Shared description

All Saints' North St, York

Grade I listed

The church site dates from the 11th century and is there is a reference to the church in 1089. At that time the building was a simple rectangular structure.
At the end of the 12th century an aisle was added incorporating fragments of Roman columns found on the site. The chancel was reconstructed in the 13th century with an internal arcade and a second aisle was added to the nave. The nave is of seven bays and continuous with the chancel.

The tower and spire were erected in the late 14th century when the arcades were reconstructed. It is possible that the old church was demolished leaving only the easternmost bays.
Construction of the tower and 120 foot spire was underway in 1394 and the rest of the building was complete by about 1410 when work began on glazing the north and south walls. However, money was limited in the 15th century and the church was only finished in the 1470s.

There was originally an Anchorage attached to the church, and in the 1420s a visionary named Emma Raughton received visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She received visions seven times in 1421, they informed her of the impending death of Henry V and Coronation of Henry VI as King of France. She was visited by Richard Beauchamp, who served as protector of the young king. This Anchorage was reconstructed in 1910.

The chancel ceiling was erected in the 15th century, the hammer beams of the ceiling are in the form of Angels who hold a variety of objects. There is a Misericord with the coat of arms of the incumbent John Gilyot, (1467 - 1472), who was responsible for the Angel carvings.

The church was restored in 1866 when the south aisle was rebuilt and porch and vestry added.

The church is famous for its mediaeval stained glass, and has a large and varied display. The earliest glass is from the first half of the 14th century and the majority is from the 15th century. The early glass is confined to the east windows, each window has a central crucifix which was intended to function as the cross for the altar below. Nine windows containing glass from the second period of glazing commencing around 1410 when the Pricke of Conscience window was installed, and continuing throughout the early part of the 15th century. All the mediaeval glass has been restored at some point, Wailes of Newcastle undertook work in 1844 and further restoration was done in the 1860s and 1960s.

After the Reformation much of the church was filled with box pews, and a large double-decker pulpit was installed. There are also commandment boards installed.

The church has several monuments and brasses, and there are several mediaeval grave slabs incorporated into the church floor including a slab to Thomas Collyngwyke.

Chancel screens and the rood were fitted in 1906.
In 1958 a statue of the Madonna and Child was installed to the south of the screen, sculpted by Dick Reid.


by Julian P Guffogg

Created: Fri, 13 Feb 2015, Updated: Fri, 13 Feb 2015


32 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:

SE6051 : Plaque outside All Saints, North Street by Stephen Craven
SE6051 : All Saints, North Street - Pricke of Conscience Window by Stephen Craven
SE6051 : Stained glass window detail, (n.III)  All Saints' North Street, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Detail, Stained glass window, All Saints' North St, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Misericord, All Saints' church, North Street, York by Julian P Guffogg
SE6051 : Acts of Mercy window, All Saints' church, North St. York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Interior, All Saints' church, North Street, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Detail, Act of Mercy window, All Saints' church, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Lady Chapel window detail, All Saints' church, North St, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : All Saints, North Street - Angels Window by Stephen Craven
SE6051 : Pricke of Conscience window, (n.III)  All Saints' church by Julian P Guffogg
SE6051 : Chancel, All Saints' North Street, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Lady Chapel window detail, All Saints' church, North St, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Acts of Mercy window, All Saints' church, North St, York by Julian P Guffogg
SE6051 : Devils and the Damned, Pricke of Conscience window by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : All Saints, North Street - Mayoral boards by Stephen Craven
SE6051 : All Saints, North Street - spire by Stephen Craven
SE6051 : All Saints, North Street - St Thomas Window by Stephen Craven
SE6051 : Lady Chapel window detail, All Saints' church, North St, York by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : East window, All Saints' church, North Street, York by Julian P Guffogg
SE6051 : Stained glass window, All Saints' North Street, York by Julian P Guffogg
SE6051 : All Saints, North Street - chancel by Stephen Craven
SE6051 : Tracery, Pricke of Conscience window, All Saints' church by J.Hannan-Briggs
SE6051 : Lady Chapel window, All Saints' church, North Street, York by Julian P Guffogg
SE6051 : Church of All Saints, North Street, York by Alan Murray-Rust

... and 7 more images.

Shared descriptions

This shared description

The 'Shared Description' text on this page is © copyright 2015 Julian P Guffogg.

Shared descriptions are specifically licensed so that contributors can reuse them on their own images, without restriction.

About shared descriptions

These Shared Descriptions are common to multiple images.

For example, you can create a generic description for an object shown in a photo, and reuse the description on all photos of the object. All descriptions are public and shared between contributors, i.e. you can reuse a description created by others, just as they can use yours.


You are not logged in | login | register