Church of St Michael
Church of St Michael, Main Street
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
SE 45 SW
3/40
NORTH YORKSHIRE
HARROGATE
Cowthorpe
TOCKWITH MAIN STREET (north end)
Church of St Michael
30.3.66
I
Redundant church. 1456-58 for Sir Bryan Roucliffe, C19 restoration. Coursed squared sandstone, limestone and ashlar, graduated stone slate roofs. Three stage west tower partly incorporated into the west bay of the four bay nave which has a south porch, bay two; two bay chancel with narrow door left. In Perpendicular style.
Tower built partly in front of the west wall of the nave on two external buttresses with large central deep arch on two transverse ribs forming a recess in which there is a large pointed three-light mullion and transom window with cusped lights, to nave wall. Second stage, south side: a circular cusped window, a string course above. The bell stage openings have four-centred arch lights in chamfered flat headed surrounds, of two-lights on each side except to east which is of three-lights with shield stops to the hoodmoulds. Oversailing battlemented parapet. South porch: chamfered arch with two-piece lintel, turned-in kneelers and gable coping; flanking stone benches within; the inner door is of massive planks reinforced by rows of iron nails. Flat headed two-light Perpendicular window with cusped lights to right of the porch and to the chancel. The board door to the chancel is in a deeply chamfered pointed arch. A three-light Perpendicular east window. North side: blocked north door to nave; a decorated two-light window to the chancel; the nave window matches that on the south side.
Interior: C17 altar rail of oak with cup-and-vase balusters, square-section standards and knob finials. Early C19 panelling at the west end of the nave appears to be the remains of pulpit and reading desk and now screens the bell ropes. The internal wall of the tower is supported on a round arch carried by large corbels. Original fittings include the font, also at the west end of the nave, with an octagonal base, cruciform stem and square bowl carved with tracery and shields of Roucliffe, Hammerton, Roos and Plompton.
The rare wooden Easter Sepulchre is in the form of a chest with six blank panels, thickly cusped, with a canopy over which has pierced crestings and a frieze incorporating the chess rooks of Roucliffe and the fleur-de-lis of Burgh. Remains of the original heraldic stained glass in several windows. There are three bells (not seen at resurvey), one of which has the earliest use of English lettering in Yorkshire: "0 thou blyssid Trinite, of Bryan Rodlyff hof pyte".
On the north wall of the chancel the remains of a brass memorial to the founder (d1494) and his wife Joan Hammerton, are attached to a marble slab. Bryan Roucliffe was an eminent lawyer and Baron of the Exchequer and inherited the manor and living of Cowthorpe from his maternal uncle, John Burgh, c1450. In Feb 1456 the Archbishop of York granted Bryan permission to build the new church to replace an old chapel near the River Nidd, some of the sandstone blocks in the new church possibly coming from it. The unusual structure of the tower is similar to that of castle gatehouses of the period. The brass memorial was stolen from the church c1850 and the recovered parts mounted in 1886; the C19 restorations were restricted to renewing some window tracery and replacing the roof to its original design and pitch.
L A S Butler 'St Michaels Church Cowthorpe, Redundant Churches Fund, 1985. N Pevsner: Buildings of England, Yorkshire West Riding, 1967, p 171. Listing NGR: SE4269852692
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1315417
- Date first listed:
- 30-Mar-1966
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Michael
- Statutory Address:
- Church of St Michael, Main Street
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2007-09-04
- Reference:
- IOE01/16934/13
- Rights:
- © Mr Tim Nichols. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1315417
- Date first listed:
- 30-Mar-1966
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Michael
- Statutory Address 1:
- Church of St Michael, Main Street
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Church of St Michael, Main Street
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- North Yorkshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Tockwith
- National Grid Reference:
- SE 42700 52692
Summary
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 26 February 2026 to correct a typo in the description and reformat the text to current standards
SE 45 SW
3/40
NORTH YORKSHIRE
HARROGATE
Cowthorpe
TOCKWITH MAIN STREET (north end)
Church of St Michael
30.3.66
I
Redundant church. 1456-58 for Sir Bryan Roucliffe, C19 restoration. Coursed squared sandstone, limestone and ashlar, graduated stone slate roofs. Three stage west tower partly incorporated into the west bay of the four bay nave which has a south porch, bay two; two bay chancel with narrow door left. In Perpendicular style.
Tower built partly in front of the west wall of the nave on two external buttresses with large central deep arch on two transverse ribs forming a recess in which there is a large pointed three-light mullion and transom window with cusped lights, to nave wall. Second stage, south side: a circular cusped window, a string course above. The bell stage openings have four-centred arch lights in chamfered flat headed surrounds, of two-lights on each side except to east which is of three-lights with shield stops to the hoodmoulds. Oversailing battlemented parapet. South porch: chamfered arch with two-piece lintel, turned-in kneelers and gable coping; flanking stone benches within; the inner door is of massive planks reinforced by rows of iron nails. Flat headed two-light Perpendicular window with cusped lights to right of the porch and to the chancel. The board door to the chancel is in a deeply chamfered pointed arch. A three-light Perpendicular east window. North side: blocked north door to nave; a decorated two-light window to the chancel; the nave window matches that on the south side.
