Home > England > North Yorkshire > Ryedale District > Stonegrave > Stonegrave Minster Churchyard

Stonegrave Minster Churchyard

Memorials	:	83
Location	:	Stonegrave, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate	:	54.1925011, -0.9966000
Description	:	The Early Church: Stonegrave Minster had already been established by 757, when Pope Paul I wrote to Eadberht, King of Northumberland, about the appointment of an abbot. The minster had probably been founded by an earlier King of Northumberland and was staffed by priests of the tradition of Iona and Lindisfarne. The original church was a high and narrow rectangular structure. Today's west wall may be a remaining feature of this; its early date is shown by the proportions of the tall, narrow doorway, still centrally placed, which has a very roughly constructed arch above two irregular jambs. Such a high, narrow... Read More	The Early Church: Stonegrave Minster had already been established by 757, when Pope Paul I wrote to Eadberht, King of Northumberland, about the appointment of an abbot. The minster had probably been founded by an earlier King of Northumberland and was staffed by priests of the tradition of Iona and Lindisfarne. The original church was a high and narrow rectangular structure. Today's west wall may be a remaining feature of this; its early date is shown by the proportions of the tall, narrow doorway, still centrally placed, which has a very roughly constructed arch above two irregular jambs. Such a high, narrow door played an important part in the services of the early church. Above this doorway, high in the west wall, is another doorway, now blocked which once gave access from the tower to a chamber above the nave, possibly a dormitory or chapel. Later, the side walls of the original church were pierced by arches of the Norman north and south arcades. Original masonry seems to have survived above and between the arches themselves. The whole of the east end of the church was destroyed in the Norman rebuilding. The Saxon Crosses: The church contains fragments from four standing crosses, together with an almost complete cross that now stands beside a rectangular block, once part of its base. All these were found during the church's restoration in 1863. The earliest fragment, with the "figure of 8 design", was carved in the ninth century, the others in the tenth. They all differ clearly from the cross fragments in neighbouring churches: they are abstract and free from animal forms; the interlace is open and arranged in double plait lines on all but the earliest. Those who commissioned them had a strong religious purpose and individual, though conservative, tastes. The great cross itself has no parallel in Ryedale. The shape of the head and the style of the carving both suggest that it was designed and carved by men trained in the traditions of Galloway and Iona and made soon after 920 AD. Three carvings interrupt the interlace on the face of the shaft. The lowest is a figure of a priest missionary of the Celtic Church, feet carved sideways as in Northumbrian manuscripts of the time, head round with the Celtic tonsure. From his neck hangs the bag in which he carried the chalice, paten and Gospels on his journeys. He is ready for his pastoral work. Above him is a plain cross, head and arms splayed like those of the head of the great cross. At the top of the shaft is a seated figure, praying with book held aloft in the fashion of the Celtic Church. The surfaces of these carvings are plain, possibly intended to be painted. One scholar has described the whole design briefly - a work of uncompromising Christianity. The rectangular block beside the great cross and three other fragments once formed its base. Two of the pieces have panels within which are the incised outlines, in the one of an animal with a bird on its back, in the other of an animal. Neither has been satisfactorily explained. In the 19th century, the great cross was placed on a base that has no relation to it and both were put on the only stone with Norse carving, probably a gravestone. Within a border of interlace, there is the figure of an archer shooting an arrow at a stag. This may be a hunting scene, an incident from Viking heroic legend or a Christian symbol. The Norman Church: During the 12th Century, Stonegrave Minster was altered to meet the requirements of the new services and of the prestige of the de Stonegraves family. The crosses were broken up and used as building blocks. Foundations show that the chancel was lengthened and ended in an apse. A long vista was opened up, down the central aisle to the now distant altar, the new focus of worship. Arches were pierced through the north wall and a new aisle made for the chapel of St Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners of war (one of the de Stonegraves was a POW in the Near East). These north arches are puzzling. They were all built through an earlier wall, but the arch nearest to the pulpit is of different stone from the others which are bi-coloured after the fashion best known from Durham cathedral. The brown stone of these arches is from a quarry near Whitby, the lighter coloured is local but the stone of the first arch is from a more distant quarry. The capitals differ, too. That of the first pier is plain; that of the second is prepared for carving but not carved, and that of the third has lines preparatory to carving and some carved roundels. Where the moulding of the two central arches meet are two fantastic heads. The Cistercians of nearby Rievaulx disliked ornament. The half capital of the north arcade nearest to the tower and the capitals of the whole of the south arcade which are slightly later (1165–1170) have no carving. The south arcade itself, again built through an early wall of which part remains, is built of stone consistent with an origin near Rievaulx and was probably made by masons from there. The arches are simpler in style yet more demanding in construction for they have two full spans that give the south side of the nave a spacious air and open wide the chapel of St Peter. The string course between these two arches resembles the courses at Rievaulx. The doorway at the eastern end of the arcade may be the remains of an entrance, used before the arches were built, to the side chapel. Heraldry and the Thornton family of East Newton: From 1300 to almost 1700 the north aisle was the burial place of the Thorntons, but only two of their tombs remain. The one nearest to the tower, probably that of William Thornton (d. 1330), carved in York, is unusual in having the effigy of a civilian with legs crossed. The other, of Robert Thornton and his wife (d. 1418) is of local stone and workmanship. It is now in a recess in the north wall, the canopy formed from an earlier Easter sepulchre. The tomb chest has figures supporting shields showing the simple coat-of-arms of the family at that time - three thorn sprays. These effigies are all that remain of many memorials, silent figures watching over the building that the Thornton's had helped to maintain. Victorian Reformation: The 1863 restoration destroyed most of the medieval interior of the church. Some of the gravestones with floreated crosses, possibly de Stonegrave tombstones, lie in the churchyard where they were placed during the restoration. A flat gravestone of Purbeck marble, which once had letters and the head and shoulders of a man inlaid in brass (c. 1300) had been placed near the south door - not its original position. The marble was imported by way of Scarborough or Whitby and the indents of the letters show that they were made in York or Lincoln. There is a tombstone with engraved shears beneath the great cross.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Stonegrave Minster Churchyard?
Stonegrave Minster Churchyard is located at Stonegrave, Ryedale District ,North Yorkshire ,England.
Stonegrave Minster Churchyard cemetery's updated grave count on graveviews.com?
83 memorials
Where are the coordinates of the Stonegrave Minster Churchyard?
Latitude: 54.1925011
Longitude: -0.9966000

