Treasures from the Parish Chest: exploring North Yorkshire’s church history from archives to architecture
An outstanding Anglo-Saxon church, with a beautifully decorated late Victorian interior
One of the finest examples of preconquest architecture in the county, the tower, nave, and chancel were probably built around 950AD. The church was originally dedicated to St Quentin, a popular saint in the medieval period, who was martyred in Gaul in the 3rd century. The dedication was changed to St John the Baptist sometime after 1667.
By the mid-19th century the church was in a sorry state. The noted church enthusiast Stephen Glynne (who visited over 5500 churches in England and Wales) recorded in his diary what he found when he visited in 1867:
“A mutilated church, presenting a very singular and deformed appearance… the windows of the nave are most wretched modern ones, and the interior is in a terrible state, much confined and blocked by pews and galleries… It is difficult to conceive a more disastrous looking church, yet not damp or dilapidated.”
Kirk Hammerton, St John, 23 October 1867.
Between 1890–1891 St John’s 10th century church was restored and the building was extended
The church was extensively restored and remodelled under the direction of the architect C. Hodgson Fowler. The north aisle was removed and a new nave, north aisle, chancel and vestry were constructed. Hodgson Fowler’s plans are held at the Record Office and show that the new church was more than twice the size of the original. The plan also details that the enlarged church had seating for 217 people.
Between 1895-1898, the interior of the church was decorated by the artist George Ostrehan. His paintings include extensive schemes celebrating nature’s relationship to God. In the Victorian chancel are panels of saints important to the church and North Yorkshire. They include St John the Baptist, shown holding a model of the church next to St Peter standing over a model of York Minster.
The windows, which Stephen Glynne had so hated on his visit in 1867, were replaced in 1900 and 1906.
All photographs and text on Kirk Hammerton, St John the Baptist © Sophie Cawthorne
Further information about Kirk Hammerton, St John
North Yorkshire County Record Office online catalogue listing of parish records for Kirk Hammerton, St John the Baptist [PR/HMK]
Kirk Hammerton, St John entry in A Church Near You
National Heritage List for England Kirk Hammerton, St John Grade I listed building description
Church of England Church Heritage Record for Kirk Hammerton, St John
Kirk Hammerton entry in the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland
North Yorkshire Archives Blog 