Church Heritage Record 643041

West tower, 3-bay nave, chancel and south porch.

Nave 14m by 7m.

The construction of this church can be almost exactly dated due to the presence of a dedication inscription above the south doorway that records the construction of the church by Herbert of Winchester, Chamberlin to Henry I. This can only have taken place after 1108, the year Herbert recieved the manor, and 1122. The tower, nave and chancel are substantially of this period. The church is thus an important example of the so-called Saxo-Norman overlap. Its slightly earlier companion is Wharram-le-Street St Mary.

The south porch was added later, probably at roughly the same time that early 14th -century windows were punched into the nave south-east bay and the chancel.  There then appears to have been a gap of over 500 years till the next alterations were made; not a single artefact or architectural feature can be recognised from this interval, with the exception of the churchyard monuments.

The church was restored, re-roofed, the gables and the north wall above the plinth partly rebuilt in 1872 by G E Street for Sir Tatton Sykes, one of the less intrusive schemes of work undertaken by them at this time in terms of the fabric.  The furnishings and fittings date to this restoration, with the notable exception of the font. 

This commanding site was fully exploited by the Normans, as was shown by excavations in the 1960s which revealed a large (and plainly visible) platform directly south-east of the church, with the footings of at least two substantial buildings enclosed by earthworks, dating to the 11th-14th century.  The earthworks partly enclose the church on the east side, and indeed continue into the churchyard itself; the extension of the churchyard to the east prompted the excavations. This is a Scheduled Monument, which does not include the churchyard.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the whole surrounding area is an archaeological site of national importance, with Prehistoric remains and earthworks and underground remains of a substantial Romano-British and Saxon proto-urban settlement. There are also important medieval and post-medieval remains, including the famous medieval and post-medieval site of Wharram Percy, and of course the other medieval churches in the area. The large-scale excavations at these sites have changed our perception of the late Roman, Saxon and medieval periods. The Historic Environment Record (HER) and the County Archaeologist should be consulted before any development of the site is considered.

This building has preserved the dimensions and atmosphere of an early Norman church in the “Northumbrian” tradition, austere and powerful, rearing lofty and alone above the valley. The tall, slim tower, quite plain apart from the simple belfry openings, is particularly impressive, packing a visual punch out of proportion to its size.  It is of four stages, with a semi-circular south-east stair tower with a moulded roof and slit openings. A buttress of one weathering gives support at the junction with the nave.  String-courses define the belfry stage, but the other stages are only marked by slit windows. Under a plain parapet the belfry stage has twin round-arched openings on a central column with a cushion capital, recessed beneath round arches resting on plain imposts.

The gabled south porch has a pointed double-chamfered opening beneath a head-stopped hood-mould, flanked by blank shields.  Short angle buttresses of one stepped weathering.  The eroded remains of water-spouts, perhaps dragon-heads, project from the middle of the side walls.  Within the porch, there are stone benches, and several segments of floriate crosses from Medieval (13th-century?) grave slabs built into the walls (one piece is also to be seen in the north nave wall). The arch-braced timber roof is Victorian, of good quality.

The inner doorway is square-headed, but above the plain lintel is a semi-circular tympanum containing a single rectangular block of black stone which sits directly on the lintel, into which is carved a sundial (the stump of the gnomon survives) with a Latin inscription above. This has been translated as “In honour of the Apostle St Andrew, Herbert of Winchester built this Minster (monasterium) in the time of...”, emphasising the importance of this church, which was mother church to several chapels in the area, including those at West Lutton and East Heslerton. It is of high intrinsic interest, comparable with the earlier and more famous example at Kirkdale Minster.  The latter dates to 1055-65, and is written in Old English rather than Latin.

The south wall of the nave east of the porch has two round-headed lancets east of the porch, and a pointed light with ogee head further east and lower in the wall. The north wall has clearly been partly rebuilt and the roofline raised, the windows (two round-headed lancets) and doorway renewed. This square-headed doorway has an arch over with a blank, ashlar tympanum, identical to the north doorway.

The south wall of the chancel has a square-headed priest’s door with a lintel, a cusped pointed lancet to the east and a square-headed window of two ogee-headed lights in the eastern bay. This window is mirrored in the north wall, which was presumably originally blind. The east window is of three lights with reticulated tracery, within a square-headed and double-chamfered frame.  These windows are probably early 14th-century in date.  There is a consecration cross carved into the east wall.

Entering the church and looking first west from the doorway, the very tall round tower arch has plain imposts, again very Saxon dimensions.  There is a rectangular belfry opening above with a wooden balustraded rail, which cuts a roofscar.  The dimly lit interior has a grand sense of space, the bare walls and tall narrow nave giving a perhaps slightly falsified impression of Norman austerity.  This is mitigated to some degree by the gilded metal screens to the chancel and tower arch, and the ornately and deeply coloured painted waggon roof to the nave (decoration by Bell & Almond).

The south-west corner of the nave adjacent to the main doorway is set aside as a baptistery, with a raised floor paved with encaustic tiles, the centrepiece the remarkable Norman font. There is a bench with a stone footing against the west wall. The south-east corner has four blocks of stone apparently found during the excavations, three of which appear to be shaped and one of which bears a simple carved cross.

The chancel arch is original, round-headed and stepped, with plain imposts. Mounted on the wall adjacent to the chancel arch is a huge statue of St Andrew by Redfern. The ledge on which is stands may be ancient. On the opposite side is a long rectangular niche, directly behind the pulpit. There are Derbyshire fossil marble steps up the the chancel and sanctuary.

Within the chancel itself there is a (restored) Norman pillar piscina in the south-west corner with original credence shelf adjacent, and a plain square aumbry opposite. The preist's door is arch-headed internally. The floor is of Victorian encaustic tiles by Godwin, and the chancel and sanctuary furnishings are also of this date and of high quality. The chancel roof is arch-braced with a collar, also ornately painted by Ball & Almond.