Photos:

1 / 3

2 / 3

3 / 3

❮ ❯

Nearby Cemetories:

1. All Saints and St James Church
Nunnington, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2031000, -0.9806000

2. Hovingham Cemetery
Hovingham, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1753500, -0.9808900

3. All Saints Churchyard
Hovingham, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1728980, -0.9801260

4. St Oswald Churchyard
Oswaldkirk, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2022340, -1.0495510

5. Gilling New Churchyard
Gilling East, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1856070, -1.0559535

6. Holy Cross Churchyard
Gilling East, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1841290, -1.0580460

7. St Saviour Churchyard
Harome, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2302000, -1.0088000

8. Harome Village Cemetery
Harome, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2308650, -1.0096380

9. All Saints Churchyard
Slingsby, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1655800, -0.9342900

10. St George the Martyr Churchyard
Scackleton, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1457520, -1.0066750

11. Slingsby Cemetery
Slingsby, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1650600, -0.9256700

12. Ampleforth Abbey
Ampleforth, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2019630, -1.0838000

13. Ampleforth Abbey - Monk's Wood
Ampleforth, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2028689, -1.0841344

14. St. John of Beverley Parish Churchyard
Salton, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2105680, -0.9028560

15. St Peter Churchyard
Dalby, Hambleton District, England
Coordinate: 54.1329290, -1.0262920

16. Our Lady & St Benedict RC Churchyard
Ampleforth, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2009700, -1.1055400

17. St Hilda Churchyard
Ampleforth, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2000630, -1.1075590

18. Rievaulx Abbey
Helmsley, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2449170, -1.0639570

19. All Saints Churchyard
Terrington, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1282770, -0.9735330

20. All Saints Churchyard
Helmsley, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2469000, -1.0625000

21. St Michael Churchyard
Barton-le-Street, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1587100, -0.8969600

22. Helmsley Town Cemetery
Helmsley, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.2483300, -1.0620300

23. Holy Trinity Churchyard
Yearsley, Hambleton District, England
Coordinate: 54.1619100, -1.1052300

24. Terrington Burial Ground
Terrington, Ryedale District, England
Coordinate: 54.1231640, -0.9717280

Stonegrave Minster Churchyard

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Photos:

Memorials:

Nearby Cemetories: