Historic Churches in Yorkshire

Patrington's parish church is known as The Queen of Holderness, and for good reason. This is a real gem of a church, one of the most enjoyable parish churches in England. Never will you experience an interior so full of light and space, with such a unity of design and quality of architecture; an almost perfect example of Decorated Gothic style. The compound columns are exquisitely graceful, and the gorgeous stiff-leaf capital carvings are sublime. Rarely is a church interior so satisfying as that of Patrington.
Patrington, Yorkshire, England, HU12 0RE

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: Perhaps the perfect Decorated Gothic church
Photos of Patrington, St Patrick's Church
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

The parish church of St Peter and St Paul in the historic market town of Pickering is famous for its series of medieval wall paintings, which are easily among the best surviving medieval murals in the country. The church is located on a rise at the top end of the High Street, just a short stroll from the walls of Pickering Castle.
Market Place, Pickering, North York Moors, Yorkshire, England, YO18 7BE

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: Superb 15th century wall paintings
Photos of Pickering Church
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

St Mary's dates to the 12th century and was the town church of Richmond even though it stood outside the medieval town walls. Look for superbly carved choir stalls and misericords brought here from Easby Abbey and the splendid 1629 tomb of Timothy Hutton, his wife Elizabeth and their 12 children.
Station Road, Richmond, Yorkshire, England, DL10 7AQ

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: 1511 misericords from Easby Abbey
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

The small parish church of Rievaulx began in the 13th century as the slipper chapel to Rievaulx Abbey and incorporates parts of the medieval abbey gateway. Look for the memorial to the 2nd Earl of Feversham, who died at the Battle of the Somme in 1915.
Rievaulx Bank, Rievaulx, North York Moors, Yorkshire, England, YO62 5LB

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: Incorporates the medieval slipper chapel of Rievaulx Abbey
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

All Saints Church was built around 1395 by Sir Thomas Ingilby of Ripley Castle to replace an earlier chapel that had suffered from subsidence. In the churchyard is a unique 'weeping cross' with niches for kneeling penitents. Look for the effigy of Sir Thomas Ingilby and his wife Edeline (c. 1369).
Hollybank Lane, Ripley, Yorkshire, England, HG3 3AY

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: Medieval 'weeping cross' in the churchyard
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

St. Cuthbert, who seems to have gotten about quite a bit during and after his lifetime (see Durham), was once guestmaster at the 7th century Celtic monastery here, but it was not until 1836 that Ripon became a cathedral. The original nave (circa 1180) had no aisles, the only illumination was from the clerestory. There is a Saxon crypt, but the rood screen and the choir stalls with their rich and allegorical carving are the chief interest. Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, is supposed to have been inspired by the strange beasts carved here.
Minster Road, Ripon, Yorkshire, England, HG4 1QS

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: Saxon crypt built by St Wilfrid
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

Roecliffe parish church is a neo-Norman structure built in 1843 by York architect RH Sharp, whose most famous work was at the Yorkshire Museum in York. The church was built on land given by Andrew Lawson, lord of Aldborough Manor, and the churchyard is full of memorials to members of the Lawson family.
Roecliffe, Yorkshire, England, YO51 9LZ

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: Unusual barrel-vaulted roof
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

The Church of St Mary and St Laurence in Rosedale Abbey incorporates parts of the medieval Cisterican priory of nuns at Rosedale. The present church was built in 1839 on the site of the priory chapel after the population of Rosedale exploded due to an iron mining boom.
Village Green, Rosedale Abbey, North York Moors, Yorkshire, England, YO18 8SA

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: 13th-century pillar from the priory church
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

St Peter's church stands in the grounds of Rowley Manor, now a country house hotel. There was a church here at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, but even then it seems there was no village of Rowley; the location was simply chosen as expedient because it was midway between Little Weighton and Riplington!
Next to Rowley Manor Hotel and Stables, Rowley, Yorkshire, England, HU20 3XR

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: Ellerker Chapel memorials
Photos of Rowley, St Peter's Church
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts

All Saints church in Rudston is a lovely early Norman church built around the year 1100 by William Peverel, lord of the manor. Of that Norman church, the tower remains, and you can still trace the original west entrance in the stonework at the west end of the church.
Church Lane, Rudston, Yorkshire, England

Heritage Rating:   ?

Heritage Highlight: The Rudston Monolith stands beside the church
Nearest: Hotels - Self Catering - Bed and Breakfasts