Bedale – St. Gregory – (provisional)

The church of St. Gregory stands at the north end of the main street through Bedale in North Yorkshire.

From south

From north

A few views around the outside of the church.

South doorway in porch

Roof of porch

West window of south ailse

South wall of ailse

East window of south ailse

Door to crypt

Window of north ailse

Blocked north doorway

Doorway to sough ailse

 Stained Glass Windows

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Wall Painting

There are some wall paintings of various sorts in the church – uncovered in 1926, they are believed to be of the 15th century.

View down nave from entrance under the tower – entrance through south porch door.

The Apostle’s Creed and Lord’s Prayer are painted high on the chancel arch and a small area of wall painting appears just below the Lord’s Prayer which is on the right side.

Lord’s Prayer

Painting of right of chancel wall

On the outside wall in the north aisle is a painting of St. George and the Dragon, it has been recoloured during a restoration.

St. George and Dragon wall painting – note he’s left handed!

Isaiah 40:6 (King James) painted wall plaque

Architecture

The east window of the south chapel (Lady Chapel), a remarkable example of late 13th-century tracery (1290), is of five lights with tracery in two orders, the main mullions meeting the head so as to form two-centred arches, each containing an uncusped circular light, while a large cinquefoiled circle forms the centre piece.

The tower arch wall clearly reveals the apex of a former roof line of the nave, before the clerestory was introduced in the 15th century. The font can be seen in the shadow of the tower.

From the chancel to the tower arch at the end of the nave.

From the photograph taken from the sanctuary, below, the first two arches on the left lead to the south chapel and those on the right to the north chapel.  The following arcades on each side lead to the associated aisles.

From the sanctuary

 

Doorway to former rood-loft

Stairs to former rood-loft behind pulpit.

The entrance to the upper levels of the tower has a slot for a portcullis – the tower is fortified to act as from raids by Scots.

Piscina

Sedila

 Woodwork

Panels of the pulpit of 1908 depicts St. Gregory.

In the north aisle a small chapel (St. Georges) has been created by the installation of an altar.  The original north chapel is behind the curtain and reredos in the picture below. The wooden altar is relatively modern.  Of particular interest is the inclusion of a number of effigies of Saints on the reredos – in this instance they are ‘local’ and are important in an ecclesiastical sense to Northern England.

North aisle altar

St. Cuthbert

St. Oswald

St. Gregory

St. Wilfred

St. Aiden

St. Paulinus

St. Cuthbert – considered as the patron Saint of Northern England.
St. Paulinus – first Bishop of York
St. Oswald – King of Northumbria
St. Aiden – known as the Apostle of Northumbria
St. Wilfrid – abbot at Ripon, he spoke at the Synod of Whitby (Roman method of calculating Easter, which was adopted)
St. Gregory – the church at Bedale is dedicated to Gregory.

Examples of Angel Bracket of Roof Trusses

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Examples of Ceiling Bosses of Chancel

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Behind and to the sides of the alter the walls have been panelled using ‘romayne’  inserts from an earlier source – probably a secular cabinet.  I am intrigued by these and it’s another one of those ‘further research required’ I’ve had to add to my list.

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References

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol1/pp291-301

http://www.bedale.church/about-us/st-gregorys/history.php

 

—Stephen—