3 Famous churches in York

3 Famous churches in York.

York Minster.

The Minster in York dominates the Northern section of what was once the Roman city of Eburacum. The cruciform building (in the shape of a cross) has foundations that date back to the Roman occupation of Britain....indeed the undercroft demonstrates these remains in displays of Roman foundations and wall paintings open to visitors. Othwerwise, the church has Christian foundations from the 300's, although the first buiding was erected on this site in 627 for the baptism of the King of Northumbria at the time, Edwin. In 637, the largely wooden structure was replaced with a stone buiding by Oswald, with a dedication to St Peter. By 670, Oswald's church was in serious disrepair, until St Wilfrid obtained control over the see of York. St Wilfrid put into place a project of buiding and repair, that soon saw the church and the attached school as one of the largest and most important in Europe.

In 741 the church was totally destroyed by fire, but the rebuilt structure was all the more impressive, boasting a massive 30 altars. The church and the surrounding area were then subjected to invading Viking armies and Saxon kings and the chaotic political scene that manifested itself in the North of England as a result of the disunity engulfing the country at the time. It isn't until the 10th century that the history of the buiding emerges from the dust of this war-filled time, with a number of Benedictine Archbishops leading the church and its city onto bigger and better things.

In 1069, after the Norman invasion (1066) the church was again badly damaged, but a year later, the first Norman bishop arrived, and made the required repairs. In 1075, the Danes destroyed the church, and again it was rebuilt, with the building work commencing in 1080. This time, the church was built with Norman architectural influences, measuring 365 feet in length, and, so historical documents tell us, rendered in red and white. A fire seriously damaged this new building in 1137, the damage done was soon put to rights. The cathedral was eventually declared complete in 1472, and consecrated the same year.

Statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine outside the Minster.

Then, through the 1200's, and right into the 1550's, the church, or cathedral as it had become, was added to, redesigned and improved. The huge central tower was built with a wooden spire (I feel a fire coming on!!)

During the English Reformation, the crown sought to remove any signs of Roman Catholism from church, with the removal and destruction of many tombs, the destruction of many of the original windows and some of the altars. During the Civil war, York was besieged by the Parliamtarian troops of Oliver Cromwell, eventually falling to his forces in 1644. Thomas Fairfax prevented the cathedral from being looted and indeed damaged. An interesting note here, is that Thomas Fairfax was the Parliamentarian that took Beetham Hall from the Cliffords in the same year as the siege of York, 1644.

From the early 1700's, right through to the 20th century, the cathedral has undergone several phases of restoration and consolidation, with recent work concentrating on the strengthening of the central tower and the foundations.

Holy Trinity, Goodramgate.

Situated a few yards off Goodramgate, the medieval church of Holy Trinity is all but hidden from the many shopping streets that surround it. First mentioned in 1082, the church is reported to have belonged to Durham Cathedral Priory. Soon after this time, the church, in whatever form it took at this early time, was passed to the control of the Archbishop of York, Walter de Gray. In 1236, the rector of the church was Gilbert Capel. He would most likely have taken charge of a small one room\single celled building. It wasn't until the 13th century, that building commenced on a 'proper' church. Portions of the earlier 12th century and the main 13th century buildings still remain buried deep in the fabric of the present church. Of the 12th century building, the window over the altar in the East of the church survives. Of the 13th century building, perhaps only a single pillar on the outer wall of the South of the church survives. The tower is from various stages of the 15th century, and the rest of the building dates from repairs carried out in 1823, and further repairs and restoration during the 19th century.

The interior of the church is furnished with 17th and 18th century box pews...much to my wife's delight...she was put in the 'naughty girl's pew' by our guide, and ridiculed by us all!!

Today the church is redundant, with only one or two services a year. It's well worth a visit, with the grave yard surrounding the church quiet and far-removed from the busy shopping streets a few feet away. The interior is cool and quiet again, and well worth visiting. We visited this church as one of the York history tours, which gives a good insight into the history of the building and its surroundings.

http://yorkholytrinity.org.uk/ Check the link out! The web site hosts a great history tour of the church, as well as news and events taking place at Holy Trinity.

St Michael le Belfry.

The church of St Michael le Belfry is sandwiched between Petergate and Minster Yard, and probably named for the belfry of York Minster only a few hundred yards away. Built between 1525 and 1537, the church was probably built on the site of an earlier church, possibly dating from the Norman invasion of 1066.

