Middleham Parish »
The Church of St. Mary and St. Alkelda
Welcome to our church - set out below is a brief description of the main points of interest; both inside and outside this place of worship, which has served the inhabitants of Middleham since the 13th century.
1. SOUTH DOORWAY
This is 13thC, with a chamfered pointed arch and roll-moulded jambs. Above is a 14thC relief of the Crucifixion flanked by Our Lady and St. John, which Nikolaus Pevsner described as... 'Thoroughly Decorated and clearly once very good'. This is reputed to have come from the Castle. The Porch is 19thC.
2. THE BELL TOWER
ohn Breare of Middleham Hall gave a peal of six bells in 1824. A fine peal of eight bells given by the Topham family and other parishoners in 1911 replaced these.
3. THE TOWER ROOM
Erected in 1997 to the memory of Dr. Elsie E. Adams, (benefactor) who loved this church.
4. TOMB COVER
The large tomb cover on the wall is that of Robert Thornton, twenty-second Abbot of Jervaulx, who died in 1533. It is believed to have been brought to Middleham for protection at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries about 1536. The Abbot's remains were also brought to Middleham and are buried near the Pulpit. The legend reads;
Orate pro a'i’a domino Roberti Thorneton abbat hui domi Jorvallis vicesimi sc'di.
Between each of the words are thorn leaves, as in the diapering in the centre, which with the tun, or barrel, form a rebus of his name Thornton. From the tun springs a pastoral staff, behind which is a mitre, and at the sides the initials .R and T. The two shields at the top contain the sacred monogram to the left and on the right the initial M is crossed by a spear and a sponge. At one time this cover stood on four pillars close to the existing pulpit.
5. THE NAVE
The four-bay Decorated arcades have two chamfered orders on simple capitals. The piers are octagonal with tall broached bases. In the early 18lhC the pews faced North and South, but during the tenure of Dean Coates (1719-1741) these were replaced by square oak pews. Later more fashionable pitch-pine furniture was introduced, to be replaced by the existing oak pews given by Mrs.Topham, of Middleham House, in memory of her husband Mr. Lupton Topham-Topham, in 1928.
There had at one time been a gallery under the tower with .access from the tower stairway. In 1804 a gallery was also built into the north aisle. This was divided into four 'private' pews for which an annual rent was paid. These were removed in November 1943, when according to a local newspaper…."The Rector of Middleham, the Rev.C.A.Atherley has, to use his own words, 'flung into the churchyard' the four private box pews which were in St.Alkelda's church". Due to difficulty in obtaining labour the Rector was assisted by the Sexton and local Constable in an act which brought great critical comment in the newspaper's correspondence columns.
6. MIDDLEHAM JEWEL
This is a replica of the 15thC jewel discovered in a field close by the Castle by a metal detecting enthusiast in 1985. The diamond-shaped pendant has a long oblong sapphire and an engraving of the Trinity on the front and of the Nativity on the reverse. It is probably a reliquary. The replica has been presented in memory of the Peacock family.
7. NORTH AISLE WEST WINDOW
Fragments of 15thC glass have been assembled here. The martyrdom of St. Alkelda is to be seen in the right hand light, 'A napkin twisted round her neck’.
8. MADONNA AND CHILD
This is a copy of part of Raphael's painting in the Sistine Chapel of St. Peter's in Rome. It was presented by the Rev.J.G.Hardwick, Rector 1945-57.
9. NORTH AISLE WINDOWS
Note how medieval grave covers have been used as lintels above all three windows during some bygone restoration. One has a good, early, wheel cross and chalice indicating that it was the tombstone of a priest or clerk in holy orders. The others show crosses and what could be shears, a sign indicating the grave of a woman.
10. FONT AND COVER
The 10ft. high 15th C Perpendicular canopy, reconstructed from fragments found in the attic of the old Deanery (now Kingsley House) was regilded and erected in 1898. The font at that time was a marble one, a memorial to a one-time Rector, the Rev. Miles Booty. Soon afterwards the existing 14thC font was 'rescued' from a local garden. Its was moved to its present location when the Tower room was built in 1997.
11. VESTRY SCREEN
A splendid oak screen erected in memory of the Rev.Harry Gillespie Topham M.A. Rector 1903-25. Inside the vestry are two unusual medallions set into the windows. These show the martyrdom of St.Alkelda and her ascension into Heaven. They came originally from the saloon of a yacht, the St.Alkelda, built about 1850 for the Topham family. The church registers date from 1604, volume one being somewhat mutilated.
12. CHANCEL ARCH
This is 14thC Decorated with chamfered mouldings. There are marks to be seen indicating the earlier existence of a Rood Screen.
13. THE DEAN AND CANONS' STALLS
In setting up the College, Richard HI named each stall after his and Lady Anne Neville's favourite saints. Each canon was appointed to a specific stall, thus there could be no question of seniority. The original stalls were replaced by Dean Cotes in the early 1700s. The names carved above each seat are:- left to right in a clockwise direction - St.George, St.Ninian, StAnthony, (Rev.Charles Kingsley), the Sacristan, a clerk, St. Barbara, St.Cuthbert, St.Catherine & the Dean's stall, St.Mary.
14. CHANCEL CLERESTORY WINDOWS
These commemorate the Croft family, one-time standard bearers to King Richard III.
15. CHANCEL WALLS
The frescoes were painted and the walls stencilled in 1900, the oak reredos (a BiTch memorial) erected in 1901 and the panelling of the sacrarium and the sedilia installed by the parishioners as a thank-offering at the end of the Boer war in 1902. The canons' stalls were shortened and set back under the arches at this time.
16. EAST WINDOW
A 14th C pointed-arched window with curvilinear tracery & four lights. Beneath the present window are two plain, square, filled in, windows (clearly seen from outside) which are said to have been windows of a former crypt. If so, the sanctuary would have been at a higher level than now. Alternatively, there may have been four windows of this size, two. above the others, prior to the restructuring of the church in the l4thc. The window was raised in 1901 to accommodate the new reredos
17. BRASSES
Only three remain, the oldest, on the south wall of the sanctuary, commemorates Dean Christopher Colby, died 1727. Nearby, a small brass reads E.P. Ob. 28Ap. 1785. AE58. - from the tomb of Edward Place M.A., the younger, Dean from 1754-85. The third is a small brass now on the south wall of the tower.