St Mary's Church, Beaumont

St Mary’s Church in the village of Beaumont near Carlisle in Cumberland is remarkable for several reasons, two of which I shall describe here, both connected to its location. To approach it, one must walk up a small but fairly steep hill. Older churches are often built in higher places, but this was once the site of a motte and bailey fortification, with the current church standing close by the location of the little castle.

Secondly, this is the only church to sit upon the actual route of Hadrian’s Wall, that great north-south barrier built by the Roman Emperor back in AD122. This great wall was an admission that Rome was no longer expanding; although Hadrian’s successor, Antoninus Pious, briefly expanded northwards again, the older border was soon restored. We may also be fairly certain of where the church's builders obtained their stones!

A great wall and a medieval fortress: both are now essentially gone, leaving in their place a quaint and lonely witness to the Lord Jesus. The days are coming when all human might, power and arms will vanish: no more war, no more crime, no more conflict. This will not be achieved by lighting candles in churches or picketing airbases, but by waiting for the Lord's return. Just as Beaumont’s militaristic past is gone while its church survives, so the chaos of this rebellious world is due to end, and all that shall be left is the redeemed people of God enjoying His good earth as it was originally intended.