The church's main claim to fame, is that it holds the baptismal records of one Guido Fawkes....Guy Fawkes of the Gun Powder Plot fame....christened here in 1570,

Ulverston Parish Church, Ulverston

Ulverston Parish church (St Mary)

Ulverston

Cumbria

The parish church of Ulverston is situated to the North of the Coronation Hall, at the end of Church Walk.

The main body of the building dates from 1864 to 1866 when Paley and Austin were contracted to restore the fabric of the church. It's likely however that there has been a church on this site from around 1111. It was sometime around this period that 'the church in Ulverston' was placed in the care of Conishead Priory, with Furness Abbey also receiving an annual 'rent', possibly buying protection for the area. The only remaining masonry from this 12th century period, is the well preserved Norman arch, hidden away within the 19th century porch. This arch, mounted in the South wall of the church, has probably been moved from its original position, but the incised chevrons are in remarkably good condition.

The Norman arch

The church tower dates from the 16th century, probably built sometime between 1540 and 1560, and erected after the original earlier tower was badly damaged in a storm of 1540. The partial collapse of the earlier tower, probably also caused additional damaged to the rest of the building. The 1540-1560 restoration took advantage of the dissolution of nearby Conishead priory and Furness Abbey, with stone from these two sites being used to re-build the damaged church.

The altar in the Parish church is called the Trinity Altar. This alludes to the name of the Parish church detailed on the board at the church gates "St Mary with Holy Trinity" During the early 19th century, the population of Ulverston stood at around 4000, and the church of St Mary was too small to play host to them all. An additiona church, Holy Trinity was build in 1832, to house the rest of the population, about a mile to the West. As church congregations fell, the newer Holy Trinity was closed, and St Mary's became the sole, Parish church. Holy Trinity was sold, and consequently converted to flats. Some fixtures and fittings from Holy Trinity were transferred over to St Mary's.

Holy Trinity

The church containes several interesting memorials. The largest is the tomb of Willaim Sandys. Sandys bought Conishead Priory, eventually passing the site to the Braddyll family who had the tomb constructed for him. The tomb proved to be empty when it was moved from the Braddyll chapel in the East end of the church, prompting the local legend that, as he was murdered, his body was thrown into Morecambe Bay by his murderers.

William Sandy's tomb

There is also a memorial to Sir John Barrow, Secretary to the Admiralty and Arctic explorer. The Hoad Monument was built in his honour.

There is a 1606 memorial to Myles Dodding in the West end of the church near the Norman archway. The memorial shows a reclining man, probably Myles himself, enclosed within classical pillars with two memorial plaques written in Latin.

Miles Dodding's memorial

The pulpit is situated at the East end of the church, is made of light coloured stone and has a large tester or sound board over it. The pulpit was used by George Fox, a Quaker preacher famous in the South Lakes area, on about three occasions. He was thrown out of the church on two of these occasions, the second time receiving a beating from the local police before being marched to Moss Side (not Manchester!!) and left to fend for himself. Apparently he had upset the local Ulverston population by calling them liars, drunkards and thieves.

The church is not usually open, except for services, but luckily the current vicar was nearby, and allowed me time to photograph the interior of the church.

More Roman forts in Cumbria

Roman forts in Cumbria.

As well as the forts mentioned earlier on in this blog (Galava at Ambleside, Mediobogdum at Harknott and Low Borrowbridge near Tebay) there are other Roman sites in the South of Cumbria, that sometimes get overlooked, as well as a lesser fort recently visited in North Yorkshire. The reason behind this, is that they are rather 'overshadowed' by the structures that are built over them, therefore dominating the landscape in which they lie.

The three that will be mentioned here, are at Brough and Brougham in Cumbria, and Elslack in North Yorkshire. The forts at Brough and Brougham lay beneath large medieval castles, and the Roman remains have been incorporated into the defences of these structures. The fort at Elslack lays alongside the now dis-used railway.

Brough.

The Roman name for the fort that lays beneath the castle, was Verteris. The castle and the fort lay just to the South of the ancient village of Brough, and to the West of the A685. Indeed, excellent views can be had of the castle as you descend into Brough from the A66 as you travel West.

