Medieval parish churches of York
had around 45 parish churches in 1300. Twenty survive, in whole or in part, a number surpassed in England only by Norwich, and 12 are used for worship. This article consists of a list of medieval churches which still exist in whole or in part, and a list of medieval churches which are known to have existed in the past but have been completely demolished.
In 1086, the Domesday Book listed eight churches and a minster. The number had declined to thirty-nine by 1428 due to taxation; nineteen medieval churches are in use today.
Surviving medieval churches and those of which fragments remain ''in situ''
All Saints, North Street
was founded in the eleventh century, but most of the present building is fourteenth and fifteenth century. The land on which the church was erected was reputedly donated by Ralph de Paganel, a Norman tenant-in-chief whose name is commemorated in the Yorkshire village of Hooton Pagnell. All Saints Church is attractively situated near the River Ouse and next to a row of fifteenth-century timber-framed houses. Externally, the main feature is the impressive tower with a tall octagonal spire. Attached to the west end is an anchorhold or hermitage built of concrete in the 1920s on the site of a house occupied by a hermit on the early 15th century. Internally there are fifteenth-century hammerbeam roofs and much medieval stained glass, including the Corporal Works of Mercy and the "Prick of Conscience" windows. The latter depicts the fifteen signs of the End of the World. The church has an Anglo-Catholic heritage and there are many images of devotion.[|All Saints, Pavement]
A church has been on the site of All Saints since before the Norman Conquest, but the present building is almost entirely fourteenth- and fifteenth-century. As with St. Denys, part of the building was demolished in the late eighteenth century: the east end was removed so that the market-place in Pavement could be expanded. The present east end was rebuilt to a design by George Edmund Street in 1887, but the remains of the medieval chancel-arch can still be seen above the east window inside the church.The most noticeable feature of the church's exterior is the octagonal lantern-tower of about 1400, which for many years housed a light to guide travellers. Inside, there is a hexagonal pulpit of 1634, and several fittings originally from St Saviour and St Crux, whose parishes, among others, were united with All Saints'. Most notable are the west window of fine 15th-century York glass with scenes from the life of Christ, with iconography possibly reflecting the Miracle Plays; the east windows by Kempe; and the 12th-century 'doom' knocker on the north door.
The author Angelo Raine was Rector of All Saints'.
Holy Trinity, Goodramgate
Founded in the first half of the 12th century, its architecture is that of the 13th and 14th centuries, with woodwork and pews of the 17th and 18th centuries. The church is a good example of how a church was arranged after the Reformation. The stained glass over the altar is a gift of John Walker, Rector and is late Perpendicular of 1470–1480, a rare date in York glass.The churchyard is secluded behind rows of old buildings, accessed by narrow alleyways. It is about as close as you can get to how a church would have looked after the Reformation: dark, quiet, homely, with uneven floors, high box pews and plain walls. With candlelight it must perfectly evoke the late 17th century. It is a Grade I listed building.
The church dates back to the 12th century, although the current building owes rather more to the 13th–15th centuries: although part of the Chancel dates from the 12th century, the South Aisle and Chapel date from 1340, the Tower and North Aisle were built in the first half of the 15th century. The box pews are recorded as being repaired in 1633, and new ones added in 1700–1725. The pulpit dates from 1695.
But the church's most notable feature – as is so often the case in York – is its medieval stained glass. The windows are decorated and perpendicular in style. The best is the late Perpendicular east window: this dates from 1470 to 1471 and was presented by the then rector, John Walker. The glass depicts saints, including St George and St Christopher, as well as heraldic shields, around a central panel in which a representation of God as the Trinity holding the dead Christ, with the donors at his feet. Other features include a simple 15th-century font and wall plaques recalling Lord Mayors of York, including the 'Railway King', George Hudson.
The church is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant on 29 June 1971, and was vested in the Trust on 7 November 1972.
