The
Street Parishes 
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| This parish has two churches, St Helen's Amotherby and All Saints Appleton- le - Street.
The
church is dedicated to St Helen and there is no doubt that this was the
dedication from very early times. Wills dating from the 14th century refer to
the “Chapel of the Blessed Helen of Amotherby.” Helen was the wife of the
Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and their son became Emperor Constantine in
306 A.D. Helen made a pilgrimage to the In
the porch of St. Helen’s are several Anglo-Viking cross-heads found in the
vicinity of the church dating from the ninth to eleventh centuries and pointing
to the antiquity of the site.
THE
SOUTH DOOR THE
NAVE: During
the reconstruction several ancient burials were discovered under the church. The
most interesting, as reported by the local newspaper, was one of a young woman,
lying under a heavy stone slab carved with a human face. (This can be seen in
the porch.) “At the head of this grave, and apparently on the same level…
was a stone pavement, the stones of which were covered with between two and
three inches of burnt matter, with a large quantity of charcoal all around...
Among the burnt matter was an iron blade greatly corroded, as if the end of a
dirk, the point being gone – in fact such a weapon as would be expected to
accompany an Anglo-Saxon burial.” The pew-ends, pulpit and font were designed and carved by the Revd. C. P. Peach, vicar from 1834-1886 THE
CHANCEL AND SANCTUARY On
the south side of the sanctuary is an effigy of a knight in armour, not in its
original position, the figure was discovered under pews and moved here in 1871.
The arms on the shield are those of the Bordesden family who lived in the parish
at Newsham in the 14th century The effigy is of Sir John de Bordesden;
a turbulent character who was ex-communicated briefly in 1303 and died in 1329.
Sir John was involved in lengthy dispute with the Prior of Old Malton over
grazing rights between 1307 and 1310 and his men were repeatedly skirmishing
with those of the Prior. His effigy, dating from approximately 1330, is quite
unique in as much as it is one of only seven known showing a knight wearing
surcoat with sleeves, most are without sleeves.
The lancets of the east window contain glass designed by the afore-mentioned
Revd. C.P. Peach. The altar was presented in memory of the Revd. Canon Harry
Ward, vicar from 1893 — 1934. Experimental reordering of the chancel has taken place in autumn 2005 with the removal of the disused choir pews, the leveling of the resulting area and the transfer of the Lady Chapel altar to serve as a nave altar, bringing priest and people much closer together in the celebration of the Eucharist. These changes will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary over the coming months before applying for a Faculty to make the changes permanent.
The church of
Appleton-le-Street is of very old foundation. It may be that it stands on the
site of a pagan temple, certainly it would appear that the site has been used
for burials since Roman times. It is the tower which
is the oldest part of the church. Built in late Saxon times, it is a
particularly good example of the period; indeed it is said that it is one of the
finest Anglo-Saxon towers in the north of
High on the wall is a
plaque known as a “bread board” whereby on death, a wealthy member of the
parish bequeathed monies for the maintenance of the poor. In this case William
Stockdale left £70. THE
NAVE The original nave and
chancel were much smaller than the existing ones. It is suggested that the
present walls of the nave, excluding the north and south arcades mark the walls
of the Saxon nave. Added around 1300 A.D.
A chantry was founded by a certain Sir Thomas de Boulton in 1346, here a
chaplain would pray for the souls of Sir Thomas and his family forever. It seems
almost certain that this chantry of the Holy Trinity was in the south aisle, the
altar standing before the east window. The niche in the south wall, known as a
piscina adds weight to this argument. CHANCEL
AND SANCTUARY Further information on the ancient fonts Amotherby Object: Baptismal font (stone [type unknown]-- cylindrical -- un-mounted) Location: Parish Church of St. Helen, Amotherby, North Yorkshire (England) -- (in the churchyard) Date: 11th-12th century(?) Period/Style: Anglo-Saxon? / Norman? Notes on font: Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Norman period, although this same source suggests that the font "may be Saxon". Morris (1931) notes: "Outside porch,W. rude [i.e., crude], circular, 12th- cent. font." Bulmer's Directory for this county (1890) informs that "the old Norman font has been relegated to the churchyard", the present "font (Hildenley stone) is supported by a thick central shaft, surrounded by eight smaller ones of marble" and was "designed and carved by the late Rev. C.P.Peach" ca. 1870 [source: Transcription by Colin Hinson copyright 1999, in www.genuki.org.uk]. The basin well has a central drain; the upper rim has holes corresponding to the hardware of an old font cover. Cover: none Appleton-le-Street Object: Baptismal font (stone [type unknown]-- cylindrical -- un-mounted) Location: Parish Church of All Saints, Appleton-le-Street, North Yorkshire (England) Date: 11th-12th century(?) Period/Style: Anglo-Saxon? / Norman? Notes on font: Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a 'rude' [i.e., crude] unmounted cylindrical baptismal font, probably of the early Norman period, but possibly Saxon. Morris (1931) notes: "Rude, circular, perhaps late 12th-cent. font, similar to, but taller than, that at Amotherby." Cover: yes - conical, with finial The above information regarding the fonts is reproduced, with permission, from BAPTISTERIA SACRA INDEX www.library.utoronto.ca/bsi
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