Methodist Church and Christ Church

Voreda House at the top right of Portland Place was the first to use metric bricks in Penrith. It sits on the site of the earlier Drill Hall built in the 1890s as a dual-purpose army drill hall and public hall for concerts, sales, plays and dances, much used till it burnt down in the 1950s.
Diagonally opposite lies the Penrith Methodist Church. This was erected in 1873 for £8,000 and then much improved in 1997.
Turn left into Drovers Lane, then left again into the churchyard.

Penrith Methodist Church

Methodist Church from Christ Church churchyard
Christ Church opened in 1850. It was described as ‘convenient, commodious, and one of the neatest edifices in the town’. As the population of Penrith increased, the need for a new burial ground became imperative. When the cemetery on Beacon Edge opened in 1872 it took over as the town’s burial ground. However, burials continued at Christ Church for those with vaults; these were originally sold for £10 each (over £1,000 now) in 1849-50 to raise funds to build the church. The flat grassy land between the church and Wilson Row is where Penrithians unable/unwilling to have a tombstone were buried.
Exit the churchyard by the opposite gate and turn left along Wilson Row.

Penrith Christ Church and churchyard

Christ Church sculpture