Interior: C17 altar rail of oak with cup-and-vase balusters, square-section standards and knob finials. Early C19 panelling at the west end of the nave appears to be the remains of pulpit and reading desk and now screens the bell ropes. The internal wall of the tower is supported on a round arch carried by large corbels. Original fittings include the font, also at the west end of the nave, with an octagonal base, cruciform stem and square bowl carved with tracery and shields of Roucliffe, Hammerton, Roos and Plompton.
The rare wooden Easter Sepulchre is in the form of a chest with six blank panels, thickly cusped, with a canopy over which has pierced crestings and a frieze incorporating the chess rooks of Roucliffe and the fleur-de-lis of Burgh. Remains of the original heraldic stained glass in several windows. There are three bells (not seen at resurvey), one of which has the earliest use of English lettering in Yorkshire: "0 thou blyssid Trinite, of Bryan Rodlyff hof pyte".
On the north wall of the chancel the remains of a brass memorial to the founder (d1494) and his wife Joan Hammerton, are attached to a marble slab. Bryan Roucliffe was an eminent lawyer and Baron of the Exchequer and inherited the manor and living of Cowthorpe from his maternal uncle, John Burgh, c1450. In Feb 1456 the Archbishop of York granted Bryan permission to build the new church to replace an old chapel near the River Nidd, some of the sandstone blocks in the new church possibly coming from it. The unusual structure of the tower is similar to that of castle gatehouses of the period. The brass memorial was stolen from the church c1850 and the recovered parts mounted in 1886; the C19 restorations were restricted to renewing some window tracery and replacing the roof to its original design and pitch.
L A S Butler 'St Michaels Church Cowthorpe, Redundant Churches Fund, 1985. N Pevsner: Buildings of England, Yorkshire West Riding, 1967, p 171. Listing NGR: SE4269852692
Details
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 26 February 2026 to correct a typo in the description and reformat the text to current standards
SE 45 SW
3/40
NORTH YORKSHIRE
HARROGATE
Cowthorpe
TOCKWITH MAIN STREET (north end)
Church of St Michael
30.3.66
I
Redundant church. 1456-58 for Sir Bryan Roucliffe, C19 restoration. Coursed squared sandstone, limestone and ashlar, graduated stone slate roofs. Three stage west tower partly incorporated into the west bay of the four bay nave which has a south porch, bay two; two bay chancel with narrow door left. In Perpendicular style.
Tower built partly in front of the west wall of the nave on two external buttresses with large central deep arch on two transverse ribs forming a recess in which there is a large pointed three-light mullion and transom window with cusped lights, to nave wall. Second stage, south side: a circular cusped window, a string course above. The bell stage openings have four-centred arch lights in chamfered flat headed surrounds, of two-lights on each side except to east which is of three-lights with shield stops to the hoodmoulds. Oversailing battlemented parapet. South porch: chamfered arch with two-piece lintel, turned-in kneelers and gable coping; flanking stone benches within; the inner door is of massive planks reinforced by rows of iron nails. Flat headed two-light Perpendicular window with cusped lights to right of the porch and to the chancel. The board door to the chancel is in a deeply chamfered pointed arch. A three-light Perpendicular east window. North side: blocked north door to nave; a decorated two-light window to the chancel; the nave window matches that on the south side.
Interior: C17 altar rail of oak with cup-and-vase balusters, square-section standards and knob finials. Early C19 panelling at the west end of the nave appears to be the remains of pulpit and reading desk and now screens the bell ropes. The internal wall of the tower is supported on a round arch carried by large corbels. Original fittings include the font, also at the west end of the nave, with an octagonal base, cruciform stem and square bowl carved with tracery and shields of Roucliffe, Hammerton, Roos and Plompton.
The rare wooden Easter Sepulchre is in the form of a chest with six blank panels, thickly cusped, with a canopy over which has pierced crestings and a frieze incorporating the chess rooks of Roucliffe and the fleur-de-lis of Burgh. Remains of the original heraldic stained glass in several windows. There are three bells (not seen at resurvey), one of which has the earliest use of English lettering in Yorkshire: "0 thou blyssid Trinite, of Bryan Rodlyff hof pyte".
On the north wall of the chancel the remains of a brass memorial to the founder (d1494) and his wife Joan Hammerton, are attached to a marble slab. Bryan Roucliffe was an eminent lawyer and Baron of the Exchequer and inherited the manor and living of Cowthorpe from his maternal uncle, John Burgh, c1450. In Feb 1456 the Archbishop of York granted Bryan permission to build the new church to replace an old chapel near the River Nidd, some of the sandstone blocks in the new church possibly coming from it. The unusual structure of the tower is similar to that of castle gatehouses of the period. The brass memorial was stolen from the church c1850 and the recovered parts mounted in 1886; the C19 restorations were restricted to renewing some window tracery and replacing the roof to its original design and pitch.
L A S Butler 'St Michaels Church Cowthorpe, Redundant Churches Fund, 1985. N Pevsner: Buildings of England, Yorkshire West Riding, 1967, p 171.
Listing NGR: SE4269852692
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 331742
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Butler, L A S, St Michaels Church Cowthorpe, (1985)
Pevsner, N, Radcliffe, E, The Buildings of England: Yorkshire: The West Riding, (1967), 171
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 07:01:21.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2026. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry