Church of St Helen

Details

SKEFFLING HUMBER LANE TA 31 NE (east side) 12/72 Church of St Helen 16.12.66 GV I Parish church. 1460s, with C19 porch and roofs; C20 restorations, the most recent in 1984-5. Random and roughly-coursed cobbles with limestone ashlar dressings; sandstone ashlar parapet to nave. Red brick porch with pantile roof, lead roofs to remainder. West tower, 4-bay aisled nave with south porch, 3-bay chancel. 2-stage tower: moulded plinth, diagonal buttresses with offsets, quoins to top section; tall first stage with 4-centred-arched 3-light west window with Perpendicular tracery and hoodmould, stair lighting slits to south-west angle, moulded string course; 4-centred-arched 2-light trefoiled belfry openings with incised spandrels; moulded string course, coped embattled parapet with truncated pinnacle shafts. Buttresses with ashlar quoins and offsets to aisles and chancel. Aisles and clerestory have square-headed 2- and 3-light cinquefoiled windows with incised spandrels; plain square-headed west window to south aisle, pointed chamfered arch to north aisle with plain board door containing ogee-headed wicket. Chancel: diagonal and mid buttresses, Tudor-arched chamfered door, similar square- headed 2- and 3-light windows to south side; segmental-headed 2-light window and blocked opening to north side, 4-centred arched 3-light cinquefoiled east window. Moulded string course throughout, with single carved head spout to south aisle; original coped parapet to aisles and chancel, plain restored parapet to nave. Porch: round-headed outer arch with raised brick imposts, brick-coped gable. Pointed moulded inner arch with hoodmould, plain board door with round-headed wicket. Interior. Arcades of pointed double-chamfered arches on octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases, the responds with finely-carved corbels supporting short octagonal wall shafts: angels holding shields to east responds, lion's head and squatting woman to west. Tall pointed double-chamfered tower arch on octagonal responds with moulded capitals and bases. Pointed double-chamfered chancel arch dying into octagonal responds with plain moulded bases. Chancel has plain triple sedilia with chamfered ogee arches, small square aumbry. C19 roofs, that to chancel with moulded beams and carved bosses; pair of original carved head and foliate roof bosses hung on chancel arch. Monuments in chancel: C15 floor slab with black-letter border inscription; pair of C18 floor slabs to Holme family; wall monument to John and Dinah Holme of c1749, with marble tablet in scrolled ashlar surround supporting entablature with winged cherub's head and dentilled open pediment with flaming lamps and arms in cartouche; 3 standing marble wall monuments: to Rev John Holme of 1775, to Henry Holme of 1778, and to Margaret Reaston of 1781, the latter (and possibly others) by Rushworth of Beverley, all with tablets surmounted by urns and with obelisk bases, the later pair also with carved arms and palm fronds. Marble tablet in nave (not in situ) to Edward and Elizabeth Bee of 1762. C15 octagonal font with plain moulded bowl and column with broach stops. Pair of C18 fielded-panel box-pews to west end of nave; remainder of fittings C19. The arcades are similar to those at the contemporary Church of St Nicholas, Withernsea (qv). N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Yorkshire, East Riding, 1972, p 339; Victoria County History: York, East Riding, vol 5, 1984, p 134.

Listing NGR: TA3707919050

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

166614

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Allison, K J, The Victoria History of the County of York: East Riding, (1984), 134
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Yorkshire - York and the East Riding, (1972), 339

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