In 659AD, a small monastery was established in Lastingham which was a wilderness at the time. By contrast, Kirkdale lay at a crossroads of an ancient route from north to south descended out of Bransdale intersecting with an ancient route from west to east along the southern edge of the moors. Travellers needed shelter, medical attention and perhaps spiritual sustenance. It may well have been to provide these Christian ministrations and to teach the gospel in the region that a small community of monks was established there as a minster (Latin monasterium) dedicated to Gregory the Great, Apostle of the English. It has been speculated that the original settlement in Kirkdale was an early offshoot of Lastingham. Inside the Minster, two finely decorated stone tomb covers, generally agreed to date from the eighth century, hint that this early church had wealthy patrons - perhaps royal patrons at least one of whom may have been venerated in Kirkdale as a saint.
Memory of the sanctity and status of St Gregory’s Minster seems to have survived the Danish conquest and colonisation of North Yorkshire in the 9th century, though the building fell into ruin; for around 1060, as the Anglo-Saxon sundial above the door tells, Orm Gamalson “bought St Gregory’s minster” (presumably, with some land attached to it, from a previous landholder) and caused it to be rebuilt, evidently upon its ancient foundations. He perpetuated its ancient dedication to St Gregory - “our Gregory” (Gregorius noster) as the English came to call their Apostle. The inscription can just be made out and is now sheltered by the porch.
In the 12th century, under the auspices of the Augustinian canons of Newburgh Priory near Coxwold, to whom the church and its lands were granted in the 1150s, Orm’s doorway in the west wall of the nave (still there) was superseded, at least for access by the laity, by a substantial doorway inserted in the south wall - reflecting perhaps a greater ritual and symbolic use of the church door. In the 13th century the north aisle was added, doubtless to accommodate an increased local population. A balancing south aisle might have been constructed in due course, had not famine and the Black Death, in the following century, wiped out half of the population of England. To the 13th century also belong the south-east (priest’s) doorway and the stonework of the east window, suggesting that the chancel as a whole underwent repair or improvement at that time.
The existing chancel, in which these ancient features are incorporated, is a 19th-century rebuild whose structure reveals that in the 15th century its height was increased (retaining parts of the Anglo-Saxon arch from Orm’s church). In the same century, windows in a contemporary architectural style were inserted in the east wall of the north aisle, perhaps to light a secondary altar there, and in the south wall of the nave, presumably to give more light to the congregational area.
The Minster’s two bells, named for Gregory and Peter, also belong to the medieval period: Gregory to c.1300, Peter to c.1500. Both - now hung in the small bell tower built in 1827 on the exterior west wall, and repaired and rehung in 1998 - are still rung before services.
In early in the 20th century, the originally elegant but subsequently mutilated statue of the Virgin and Child was found buried - either disposed of or intentionally concealed - in the churchyard at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries. It was shortly thereafter re-erected in the north aisle of church.
Following the dissolution, the church and lands of Newburgh Priory (including Kirkdale) were sold eventually coming into the possession of Sir Henry Danvers who was a benefactor of the University of Oxford, and in 1622 he presented to “the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars” a site in the High Street for the establishment of a Physic Garden to serve the study of medicine, and subsequently by his Will he assigned the rectory of Kirkdale to the University, to provide an income for the maintenance of the Garden (which today is the Botanic Garden). When, in 1827, the Minster came alarmingly close to collapse, the University contributed to the cost of repairs which included substantial work on the south wall. Again in 1881 when the chancel was completely rebuilt (though with retention of several medieval elements), the University shared costs with one of the lessees of ancient church land who had inherited chancel-obligations with his lease.
in the early 20th century, substantial alterations undertaken in the Georgian period were to be dismantled, gallery and box pews were to be removed and something more sympathetic to the ancient origins of the building was to be achieved. The work was done to designs and standards of the eminent architect, Temple Lushington Moore (1856-1920). It was as part of this restoration that the two ancient tomb-covers, treasures of the Minster, were removed from the exterior wall of the west end and placed under the arcade of the north aisle.
Despite all the repairs and alterations over the centuries, at the heart of the building remains much of the fabric of Orm’s church, still enclosing the space first sanctified in the 7th or 8th century.
To find the cache, firstly take a peek inside the porch at the sundial and then note the phone number for Kirkdale Vicarage where the Reverend can be contacted on 01439 ABCDEF. Then count how many large stone crosses are propped up in the porch to get G.
After exploring inside the church, especially taking note of the tomb covers, come outside and turn right to look at the west wall and tower. How many diamond shaped panes of glass can be found in the tiny window just above head height in the tower (=H)?
How many old stone crosses have been built into the wall next to the tower? (=J)
The cache can be found at N 54 15. A B H W 000 57.(D+E) (E x F) (G+H+J)
Cache placed with kind permission of the Friends of St Gregory
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at http://churchmicro.co.uk
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/index.htm
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Congratulations to Jarlee74 and St Nicholas on the rapid FTF. Looks like this area is in need of more caches, if only we were more local!