Holy Trinity, Micklegate
The nave and tower of Holy Trinity, Micklegate are remnants of the Benedictine priory church, itself on the site of the pre-Conquest church. The present five bay aisled nave is late 12th and early 13th century, the tower built after 1453. The church quickly fell into serious decay after the dissolution of the priory in 1538, and the extensive restoration from the 1850s onward included a chancel and vestry 1886–7 and a north porch and rebuilt west front 1902–5. The church now has an exhibition for visitors on the monastic life of the priory.St Andrew, St Andrewgate
St Crux, Pavement
,, was the largest medieval parish church in York after its rebuilding in 1424, and a brick tower was added in 1697. It was closed around 1880 after becoming unsafe, and attempts to raise sufficient funds to rebuild it were unsuccessful. It was demolished in 1887, although some of the church's stonework was used to build the St Crux Parish Hall at the bottom of the Shambles. The Hall contains a number of monuments from the old church, and other fittings are now in All Saints, Pavement, to which the parish of St Crux was joined in 1885. Part of the stone wall of the fifteenth-century north aisle is still to be seen, and forms part of the southern exterior wall of no. 23 the Shambles and of the south wall of the Snickelway which leads to Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate. The Hall is currently used as a café.St Cuthbert, Peasholme Green
was built near Layerthorpe Postern on York city walls near Layerthorpe. It has Rectors from 1239. The existing building dates back to 1430 when it was restored and largely rebuilt by William de Bowes, who was Lord Mayor of York in 1417 and 1428, and member of parliament in four parliaments.The Bowes family lived in what is now the Black Swan Inn, some from the church. This passed to the Thompson family, one of whose daughters was the mother of James Wolfe, hero of Quebec. Thus the Church has been called "The Cradle of Canada". This is commemorated by the flags of Canada and the US which adorn the church.
The church is linked with St Michael-le-Belfrey and currently used for 'alternative' forms of worship.
St Denys, Walmgate
stands in a churchyard raised above the level of the surrounding roads. It is dedicated to St Denys, the patron saint of France and of Paris. There is evidence that the site was formerly occupied by buildings of the Roman and Viking or Anglo-Saxon periods. The present church is the chancel of the original medieval building, and occupies about one-third of its space – the west end was demolished in 1797, and the central tower was replaced by the present tower in 1847.St Helen, Stonegate
faces St Helen's Square, which incorporates the historic churchyard.The earliest evidence of date is the mid-to-late-12th-century font, but like other medieval churches in the city it is probably a pre-Conquest foundation. Though rebuilt twice, in the 1550s and 1857–58, the church is essentially medieval. The main exceptions are the tower and chancel. The west window incorporates significant amounts of 14th-and 15th-century glass.
St John, Micklegate
is simple rectangular building, with the earliest parts including the tower base dating from the 12th century. Much of the current building dates from the 15th century, though the east end was rebuilt in the middle of the 19th to enable the widening of North Street and there was extensive restoration at that period. The church closed 1934. It later became the Institute of Architecture of the York Academic Trust, which merged into the new University of York. The university used it as an Arts Centre in the 1960s, but it was subsequently sold and is now a bar. A particular item of interest is the bells, whose ropes hang around the bar float! There is occasional ringing, however not very often.St Lawrence, Lawrence Street
The present St Lawrence building is Victorian, but in its churchyard is the small tower of its predecessor. This dates back to the twelfth century, although its top storey was added in the fifteenth century. The tower, which is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, has an impressive Norman doorway, formerly one of the entrances to the nave. The old nave and chancel is marked out in medieval and 18th-19th century gravestones, including those of the Heskeths and Yarburghs of Heslington Hall. The medieval font, along with four early-Victorian windows and some earlier furnishings, can still be seen in the 'new' church.St Margaret, Walmgate
is one of the two medieval churches that survive from the original six in the Walmgate area. It dates back to at least the 12th century, though most of the present structure is 14th century. The major exceptions are the red brick tower, built in 1684 after the collapse of a previous tower, and the Romanesque tunnel-vaulted south porch which is enriched with carvings of the signs of the zodiac and the labours of the Months. The porch originally belonged to the church of St Nicholas's Hospital, which was situated outside Walmgate Bar and was ruined during the Civil War. It was moved to St Margaret's at about the same time as the rebuilding of the tower.St Margaret was restored and enlarged in 1850–1, but its congregation gradually declined and it was declared redundant in 1974. It was subsequently used as a store for the York Theatre Royal until its adaptation for use as a performance space and conference facility by the National Centre for Early Music, which opened in 2000. The adaptation received a commendation from the Civic Trust. The building is designated Grade I listed.