Summary
Small parish church built 1885-6 in early C14, Middle-Pointed Gothic style by W. S. Barber for a local landowner, incorporating stained glass by both C. E. Kempe and C. E. Tute. Included in the Listing are an ornamental lamp standard and the churchyard boundary.
Reasons for Designation
* Architecture: although its Middle-Pointed Gothic styling is rather conservative for its mid 1880s date, the church is a good example of high quality design to a limited budget: although a relatively small church, its overall massing and detailing results in an impressive structure for its size.
* Fixtures and fittings: the church retains a very complete set of high quality fixtures, fittings furnishings and stained glass, the stone carving being particularly notable;
* Social History: a good example of the investment made in local communities by some middle class Victorian landowners.
History
The local large house and estate, Moor Park, was bought by Dr Henry Williams in 1882. He and his wife Ellen expanded the former hamlet of Beckwithshaw with a number of new houses for estate workers and also provided the funds for the school and church. St Michael and All Angels was designed by William Swinden Barber of Halifax and built in 1885-6 for a cost of £8,000, featuring windows by Charles Edward Kempe and stone carving by William Pashley of Leeds. The church was consecrated in 1886 on Ellen William's birthday, 29 September, by her uncle, the Bishop of Ripon. In 1892 the church was provided with stained glass windows designed by Charles Edward Tute, and paid for by both the Williams and Dugdale families.
Details
Parish church, 1885-6 by W.S.Barber for Dr and Mrs Williams of Moor Park, Beckwithshaw. Stone carving by W.Pashley of Leeds. Stained glass by both C.E.Kempe and C.E.Tute. Broadly early C14, Middle-Pointed Gothic style.
MATERIALS: local (Killinghall) sandstone, squared and laid to courses; slate roof laid to diminishing courses.
PLAN: aisle-less nave of three bays; two-bay chancel flanked by an organ chamber to the north and vestry to the south. The nave has no west door, but is accessed via a porch in the base of the tower which projects south from the western-most bay of the nave.
EXTERIOR: the windows generally have flowing tracery and have hood-moulds with stops in the form of medieval-style carved heads, each being different. The walls feature a projecting string course at window sill level with a simple plinth below. Roof verges are finished with plain coping, the east and west gables having stone cross finials.
Nave: the west end has a pair of two-light traceried windows flanking a carving of St Michael slaying the dragon, this forming the central stop to the hood-mould, the flanking stops being a male and female head respectively. The side windows to the nave are also two-light windows with flowing tracery, the central window on the north wall having Y-tracery.
Chancel: the east window is of three-lights with flame-like, later C14-style tracery. The eastern bay has single-light traceried side-windows (the south being internal to the extended vestry). The vestry to the south has a cat-slide roof, trefoil-headed lancet windows (two pairs and a triple) without hood-moulds and a plain pointed-arched doorway also without a hood-mould. It is now of two bays, the eastern bay being a later addition. The organ chamber to the north is gabled and is lit by a pair of trefoil-headed lancets beneath a single arched hood-mould with stops. Rising from the junction of its ridgeline and the chancel roof there is a tall boiler chimney.
Tower: this is of three diminishing stages delineated by string courses, the lowest stage being higher than the eaves line of the nave. The tower is supported by angle buttresses and has a stair turret projecting as a canted bay from the east side of the lowest stage. At the base of the tower's south side is the doorway to the church. This has oak double doors with rib-work in the form of Reticulated tracery. The second stage (ringing chamber) is lit by tall, narrow lancet windows to each face. On each side of the top stage (bell chamber) are two pairs of tall, trefoil-headed lancets fitted with louvres. Above, there is a gargoyle waterspout to each corner of the tower, the parapet being crenulated.
INTERIOR: walls are unplastered stone ashlar with carved embellishment being reserved for the chancel. The roof is of exposed trusses with both scissor and arched braces with high collars. The chancel and the east end of the nave have polychrome tiled floors. The east end features an ornate, carved reredos in the form of a triptych showing the crucifixion and resurrection, possibly carved artificial stone rather than natural freestone. Other carved decoration includes individually carved heads, angels and beasts forming stops to hood moulds. The roof structure within the chancel is also embellished with brattished wall plates.
FITTINGS: these include ornately carved oak choir stalls, a carved stone (or artificial stone) pulpit and a font, oak pews and brass altar and other rails. The church also retains much of its smaller fixtures and fittings such as door furniture which is ornate and of good quality. Memorial plaques include a bronze First World War memorial. The tower retains a peal of six bells by Mears and Stainbank of Whitechapel.
STAINED GLASS: all of the stained glass is of late Gothic Revival style featuring figurative or pictorial designs. The east and west windows date to the opening of the church and are attributed to Kempe. The stained glass in the north and south windows generally date to 1892 and are attributed to Tute.
SUBSIDIARY ITEMS: the churchyard is completely enclosed with iron railings, the gate piers being carved stone ashlar and contains a decorative Gothic cast-iron lamp-stand on an octagonal stone base.
This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 October 2017.
