Treasures from the Parish Chest: exploring North Yorkshire’s church history from archives to architecture

Introducing Sophie

As @churchoftheday on Instagram with over 70,000 followers, Sophie Cawthorne shares daily posts of the churches she visits throughout the country to share the history, architecture, material culture and art of these ancient and beautiful buildings.

“Standing within our landscape for hundreds of years, our parish churches hold the local history, cultural identity, and collective memories of our nation. I love the beauty, the grandeur, and the quiet that churches have. In lots of different ways, exploring historic churches can spark your imagination and feed your soul.”

The idea for this exhibition arose out of an Instagram collaboration between Sophie and the Record Office, which started in 2022, with regular posts showcasing Sophie’s photographs of North Yorkshire churches alongside images of related parish records from the Record Office collections.

Sophie’s advice for church crawling:

“It can vary from place to place as to whether churches are kept unlocked so do your research. Make sure to check church websites in advance to find out about accessibility, if there’s a keyholder, or if you need to request access. Plan a route to make the most of your church crawl and don’t be too disappointed if you can’t get in, there’s so much to explore in our churchyards too!”

Follow Sophie on Instagram to see more of her photographs and discover where she’ll visit next!

@churchoftheday

20 of Sophie’s favourite North Yorkshire churches

This slideshow has been put together by Sophie to showcase 20 of her favourite churches in North Yorkshire. Video running time c. 11 mins, featuring 4 photographs of each church over two slides:

Featuring:

All photographs © Sophie Cawthorne

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