St John the Evangelist, Crosscanonby, Cumbria - John Smith, Salt Officer

Record of the death of John Smith, Salt officer, 1730.

 St John the Evangelist at Crosscanonby, Cumbria held an Open Day on Saturday 27 June when some of the church records from the Cumbrian Record Office were made available to be viewed.
With the help of Churchwarden, Anna Bagley, we were able to find the record dated March 17th,, 1730 listing the death of John Smith of Birkby, a customs officer based in the area. A tomb in the graveyard was also erected to John Smith which includes a unique carved stone panel showing him working, at his desk. It is located close to the south door of the church.
The church is well worth a visit by anyone interested in getting close to a specific person directly involved in the local salt industry.
The Church Open Day was also an important event to draw attention to the fundraising that is needed to secure the care and maintenance of the church, which needs conservation work to its roof and stained glass windows.

Tomb of John Smith.
St John the Evangelist, Crosscanonby.

St John the Evangelist
Crosscanonby

Interior, St John the Evangelist, Crosscanonby.

Close to the church are the remains of a sea salt works. In the mid-1980s, the significance of the surviving Croscanonby salt pans was realised leading to the redevelopment of the historical monument. Between 1997 and 1998, major works were carried out to protect the salt pans from the threat of coastal erosion having realised that one or two more tides could result in the loss of the Salt pans forever.
 In order to protect the Salt pans, emergency work included building a wooden palisade around the most affected part of the site. Over 2,000 tonnes of material from nearby Crosscanonby Carr nature reserve were used in the process. Today, the site remains intact, although under constant threat from the tides.
Links
Wikipedia
Visit Cumbria
Croscannonby CofE Primary School