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St. Botolph's, Horsehouse
A Symbol of Faith
Nothing is ever simple and many things that seem so hide a plethora of complexities. St. Botolph's is such a thing. Compared to the majority of many Parish Churches and Cathedrals the building is simple, a fine un- complicated piece of architecture. Yet behind the facade is a history of hard work, of labour against inclement weather and building equipment far removed from the modern day conveniences of advanced building technology.
Originally established in c.1530, the Church was apparently governed by the monks of Coverham as a Chapel of Ease. Constructed by primitive means and reliant upon physical input, the aim was to establish a refuge for worship when the Dales weather prohibited travel to Coverham. This type of satellite worship was not unusual and a Chapel (believed to be of St. Thomas) is recalled at Melmerby by the Victorian History of the Counties of England. The Melmerby brethren were however more fortunate than the residents of Horsehouse as they benefited in 1586 from an Ale House run by one John Pratt. One can only hope that history remembers it's duty to repeat itself at Horsehouse.
An earlier researcher comments that the Church was re-built in approximately 1869 (historian Nikolas Pavsner suggests up to 50 years or so earlier) and much of the original fabric was re-used. The postcard available at St. Botolph's, the source of this detail, goes on to say that the windows at the base of the tower appear to be original. The church was re-roofed in c.1920 by the Bramley family of Ripon and again in c.1960. The tower contains three bells (dated 1771) and these were reprieved and remounted in 1981. The beautifully designed hassocks were made by volunteers in 1985. There is no record of the substantial repairs allegedly effected to the stained glass by red toffee paper! A history of complexities - a history of labour.
My research took me little further than the above but I did discover a further complexity that there exists "an augmented perpetual curacy". Nothing is ever simple.
The beauty of St. Botolph's is it's simplicity and for me the comfort of a Church built on simple endeavour. I can never ignore the delight of the wooded ceiling and the human touch of the slipped stone gently protruding from the base of the altar window ledge. The Church of England is built on faith and what can be simpler than to have faith-simplicity, which hides a plethora of complexities.
Andrew Holmes 1995