Wigton. We are a Roman Catholic Church - the building dedicated in 1837, although there had been a mission in Wigton and surrounding areas for some years before that. We belong to the Diocese of Lancaster since its inception in 1924 (formerly with the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle) and are part of the Carlisle Deanery.
Whilst we are a relatively small parish in numbers the area covered in the far North West corner of England is considerable both in geographical size and in its culture stretching from the edge of historical Carlisle to the Solway shores and to the raw beauty of the fells on the fringe of the Lake District.
In the holiday season particularly we get a number of visitors to our parish who share our feeling that our church (the oldest in Cumberland) is of great interest and beauty, both inside and out. It includes a plaque made of marble from the altar of Moota POW camp (occupied by Italian prisoners during the Second World War) opposite one devoted to Canon Nicholas Brown (PP from 1852 to1865) and Elizabeth Ann Aglionby (circa 1814-1878), a major benefactress of the church. It was the latter's generosity which resulted in extensions to the church building, the coming of The Sisters of Mercy and the establishment and building of both a school and a convent. Sadly the nuns are no longer with us (the old convent now belongs to Cor et Lumen Christi, a Catholic community) but we still retain links to the school, also now dedicated to St Cuthbert (formerly to Our Lady of La Salette), which has since 1974 occupied new premises nearby.
We can see inside the Mercy Chapel where, along with a large painting of the Madonna and Child, is a brass plaque from the old convent devoted to Elizabeth Ann Aglionby and the nuns who served and died up to the year of 1924.
Outside we have a small grotto devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes.
We would wish to welcome all to our services and meetings, or just to look around. The church is open from dawn to dusk.
Further information on the church and the school can be freely obtained by contacting us directly – all are assured of a wholehearted warm welcome.
For a brief history of our parish please click here (note: Adobe Reader required - if not already installed follow this link: Adobe).
May the peace of God be with you all.
St Edmund's
As our Parish Priest serves also as Parish Priest of St Edmund's in Carlisle the following are the Mass Times for that parish - (see Newsletter and/or Events for any temporary changes)
