Church of All Saints, Skipsea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Church of All Saints, Skipsea |
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| All Saints Church | |
All Saints, Skipsea
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| 53°58′37″N 0°13′26″W / 53.977°N 0.224°W | |
| OS grid reference | TA165549 |
| Location | Skipsea, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Skipsea |
| Benefice | Hornsea, Atwick and Skipsea |
| Deanery | Holderness North |
| Archdeaconry | East Riding |
| Diocese | York |
The Church of All Saints is a historic church in the village of Skipsea, located in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has been a place of worship for hundreds of years. This church was first built around the late 1000s or early 1100s. It was originally connected to Skipsea Castle, which was just west of the church.
A special path, called a causeway, used to link the church to the castle across a lake known as Skipsea Bail Mere. Even after the castle was taken down around 1221, the village of Skipsea kept growing. The Church of All Saints then became the main church for everyone in Skipsea.
The church has a mix of old building styles. Some parts are from the Norman period, but most of it is in the Perpendicular style. You can still see that the tower was built using cobbles. These were rounded stones collected from the beaches in Holderness. Today, the Church of All Saints is a very important building, listed as grade I listed. It is located at the west end of Skipsea, on the road that goes to Beeford.
Contents
History of the Church
Early Beginnings (11th-13th Century)
The Church of All Saints was built in the late 1000s. It was meant for the people living in Skipsea Castle and the village that grew up around it. The first church was likely made mostly from cobbles, which are smooth, rounded stones found on beaches. Many churches in the Middle Ages were built this way in the Holderness area.
Odo, the Duke of Albemarle, is thought to have built the original church around 1090. Later, in the 1300s, the entire church was rebuilt. In 1115, Earl Stephen gave the "church of the castle at Skipsea" to the Aumale monastery. He also gave them other churches in nearby villages like Mappleton, Easington, Kilnsea, and Tunstall. Even though the castle was ordered to be destroyed in the early 1200s, the church remained standing.
Changes Over Time (13th-19th Century)
When the Albemarle family no longer had heirs, the church's ownership went back to the King around 1294. In 1305, Edward I gave the church to Meaux Abbey. When it was first built, the church stood on a small hill between the castle and the growing village. This area is now part of the B1249 road. Back then, the sea was more than an hour's walk away to the east. However, because the coastline has eroded over time, the village and church are now much closer to the sea.
While Meaux Abbey owned the church, its roof was repaired twice in the 1300s. Beautiful stained glass windows were also put in around the same time. In the 1400s, a new upper level called a clerestory was added. All the windows in the church also received new glass. The church was first officially called All Saints or All Hallows in the year 1500.
The church has a tower at the west end, a main area called a chancel, a nave (the central part), and two side sections called aisles. Both aisles have clerestories. You can still see parts of the original Norman design in the church. However, the oldest large sections, like the east window and the naves, date back to the 1300s. Most of the church is built in the Perpendicular style, except for a few older Norman and Decorated parts. The roof of the nave and the clerestory have a special "embattled" design, like the top of a castle wall. The tower still looks much like it did originally.
Restorations and Updates (19th-20th Century)
The chancel of the church was rebuilt in 1824. Three years later, in 1827, the roof of the nave was fixed. A lot of the money for these repairs came from Reverend J Gilby, who was in charge of the church at that time. He made sure the inside walls were repaired while keeping the outside walls in their original style.
More big renovations happened in July 1866, costing £1,400. During these works, a screen that separated parts of the church was removed. A new font (for baptisms) and a desk were installed. The architect, James Fowler, donated the desk. The 1866 renovation also added a porch on the south side. Later, a vestry (a room for clergy) was added in 1874. The tower was repaired in 1893 and again in 1932. The tower looks square, but it's actually wider from north to south than from east to west. It shows many features of the Perpendicular style. It's not clear when the tower lost its embattlements, but they were gone by the late 1800s.
In 1835, the Church of All Saints was officially recorded as serving a population of 726 people. This number included people from the whole parish, not just the village of Skipsea. The village itself had just over 300 residents. The Archbishop of York had the right to choose the church's priest. For a while, the nearby area of Ulrome was a separate parish. However, people from Ulrome could not bury their dead in their own church. So, they had to pay Skipsea to use its burial grounds. Before the 1700s, Ulrome was split between the parishes of Barmston and Skipsea.
Stained Glass and Location
The church has many beautiful stained glass windows. There are three windows grouped together at the west end and in the nave. The east end has a large window with four sections. This window was given to the church during one of the 1800s restorations. This four-section window now serves as a memorial to the people from the parish who died in the First World War. It features images of St George, a dragon, and angels holding a scroll with the names of the fallen.
The Church of All Saints sits on a small hill, about 8 meters (26 feet) above sea level. It overlooks what used to be Skipsea Bail Mere, a body of water that protected the castle. This lake was later drained so the land could be used for farming. A causeway to the north, across Skipsea Bail Mere, connected the church (and later the vicarage) to the castle area. Most of this causeway has disappeared today, but maps from the early 1900s still show where it was. The church was given its Grade I listed status in 1966, recognizing its historical importance.
Church Administration
All Saints is the main church for the religious area of Skipsea. It is part of a larger group of churches called the Benefice of Hornsea, Atwick, and Skipsea.
