Urswick / Great Urswick / Hursewic, Ursewic / Ursewyk / Urswic

No individual entry found for Urswick in the Domesday survey. The entry for this parish in the Victoria County History (Lancaster, vol. 8, 1914) notes: "The church of Urswick appears to have been the mother church of Ulverston and Pennington, [...] and probably of Aldingham also. Its advowson must have belonged to the lords of Furness, for it came to the abbey without any special grant, so far as known [...]; it was confirmed to them by the pope in 1194. [...] The church was appropriated to the abbey in 1228 [...] The font now used is a modern Gothic one dating from 1827. The old octagonal font of red sandstone was then taken away, but was preserved and restored to the church about 1905. The sides are quite plain and curve inwards to the base, which is square and in a separate piece." The Visit Cumbria web site [www.visitcumbria.com] notes: "hexagonal font which dates from the Medieval period. It has a splendid carved cover, showing dolphins encircling the heads of children." The Explore Low Furness web site [www.explorelowfurness.co.uk] [accessed 19 September 2006] notes: "For some reason the original font (now restored) was removed from the church and 'stored' in the garden of William Cranke, being returned at the beginning of the 20th century. ts oak cover in memory of Henry Richmond Houghton Gale and his wife Emma, has the heads of their four daughters depicted in the centre; this is dated 1921." The Cumbria Directory web site [www.thecumbriadirectory.com] suggests a 12th-century date. The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SD2683874189] notes: "C19 font and medieval font with rich cover dated 1921."