St Mary's Church, Scarborough facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Mary's Church, Scarborough |
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St Mary's Church, Scarborough
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| OS grid reference | TA 04680 89064 |
| Location | Scarborough, North Yorkshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Churchmanship | Open Evangelical / Traditional Anglican |
| Website | http://www.stmaryswithholyapostles.com/ |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Groundbreaking | 12th century |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Mary's with Holy Apostles |
| Deanery | Scarborough |
| Archdeaconry | East Riding |
| Diocese | York |
St Mary's Church is a historic church in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It belongs to the Church of England. You can find it high above the old town, right below Scarborough Castle.
Contents
The Church's Long History
The church was first built in the 12th century, which is over 800 years ago! It used to be much bigger, with two towers. However, a lot of the church was destroyed during a big fight called the English Civil War. This happened when soldiers attacked Scarborough Castle.
Rebuilding and Changes
After the war, the church was rebuilt in the late 1600s. It was also fixed up a lot in the mid-1800s. Today, the church has a square tower at its east end. This tower replaced an older one that was in the middle of the church.
Inside, the walls are covered with special stone decorations called monuments. These were put up in the late 1700s and early 1800s. One famous monument was made by a sculptor named Roubiliac for a person named Elizabeth Craven.
The Civil War's Impact
During the English Civil War, a part of the church called the chancel was destroyed. This happened around 1645. The churchyard, which is the area around the church, was even used by soldiers to fire cannons at the castle! The castle fired back, too. The church's main tower fell down in 1645 but was rebuilt in 1670. Because of all these changes, the church today is about half the size it once was.
The Graveyard and Anne Brontë
St Mary's Church has a large graveyard with many old tombs. Most of these graves are from the 1700s and 1800s.
Anne Brontë's Grave
One of the most visited graves belongs to Anne Brontë. She was a famous writer who died in Scarborough in 1849. Anne's sister, Charlotte Brontë, asked for a stone to be placed on her grave. It simply said, "Here lie the remains of Anne Brontë, daughter of the Revd P. Brontë, Incumbent of Haworth, Yorkshire. She died Aged 28 May 28th 1849".
When Charlotte visited the grave three years later, she found several mistakes on the headstone. It was then fixed, but it still said Anne was 28 when she died. In fact, Anne was 29 years old. In 2011, this mistake was finally corrected. A new stone was placed in front of the old one by the Brontë Society.
