Church of St Helen

Details

AMOTHERBY WITH HILDENLEY CHURCH LANE SE 77 SE (east side, off) 5/6 Church of St Helen 25.1.54 GV II Church. C16 tower; nave probably rebuilt c1708; extensive restoration of 1870-72, by G Fowler Jones, during which the nave windows and chancel were rebuilt, and the south porch, north aisle and vestry added. Limestone ashlar with rebuilding in rock-faced sandstone and sandstone ashlar; slate roof. West tower; 4-bay nave and continuous chancel; north aisle and south porch; north vestry. Single-stage tower on tall chamfered plinth has round- arched doorway to west, beneath hoodmould with lozenge-shaped stops. 2-light, square-arched window above, with chamfered mullion and square hoodmould. Bell-openings to all 4 faces are similar. Moulded eaves course beneath embattled parapet with vestigial pinnacles, and stone waterspout to west. Gabled south porch contains reset C12 doorway with roll-moulded round arch on attached shafts with scalloped capitals: hoodmould with re-used beakhead mouldings as stops. The C19 door has fine wrought-iron hinges. Nave has offset buttress to east and single round-arched lights in quoined surrounds of contrasting stone. Windows to north aisle and vestry are similar. Chancel windows are paired, with chevron mouldings to the round heads. East end is on a chamfered plinth with diagonal offset buttresses flanking the window of 3 stepped lancets. Beneath the window 4 carved stones have been set, dated 1708, and probably recording the names of the masons for the restorations of that date. Coped east gables to chancel and north aisle; gable crosses to both. Interior: traces of a blocked round tower arch, probably C12 or earlier, are visible within the tower in the east wall. C19 arcade of chevron-moulded round arches on slim columns with scalloped capitals, on tall plinths. The north wall of the sanctuary contains a round-arched niche with head-stopped hoodmould and slim nook shafts. Beneath is a C14 tomb slab carved with a foliated cross and inscribed: ICI GIT WILLEM DE BORDESDON PRIZ PUR LA ALME. Sir William de Bordesdon who died c1340 was the brother or nephew of Sir John de Bordesdon whose effigy lies in a C19 niche in the south wall of the sanctuary. He is shown with his arms and wearing a surcoat with sleeves; he died c1329. In the porch a number of stone fragments have been set, including 2 Anglo- Danish cross fragments, part of a foliated grave slab and part of a C14 grave slab carved with a quatrefoil enclosing a female figure. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Yorkshire, the North Riding, 1966; p 60.

Listing NGR: SE7506773428

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

328634

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Yorkshire: The North Riding, (1966), 60

End of official list entry

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