Saved from destruction: the church where Lowry sealed a blossoming friendship

The Cumbrian property that was the backdrop to a companionship between the artist and a young female painter has been granted listed statusFor years it has lain empty, at the mercy of sea winds, vandals and thieves. Few who pass the sombre, red sandstone church nestling on the harbourside of the small Cumbrian coastal town of Maryport may give it much thought.Fewer still may appreciate that it provided the backdrop to a blossoming friendship between one of Britain’s best-loved artists, LS