The Church of St Andrew's
Normanby
Church Records
St Andrews is a small bellcote church facing what used to be the Smithy.
The church dates from 1150. It was under the patronage of St. Mary's
Abbey at York until the dissolution of the monasteries. The Abbey also
owned land to the north. The Abbey presented the living until 1513 when
the Abbot and canons conveyed the advowson (patronage) to Thomas Flintoff,
who presented until the dissolution.
The chancel measures 19'-9'' by 17'-6''. The nave is 34'-9'' by 19'-2''.
It is built of coursed rubble and in the present day has a tiled roof.
The doorway, nave plan, chevron fragments and the later north arcade are
12th century. Other stones in the porch have chevron marks carved in
them. There is a 12th century corbel built into the west wall. The seat
in the porch is the base of the old original pillars. The chancel arch is
14th century and shows dragons, leaves and a face. On the north there are
grotesque snake tailed birds while the south is decorated with ivy leaves.
There is a 17th century communion rail.
The word
‘nave’ is from the Latin ‘nexis’, ship, holding the souls of men in the
storm of life.
There is a stained glass window in memory of the Rev E. H. M. Jackson who
was rector 1897 to 1926. The stone under the altar table may be the old
altar slab. The bottom stone of the pulpit window on the west side is
part of an old stone coffin. The silver plate is a cup and cover dated
1662, made by
Marmaduke Best
of York.
A communion chalice dating back to the
1600s was taken out of general use in 1958. Hannah Foxton paid for a new
one. A new doorway was also added in the chancel. From the 12th century
onwards-church walls were consecrated with oil and marked with a cross.
At Normanby there are three for each wall inside and out. Traces can
still be seen.
The present organ dates from 1851 and was installed in 1990. It came from
a Methodist chapel in Norfolk. There was an electric organ blower was
installed in 1959 at a cost of £103-19s-11d. There are medieval
gravestones. Fragments of medieval gravestones have been built into the
walls of nave and porch.
Any changes to the church have to be authorised especially near the old
graves. Even by the church wall there could be 'walled graves' where such
as still born children were placed in unmarked burials, hence the
expression ‘to go to the wall’. On the 13th November 1917 the first
confirmation service was held with the Bishop of Beverley officiating.
A memorial tablet records
Private Albert Thomas Walton
who died in the Great War. He
was in the Northumberland Fusiliers and was killed on the 22nd of March
1918. The tablet was made in London and is of Respousse copper on
a black marble background.
http://www.cwgc.org
A memorial tablet
records:
Private Albert Thomas
Walton
who died in the Great
War
He was in the
Northumberland Fusiliers and was Killed-In-Action;
22nd of March 1918.
Son of Robert & Kate Walton
The crucifix brought from the Somme battlefield in 1916 hangs over the
pulpit.
Canon A. S.
Harnby brought the
crucifix
back.
To the East of the
church was a fishpond - probably only wet at certain times of the year.
Sometimes the children could be found there boating in large wooden
pig-scalding troughs. Not far from the Church is a mineral spring. The
small stone building to the South of the church is the old coke house.
There used to be two coke fires to heat the church.
The church has been
repaired and re-furbished a number of times. Some work was done on the
Church in 1718. The chancel of the Church used to be 6' longer. Some
sepulchre slabs were found built into a wall. They were placed in the
floor of the north aisle. There was also some restoration work in 1771.
Thomas Mears of London cast a bell in 1795 for the Church.
The Church was rebuilt
for John Hill and restored by T. Moore in 1893-1895 with rebuilt chancel
and north isle. In the isle there are two 13th century coffin slabs with
roughly cut Maltese crosses. The roof had been in a sorry state. A 15th
century window was reset in the north wall and a 13th century arcade was
opened out. The chancel arch was rebuilt. It is two chamfered orders on
semi octagonal responds with capitals.
