Keld Chapel

Keld Chapel is a small, rustic stone chapel in the hamlet of Keld, near Shap on the edge of the Lake District National Park, believed to date from the 16th century and thought to have been the chantry for Shap Abbey. Its high-status north window was very likely salvaged from the ruins of the abbey, which Henry VIII dissolved in 1540. The Shap parish register records a christening here on 16 June 1672, and the building has also served as a cottage and a meeting house. Sir Samuel Scott, who by the Trust's account did more for Lakeland scenery than any benefactor except Beatrix Potter, presented the restored chapel to the National Trust in 1918. The chapel is currently closed for conservation work, and the Trust is fundraising to repair the south-west gable and replace the roof. When it is open, visitors let themselves in with a key that hangs by the front door of the house opposite, a ritual reviewers clearly enjoy, and they warn that the lanes into Keld are narrow and winding.