St Columbas' Church, Broughton Moor

Update March 2026

What’s happening at St Columba’s Church? When the Diocese of Carlisle took the decision to permanently close St Columba’s Church in 2019, the Parish Council was concerned that this historic, Grade II listed building might be lost forever to the local community. We didn’t want to see that happen, so the Diocese was approached to see whether they might gift the building to the Parish Council to hold in trust for the benefit of the village. Negotiations were lengthy and involved several different agencies including the local planning authority and the Church Commissioners in London, but in late 2025 the paperwork was finalised, and the building officially handed over to the Parish Council. We were successful in securing a grant from the Broughton Moor Windfarm Fund via the Cumbria Community Foundation and some initial work has been carried out to cure the damp and make the building watertight once more. You might have noticed the scaffolding on the church tower, which is due to come down once the plaster work has dried out. The next stage is to gather ideas on how you, the local residents, would like to see the building developed. As you might expect, there are some covenants on the building which prevent some kinds of uses, but they are not excessively restrictive and are there to ensure that whatever the building is used for is in keeping with its heritage. Once we know what is needed, further funding will be sought to bring the vision into reality. This is an exciting opportunity for the village, and we do need you all to engage with the process of discovering what the community wants to see the building used for. Please look out for further information.

 

 

UPDATE MAY 2025

 

As of Monday 12th May 2025, the Church building has been officially handed over to the Parish Council to hold on trust and to develop for the community of Broughton Moor.  We are delighted that so many years of work has brought about this result, meaning that the building which means so much to so many in our community, will remain as a community asset.

Now the hard work of raising funds and renovating the building to a standard at which it can once again be used by and for the people of Broughton Moor begins.

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The Parish Council has the opportunity to acquire St Columbas' Church building to hold in trust for the people of Broughton Moor. The aim would be to develop the building as a community resource whilst retaining the possibility that the Diocese could use it for occasional services such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.  

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We are actively seeking ideas for future uses of the building which would be in keeping with its past but appropriate to the needs of the 21st Century.

 

What would you like to see there? 

Get in touch and let us know. 

 

Your ideas matter.

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UPDATE October 2023

The Parish Council has been granted permission for Change of Use from Place of Worship to Community Use and Place of Worship.  This was a requirement before the Diocese and Church Commissioners could press ahead with the disposal scheme for the building.  We anticipate that this will all be done by the end of 2023 and the building will formally be handed over to the Parish Council to develop for the benefit of the community.​

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The building is not in a useable state at present so some work will need to be carried out before the doors can be opened to the community again.

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Please see the links below for the Church Commissioners' documents relating to the Church disposal scheme.​