St Mary Magdalene, Yarm

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Coordinates: 54°30′36″N 1°21′29″W / 54.510°N 1.358°W / 54.510; -1.358
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Lady Chapel (Yarm)
)

Yarm Parish Church
Cleveland
DeaneryStokesley
ParishYarm
Clergy
RectorRevd Darren Moore

St Mary Magdalene is a

Reverend
Darren Moore.

The current church building is the third to stand on the site. The first was a wooden

Anglo-Saxon building of which no traces remain. A Norman church was built in the late 12th century and remained until 1728 when it razed by fire. The present Georgian
church was built from the remains of the second in 1730.

History

Anglo-Saxon church

The earliest evidence of a church being present in the town is the Trumbert Shaft. The shaft part of an inscribed sandstone grave cross. It was discovered being used as a mangle weight in Yarm in 1877 by Canon Greenwell of Durham. The shaft is now kept in the library of Durham Cathedral and bears the inscription:

+ [orate] PRO [tru]MBERENCT + SAC+ ALLA +
SIGNUM AEFTER HIS BREODERA YSETAE

Which translates as:

Pray for Trumberhet, Bishop
Alla set up this memorial to his brother

Eata
. The date of his death is not known, but clearly he was buried at Yarm late in the 7th or early in the 8th century.

Norman church

The west end and the base of the tower of the present building are part of the original stone church was built by the

de Brus family
in the latter half of the 12th century. A fortified tower was added in the 13th century and rebuilt during the 17th century.

Georgian Church

In 1728 the Norman church was badly damaged by fire that and had to be rebuilt. The cost of the damage was put at £1,772 and was raised by public subscription.

King George II
allowed collections to be made at churches throughout England to help finance the rebuilding, something that proved so successful that the rebuilding was completed by 1730 using much of the stone from the earlier building.

In 1878 the church was enlarged and

Paley and Austin partnership of Lancaster.[2]

The stonework of the Georgian part of the building has lost its weather resisting properties as a result of age and air pollution.[citation needed]

Present day

On 23 June 1966, the church was designated a

grade II* listed building.[3] The church is within the broad church tradition of the Church of England.[4] The churchyard is closed to new burials, but there is an area for the interment of cremations.[4]

Interior

Lady Chapel

The

Lady Chapel was refurbished in memory of Leslie Leech. It was dedicated in 2003 by the Archbishop of York, David Hope
.

Stained Glass

The windows in the South aisle have subjects taken from the Old Testament. From east to west:

  • God's testing of Abraham
  • Moses receiving the Ten Commandments
  • Prophet Elijah calling down fire from Heaven

The large Moses window is the oldest and best of the glass in the church. It was executed by William Peckitt of York in 1768 and was originally in the Chancel, but was moved to it present position in 1879. The windows in the North aisle and East End of the Church are on New Testament themes. From west to east:

  • Christ's Baptism
  • The Crucifixion
  • Christ the Lover of children and Christ the Good Shepherd
  • The Resurrection
  • The Last Supper
  • The Ascension.

In the West End of the

Jesus Christ
. The Vestry has a 20th-century window depicting the three Marys meeting the angel at the Tomb on the first Easter Day.

Decorations

Above the door to the vestry was an oil painting depicting the

monasteries. It dates from around 1800. Around the walls can be found framed prints of the Stations of the Cross and on the pillars are small shields bearing ecclesiastical signs and symbols. In the Sanctuary is a Tudor bishop's mitre. Until 1865 the Rector of Yarm was the Archbishop, and the mitre represented his presence as vicar
of the parish.

Furnishings

The present pews, pulpit, clerk's desk and choir stalls date from 1878 and are in the

Second World War. The dedication and the identifying mouse, is carved on the Sanctuary side of the rails. The Font is an octagonal bowl of Tees marble
with incurved sides on each of which is a blank shield. It is thought to have been fashioned in the 15th century.

Organ

When the church was rebuilt in 1730 the organ was on a gallery at the West End of the church as is still the case in many churches. In Yarm the organ gallery was removed in 1852 and the organ was moved to the east end of the north aisle. In 1910 the present organ was purchased from Thomas Hopkins and Son of York. The organ has a total of 1134 pipes in 27 stops.

A specification of the organ can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register.[5]

The True Lovers

Alongside the West wall set into the floor is the cover of a table tomb, dating from the 15th century. It is carved with supine male and female figures, a figure of a bird (an eagle or falcon) and a seated figure with one hand raised in benediction. There is an inscription that appears to read here lyeth the body and was buried the 2nd of July An. Do. 1638, suggesting that the tomb has been reused. The original occupants of the tomb must have been significant persons at least locally, but who they were remains a mystery. In the absence of identification for them they became known as The True Lovers, and the nearby riverside path became known as True Lovers' Walk.

Bells

There is a ring of 3 bells. The oldest is dated 1664 weighs 23 stone 9 pounds (150 kg) and is inscribed Fili Dei Misere Mei. The next oldest is dated 1710, weighs 27 stone 8 pounds (175 kg) and is inscribed Sono Quantum Valeo. The smallest bell weighs 19 stone 10 pounds (125 kg), and was recast in 1861 because it had cracked. It bears the names of the churchwardens in that year – James Todd and Wheatley Coates.

Churchyard

In the Churchyard a modern headstone commemorates

Tom Brown, "The Valiant Dragoon" hero of the Battle of Dettingen He died in 1746 and was buried in an unmarked grave. A short distance away is a stone marking the original site of the Free Grammar School of Thomas Conyers
founded in 1590.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Benefice Profile of Yarm with Kirklevington, Picton and Worsall" (PDF). Diocese of York. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. ISBN 1-86220-054-8
    .
  3. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Mary Magdalene (Grade II*) (1054686)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b "The Benefice Profile of Yarm with Kirklevington, Picton and Worsall" (PDF). Diocese of York. 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies
    . Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  • A Guide to the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Yarm

External links

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