The medieval castle lays along the North side of the Roman fort, occupying around a third of the 3 acre site. The fort would most likely have been built early in the 2nd century, and there is archaeological evidence to suggest that it was occupied well into the 4th and 5th centuries. In the 3rd century, the fort was manned by the VII Cohort of Thracians. In the 4th and 5th centuries, it was manned by the Numerus Directorum, an irregular unit of auxiliary soldiers consisting of around 300 mounted and foot soldiers.

To the South East of the fort, and outside of the protective earthworks, a vicus (civilian settlement) has been found, indicating that the fort attracted local interest both in trade and people seeking protection from the soldiers stationed there. The fort is thought to have been an important administrative centre.

The Roman fort at Brough is not particularly visible from the ground. The public footpath that leads visitors in from the North, hides the fact that the majority of the ancient earthworks are beyond the fence (to your left as you walk to the gatehouse) It's only when you see aerial shots of the castle, that the full extent of the Roman fort can be appreciated. Some of the best aerial photos can be seen at http://visitcumbria.com/pen/broughcastle.htm These photos by Simon Ledingham illustrate the size of the fort, and the amount of earthworks that still survive.

Brougham.

The Roman name for the fort that lays beneath the castle at Brougham was Brocavvm. The Roman complex here consists of a major fort, a civilian settlement and a marching camp (situated about 400 yards North East of the fort and the castle) Both castle and fort sit next to the B6262, and just off the A66. The best views of the fort are to be had from the B road, as it almost exactly follows the course of the surviving Roman earthworks at the South side of the site.

The Eight Legion were known to have been stationed at the fort at Brougham, probably as early as 43AD when the Roman Emperor Claudius led his troops in the invasion of Britain.

A great Roman cemetery has also been found near the site. The cemetery was excavated before the building of the A66 which now completely covers the site.

On the whole, the Roman fort at Brougham has not been excavated to any great degree, so the historical and archaeological record of this large site are scarce.

Good views of the site can be seen from the roadside and also from walking around the castle. The earthworks are very well preserved all the way round with some of the ditches and embankments surviving to a height of around 6 feet in places!! Again, the Visit Cumbria web site has some excellent aerial views of the castle and the fort. http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/brougham.htm

The whole site is open to the public, and managed by English Heritage. The access is such, that both the interior and the exterior of the castle can be walked....which obviously incorporates much of the Roman fort.

Elslack (North Yorkshire)

The Roman name for this fort was Olenacvm. The remains lay just off the A56 and about 3 miles South West of Skipton. The fort lays just yards away from the now disused railway....and it's a wonder that anything of this site still survives. Indeed, walking along the now trackless railway, if you didn't know that there was a Roman fort there, it would go un-noticed.

There appear to be two forts overlaying each other. The first was a Flavian Infantry fort, measuring around 345 feet on each side, and occupying nearly 3 acres. The whole site was surrounded by a clay based rampart with stone foundations, somewhere between 16 and 18 feet wide. The fort was protected by a double ditch, with more banks and more ditches providing more defensive obstacles to any would-be attackers. Pottery has been recovered from this stage of the fort's history, dating from the 1st century. It's estimated that the first fort would have been able to house around 500 soldiers.

The second fort replaced the first totally. The clay and stone ramparts were levelled, and a larger fort built over the remains. This was probably done sometime during the 2nd century. The new fort was rectangular and measured around 603 by 406 feet, and occupied around 5 and a half acres. The external ramparts were once again constructed of clay, but this time faced with stone, and about 8 feet wide. It's thought that the larger fort was built to enable more horses to be based here.

Various excavations over time have failed to find the remains of any buildings within the confines of the fort, probably indicating that any that were here, were constructed of timber.

The fort is easily accessible just off the walk that follows not only the route of the dis-used railway, but a Roman road. You can park at the side of the road just down from the pub, and then follow the public footpath onto the railway. Make sure you turn left, and look for the gate on your right. There is a sign here that indicates the presence of the fort. You'll need to walk along side the railway (but in the field) for about 200 yards before you get to where the fort is. Admittedly, it's fairly difficult to see what's what....the site is nothing like Ambleside or Hardknott. Some of the ramparts can be seen very faintly in the field, and slight humps and bumps show where other pieces of the ramparts are. Not much to photograph I'm afraid.