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Name: | St Mary's Church, Whitby |
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NY SMR Number: | MNY8765 |
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Type of record: | Building |
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Last edited: | Mar 13 2018 11:53AM |
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Protected Status
- Listed Building (I) 326508: PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY
Grid Reference: | NZ 901 112 |
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Parish: | Whitby [4035]; Scarborough |
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Monument Type(s):
- CHURCH (12th CENTURY to Modern - 1110 AD? to 2050 AD)
- PARISH CHURCH (Post Medieval to Modern - 1540 AD to 2050 AD)
Other References/Statuses
- AMIE Reference / HOB UID: 29839 ST MARYS CHURCH
- National Monuments Record: NZ91SW15
- Old Sites & Monuments Record Number: 7464.00041
Full description
The parish church has been surveyed by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England during 1996. The cruciform building has a western tower, north and south porches, a north aisle and vestry. It appears that the current form of the church evolved through time from a possible single cell building, being extended in the mid-12th century to two cells of rectangular chance and a wider nave. This nave was later lengthened. It appears that a western tower was added by about 1180. The arms of the cruciform plan in the transepts where added later and abut the nave. The nave, chancel and western tower are all 12th century, with the transepts 13th century. These additions reflect the growing population of the town.
Further Post-medieval additions are present in the vestry probably of 18th century date, the north aisle and both porches 19th century. The church has been re-roofed on a number of occasions including the 1390s and after storm damage in 1612. The church was restored in 1905, with a stone inscribed with this date located beneath the east window externally. This restoration included the opening of round-headed windows and the restoration of the original roof slope.
The interior of the church is an outstanding example of a church with private family galleries and box pews of 17th to 19th century date, whilst the three-decker pulpit was created in 1847 from an earlier 19th century pulpit. These includes the gallery for the Cholmley family with its own private external staircase added to the south transept which also includes a Chinese Chippendale balustrade from the second half of the 18th century. This includes elaborate decorative elements as panels with cherubs, moulded cornices, finely carved carved panels, capitals and balusters. There is a wide variety of fittings and monuments within the church, as well as painted panels, that are original to the church including chandeliers, font and organ. The bells are noted as rehung in a new metal bellframe and were unfortunately recast in 1950. These have also been added and augmented, replaced and restored through, through time. Only a few Medieval cross slab grave covers, a single indent for a brass and coffin remain as Medieval monuments, whilst the church contains numerous monuments from when the Cholmley family were lords of the manor as tombs in the chancel, east wall of the transept and east wall of the nave behind the organ with manor of the symbolic elements to such tombs noted.
The parish church is located just outside the precincts of the refounded Whitby Abbey, and akin to others of post-Conquest date in Westminster, Barking and York. The church was a dependency of the adjacent monastery until 1540 when it became a parish church. (1)
Summary information. (2)(3)(6)
A 'mass dial' was observed on the lower courses of the north wall of St Mary's tower by a visitor to Whitby on holiday, who has suggested the following: it would have been able to cast shadows around midsummer before the north aisle was built, therefore it may be older, alternatively mass dials were often used to indicate services or other events with no intention of working as a sundial. The visitor also observed that the gnomon (central stick) was broken and had been made of stone which is unusual. There is an upwards line which could never have had a shadow cast on it, but that these upward lines are not uncommon on mass dials and may indicate a night time service. A photograph was taken. (4,5)
<1> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 12/1996, Historic Building Report, St Mary's Church, Whitby, North Yorkshire (Report). SNY19192.
<2> Ordnance Survey, Various, Ordnance Survey Record Card, NZ91SW15 (Card Index). SNY1.
<3> Humber Field Archaeology, 06/2008, Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: Whitby to Reighton., WH23 (Report). SNY12366.
<4> 08/2014, Email correspondence about a Mass Dial at St Mary's Whitby (Correspondence). SNY21231.
<5> Whitby Mass Dial (Photograph). SNY21230.
<6> Humber Field Archaeology, 09/2014, Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment, Phase 3. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire - Project Overview and Thematic Discussion of Selected Aspects (Report). SNY20834.
Sources and further reading
<1> | SNY19192 - Report: Royal Commission on Historic Monuments. 12/1996. Historic Building Report, St Mary's Church, Whitby, North Yorkshire. Pattison, I R. Printout. 1996. |
<2> | SNY1 - Card Index: Ordnance Survey. Various. Ordnance Survey Record Card. Various authors. NZ91SW15. |
<3> | SNY12366 - Report: Humber Field Archaeology. 06/2008. Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: Whitby to Reighton.. Buglass, J & Brigham, T. 2008/06/10. WH23. |
<4> | SNY21231 - Correspondence: 08/2014. Email correspondence about a Mass Dial at St Mary's Whitby. Whirrity, P; Farnsworth, A. 2014/08/19. |
<5> | SNY21230 - Photograph: Whitby Mass Dial. Farnsworth, A. 2014/08/19. |
<6> | SNY20834 - Report: Humber Field Archaeology. 09/2014. Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment, Phase 3. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire - Project Overview and Thematic Discussion of Selected Aspects. Brigham, T. 2015/02/03. |
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