The south transept now the eastern end of the south aisle was, in early days, a chapel, as witness the trefoil piscine for washing the sacred vessels, the recess in the wall which may have been an ambry where the sacred vessels, or the reserved sacrament, were kept and the stone brackets on the east wail on which religious images may have stood in pie-Reformation times. In the east wail is a two light window, probably of the late 15th or early 16th century date. Entrance to the chapel from the crossing was through an archway, the original bases, pillars and capitals of which, might be seen today. The original arch which sprang from the capitals may, however, have been raised in height at a later date, as witness the stone block placed on each of the corbels which had supported the original roof of the nave, thus indicating that the roof had been raised for some purpose, possibly to accommodate the higher arch.

The north transept was likely to have been the smaller and less important of the two, the opening narrower, the arch lower and the roof not so high as on the south side. The remains o * corbels which supported the roof may be seen in the war ii in the way of the present arch. Of the archway between the old crossing and the nave, nothing remains except, on the south side, a part of the jamb springing from the wall and, lower down, the remains of two nook shafts. It will be noted that the pier from which this archway once sprang has a base big enough to accommodate a pillar and capital from which an arch could be sprung to the ‘west, thus suggesting that the church was once cruciform a south aisle came into existence at an early date.

The perpendicular west tower, supported by diagonal buttresses with numerous set-offs at the western corners, dates from about the year 1504. At the same time it would seem, the north aisle was built and extended into what is now a utility room at the west end, that end still lighted by a window of the same period. The south aisle, although its windows have basket, arches and hood moulds of that period was probably not built until later. There are two pieces of evidence for this supposition; one is the fact that inside the church, at the west end, the south-east pier base to the tower stands some four feet further east than does the north-east pier. The other point is that from the outside of the church, the masonry at the south-east corner of the tower, immediately above the Baptistery roof, can be seen to be recessed, indicating that the place may have been the root of a supporting buttress which ran to the ground where the Baptistery now stands. Both the southeast pier and the buttress would have provided the support needed for the southeast side of the tower in the absence of the south aisle masonry. In 1876, at a time of widespread ecclesiastical building and restoration, it was decided that the chancel should be rebuilt, Richard Burn, of Orion Hall, being the prime mover in the matter. Accordingly in January 1878, under the direction of the Lancaster architects, Paley and Austin, the work was begun, being completed in the following year. During the reconstruction it became clear that the chancel walls had suffered some earlier alterations, because a considerable proportion of the fabric comprised stonework, which had been part of earlier windows and arches. At the same time the East window was taken out and replaced with a larger 3-light window in the Early English style, the old East Window being transferred to the Baptistery. Before the restoration of 1878 when it was removed, a gallery had occupied the west end of the nave, its place being taken by an organ by Messrs Wilkinson, of Kendal. The organ as later removed to its present position, where an old arch between the organ loft and the chancel was enlarged. A new arch was built at the east end of the north aisle. Both arches were erected to the proportions of the new chancel arch, which in turn had copied the arch separating the nave from the 13th century chapel. The pulpit, which now stands at the north side of the chancel steps, was originally the top deck of an earlier three-decker pulpit of about 1742, which stood on the south side. Hanging from the nave roof near one of the skylights will be seen a chain which used to hold in position, the sounding board of the three-decker pulpit. On the wall of the south aisle, above the door, hangs a large wooden panel bearing the Royal Coat-of-Arms of William Ill, dated 1695. In the Baptistery may be seen some relics of past ages. One is a large box, in all probability the old Parish Chest, said to have been hollowed out of a tree grown in Lowther Park. It is heavy, is bound with iron bands and fastened with three padlocks, each having a different key. Three persons had to be present when it was opened. Another item is the old Bread Charity chest of six compartments, each large enough to hold two loaves. The loaves were distribut2d to the Parish poor. The last time loaves were distributed is believed to have been during the 1920’s. Also to be seen are four long oak seats, relics of the old pews - the church was re-seated in 1878 - and some oak rails which, in common with those presently separating the organ loft from the north aisle, are old Communion rails. Parts of the old pews have been used for the paneling of the walls of the Baptistery, one panel on the north side carved with the initials and date, RH 1733 D 1733. Here, on the south wall, hangs a large board with details the various charities that existed in 1866. Relics of these charities survive at the present day. The font is dated 1622, described by the late Professor Pevsner as being characteristic of the period, bears some interesting carving, the significance of which is not apparent today. it will be noted that the font is of red sandstone, and not the native limestone of hereabouts. Today much of the flooring of the nave is of plain tiles. In the early part of the 19th century wooden boards covered a layer of flagstones. Earlier than that, the church had a clay floor, which would be covered with fresh rushes, abundant on the wet pastures. Upon entering and leaving the church, the visitor passes through the porch erected in 1607. At the entrance lie some yellowish sandstone flagstones, relics of those, which were laid from the church gate to the porch in 1851, to provide dry footing for those attending Divine Service. The flagstones came from the quarry at Nateby, near Kirkby Stephen and were collected by farmers of the parish who provided a train of carts for the round trip of 34 miles. Upon their return, the then Vicar provided them with dinner and refreshment. The Burn family occupied Orton Hall for 150 years. The most distinguished member was Richard (1709 -1785). He was for more than twenty years Chancellor of the Diocese and for forty-nine years Vicar of this parish and a well-known antiquarian. Memorial tablets to various members of the family will be found in the chancel, including the funeral hatchment (a large diamond-shaped panel) of Joseph Burn (1769-18 18) The hatchment bears the Latin inscription RESURGAM" - "1 shall rise again." The Holme family in memory of Mary Holme who died at Orton Vicarage in 1884 gave the fine "Eagle" lectern to the church. She had been the wife of the Rev. Thomas Holme who was the Vicar of Great Asby at the time of his death in 1877. The lectern replaced what is now the Vicar’s stall, for the latter bears the words "Thou shalt read the law before all Israel that they may heare it. Deut 31.11."

