Architectural Features
Coursed red and calciferous sandstone (from the nearby Roman Wall) on chamfered plinth
north door in moulded surround with carved stone leaf capitals.
Norman font on 1848 shaft is octagonal at base of bowl and square at top: leaf decoration with beaded strips and stems.
The font is Norman, said to have been dug up from a garden adjoining the church in 1848 http://www.stevebulman.f9.co.uk/cumbria/1901/bowness_sol_1901_f.html . The old bells were used in the church tower until 1905. They were brought to St Michael's in the 17th century, raided from two churches on the Scotch side of the Solway Firth. It was a tit-for-tat mission, Bowness's own bells had previously been stolen by a raiding party of Scots, who dropped them in the estuary during their getaway.