Church of All Saints, Pocklington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids All Saints Church |
|
|---|---|
| Church of All Saints, Pocklington | |
All Saints Church, Pocklington
|
|
 All Saints Church
Location in East Riding of Yorkshire
|
|
| 53°55′50″N 0°46′47″W / 53.9306°N 0.7796°W | |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Pocklington and Owsthorpe and Kilnwick Percy |
| Benefice | Pocklington Wold |
| Deanery | South Wold |
| Archdeaconry | York |
| Diocese | Diocese of York |
All Saints’ Church, Pocklington is a very old and important church in the town of Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Church of England. People sometimes call it the Cathedral of the Wolds because it's so grand. This building is a special Grade I listed building, which means it's historically very important. Most of it was built between the 12th and 15th centuries.
Contents
A Look Back at the Church's History
Early Beginnings
It's thought that a missionary named St. Paulinus started the first Christian church in Pocklington. This was around AD 627, as he traveled to set up York Minster. A special stone in the churchyard, called the Sotheby Cross, even says "Paulinus here preached and celebrated AD627". The church building has very old foundations from the Saxon times. You can still see parts of the Norman church. But most of what you see today was built much later, from the late 1100s to the early 1400s.
The Unique Church Clock
The church has a clock from 1841 that is quite special. It has a rare design that uses only one part to strike the hours and chime the quarter hours. This clock was fixed up in 2004. There's only one other church in England known to have a similar clock. It's at St. John's Church in Keswick, Cumbria.
Changes Over Time
In the late 1800s, the church had a lot of repairs and changes. Many of the beautiful stained glass windows you see now were added then. The pulpit, where the priest speaks, also dates from this time. It has two carved pictures. One shows the story of the parable of the Good Samaritan. The other shows St. Peter healing a man.
Restoring the Church
In 2004, a special fundraising effort called the All Saints Heritage Appeal Fund began. It aimed to raise £250,000. This money was needed to fix up the west end of the church. They wanted to create more space and show off some important historical parts of the building better. This first part of the work is now finished. The money also helped repair the crumbling stone on the outside of the church.
A Message from the Past
During the repairs in the 1890s, workers put a message in a glass bottle. They also added a newspaper from that time. This bottle was buried under a stone base of the old Sotheby Cross. In 2005, during new repairs, the bottle was found by accident! The old message and newspaper were then re-buried in the same spot. A copy of the Pocklington Post from 2005 was added too.
Amazing Stories from the Past
The Flying Man of Pocklington
In 1733, a famous person called Thomas Pelling, known as the "Flying Man of Pocklington," tried something very daring. He attempted to slide along a rope stretched between the church and the Star Inn in the Market Square. Sadly, he fell and died, hitting his head on the church wall. This happened because of a mix-up with the people working the rope. He is buried right where he fell, at the east end of the church. A special plaque is there to remember him.
The Sotheby Cross
In the churchyard, you'll find the Sotheby Cross. This cross was made in the 15th century for, or in memory of, John Soteby, who was born in Pocklington in 1390.
The cross was found buried in the churchyard in 1835. After that, it was kept inside the church for many years. In 2006, it was moved back outside to the churchyard. Its exact spot was figured out using an old drawing from the 1880s. A stonemason named Matthias Garn made a new top for the cross using special Tadcaster limestone.
The Sotheby family was very old, going back to Roger of Lincoln in 1302. They came to Pocklington around 1380. One of John's family members, James Sotheby, was both the vicar of Pocklington and the headmaster of Pocklington School in the 1620s. The most famous part of the Sotheby family later moved to London. They gave their name to Sotheby's, the well-known international company that sells art and other valuable items at auctions.
All Saints’ Church Today
All Saints’ Church is still a very active place today. It holds many community events and has strong connections with Pocklington Church of England Infants School. The church is also part of a larger group of churches in the area. This group includes churches in Burnby, Great Givendale, Hayton, Huggate, Millington, and Nunburnholme.
The current vicar, who is like the main priest, is the Reverend Dr Jacob Belder. He started his role on September 22, 2020.
See also
- Grade I listed churches in the East Riding of Yorkshire
- History of Pocklington
- Pocklington School