The sole survivors of an earlier arrangement for lighting the church will be seen on the wall of the north aisle, where there are two long brackets with bowls for oil lamps. The tower contains a fine ring of eight bells, built up from the original four by John Wooley of Nottingham in 1530, and two possibly by William Oldfield of York, augmented by some later additions and some recasting. The three bells in the frame in the north aisle are of considerable archaeological interest and have been preserved for that reason. The smallest bell is inscribed in plain Roman capitals IESVS BE OVR SPEED, and is dated 1637. The big bell has the inscription in Roman capitals SOLI DEl GLORIA is dated 1637 and has the initials IC and CP. The middle-sized bell is, however, the most interesting. John Wooley cast it in 1530 as part of the original ring of four. It is inscribed in Gothic capitals OMNIU SANCTORU, and is ornamented with a shield-shaped badge comprised of a Greek cross centered on a saltier and bears the initials LB, enclosing what appear to be smaller-sized initials. No date is inscribed on this bell. These bells hang by their own crown headstocks in the timber frame as they would in the tower. A matter unconnected with the architectural history of the church and its furnishings may be of interest.

The early church of Orton was appropriated to the Prior and Convent of the church of ‘Jonishead in Lancashire by the Lord of the Manor, Gamel de Pennington, in the reign of Henry II (1133-1189). The Prior and Convent thus became Rectors of the church, entitled to tithes and dues. The first recorded Vicar, Richard de Barnard Castle was appointed in 1293 as may be seen from the wooden board on the north aisle. On that board are recorded the names of all incumbents of the living from that time until the present day. At the Dissolution of the Religious Houses in the reign of Henry VIII, an act completed about 1539; the Crown seized the Rectory and avowdson. There it reposed until it was sold in the time of James I to Francis Morice Esq., of the City of Westminster, and Francis Phillips Esq., of the City of London. These gentlemen subsequently resold the rights in 1618, for the sum of £570 to the Rev. John Corney, Edmund Braithwaite and Philip Winster, in trust for the landowners of the Parish. The right to present the Vicar, whenever the living became vacant, was then vested for convenience in twelve feoffees that, in the event, were required to hold an election among the freeholders of the parish.

The twelve feoffees still exist for the purpose for which they were originally constituted, but with the union of the benefices of Orton, Tebay and Ravenstonedale, under one Vicar in 1981, a new situation has arisen. The board which records the names of all the incumbents, made by a local joiner, Horace Wilson, who have held the living was erected by the parishioners as memorial to the Rev. William King, Vicar of the parish from 1919 until 1955.

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