A new east window with
three lights was inserted, the work of artist
Henry Victor Milner
of London. It was dedicated to James Hill who was rector from 1847 to
1893. A new west window was also made depicting St. Andrew, St. Phillip
and St. James. The subjects are the crucifixion; the Holy Virgin and St.
John. A bell was recast.
A stone font, probably
17th century work, was installed in 1894 with an eight-sided stone
pedestal, replacing a wooden one, which was put at the south door as an
alms box. However, this older container is more probably a
Holy Water Stoup as it is lined
in lead.
Six iron and copper
lamps were installed, Mr. Yearsley, a builder from Malton, did most of the
work helped by Mr. Barnes, a stonemason from Malton. The cost was £1270
plus £18-18s for the American organ. Mrs Surr contributed £101-13s-2d.
She owned Bridge farm, Eastfield farm and Willow house and lived at
Keldholme Priory.
The Earl of Feversham
gave £100. An inscription on the West window says 'dedicated by William
Earnest, Earl of Feversham to the glory of God and in memory of his dear
friend the Rev J. Hill, MA, Rector. An arcade circa 1150 was uncovered in
the north wall.
The church accounts of
1870 mention 2 days walling (6s), a bill from the railway for gravel and
bricks bought from Amotherby. The clerk's wages were £3 in 1799. They
were £7 by 1811. By 1898 they were £8. They were still only £12 in 1939.
The 1828 records say the schoolhouse and parish stable was rebuilt at a
cost of £58.
In 1965 Hill and Jackson installed heating equipment.
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There are two bells in
the gable. They have ancient uses as a means of banishing evil, and are
rung in emergencies. The larger bell was cast by
Thomas
Mears of London in 1795 and weighs 126 lbs. The smaller bell
weighs 112lbs and was recast by
Mallaby of Masham in 1895. In recent years the bells have been
re-hung with the help of a donation from Margaret Wood. Traditional
techniques were used including some original nails. Metal parts were made
locally but some are built in stainless steel to last even longer than the
originals. The bell ropes were finished in natural fibres but after some
time water seeping from the roof caused rotting. Peter Smith has now
handsomely finished the ends of the ropes in American oak.
In the late 1980's a
quinquennial (5 years) report showed that the Church roof and stonework
was in urgent need of repair, at that time there was a congregation of
perhaps 14, and virtually all the money would have to be raised locally
because English Heritage was unable to offer grants, the task seemed
formidable. The money was achieved in five years by fund raising, an
appeal and by David Crummack the treasurer running a tight ship.
Memorable fund raising events were: Peter Woodall's auction of gifts held
at Mr. & Mrs Reg Marton's Rise Farm, a very successful Savoury & Cheese
evening at Normanby Hill by kind permission of Mr. & Mrs Phillip Bell and
the remaining contents of the Schoolroom were put in an Auction at Willow
House. The large oil painting given to the Church by Mrs Tweedie, once of
Riseborough Hall was sold at a London Auction House. A Pedestal was put
in the Church in memory of Mrs Tweedie. Amongst a host of other valuable
individual efforts a collection in Church at the wedding of Sally
Tillotson of Great Barugh was for the Roof Appeal Fund.
The Appeal brought donations from some who had had Normanby connections
previously.
"Proof that a village is part of one's life, and is thought of as "home"
Eighty years on."
Fortunately the roof
timbers on exposure were in good condition and not the worry they might
have been. Consequently there were sufficient funds to purchase a new
organ as well, at a cost of less than £2,000.
The parish register
records church officers over the centuries. These included curates Mat
Hodgson (1731), Philip Bainbridge (1725), Phil Dowkes (1738), Church
wardens Richard Bowes. (1723), George Sparling (1724), Thos Wilcox (1733),
John Sparnel (1734), Will Ward (1735), John Tinsdale (1735), John Wilcox
(1737), Richard Gorwood (1749), The Rector Christopher Bowes (1719),
Thomas Longstaff (1751), the minister Will Ward (1733). The dates are
the year seen in the register the full term of office is not shown.
John Wood's Church records
Church Records
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