According to tradition, St. Mary's has been the Parish Church of Ulverston for over 850 years. The Parish of St. Mary with Holy Trinity Ulverston is in the Diocese of Carlisle.

Nobody knows exactly when the first church was built on this site, but most people believe that a church was founded here in 1111 AD. In the reign of Henry II (1154-89) the church in ulverston was placed in the care of the monks from Conishead Priory. The church also paid an annual sum to Furness Abbey.

During the Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII both Furness Abbey and Conishead Priory were destroyed. The church in Ulverston became the property of the crown and was restored during the next 50 years using stone taken from Furness Abbey and Conishead Priory. The first Vicar was Leonard Fell. The Fells were an important local family and have many connections with the church.

The present towere was built between 1540-60 with money left to the church by Leonard Fell (not the first vicar) on his death in 1542. It is said that this replaced an earlier steeple that collapsed, possibly following a storm, damaging much of the church building.

Most of the church was rebuilt and restored in the 19th century. The first restoration was carried out in 1804. Further work was undertaked in 1864 and 1902.

In 2008/9 the interior of the church was re-ordered to bring it up to date for modern forms of worship as well as to provide a meeting and refreshment area.

 

The bookstall	The chancel
The kitchen	Outside Church
The Sandys tomb	The font