St Clement's Church is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

on Scarcroft Road, south-west of the city centre of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, in England. There was a mediaeval church dedicated to Saint Clement, lying outside the

York city walls York has, since Roman Britain, Roman times, been defended by defensive wall, walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are k ...

, which gave its name to the suburb of Clementhorpe. In 1130, the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Nunnery of St Clement was founded, and the church was later recorded as forming part of the nunnery complex. The nunnery was dissolved in 1536, but the church remained in use until 1585, when its parish was merged into St Mary Bishophill Senior. The church fell into ruin, and in 1745 the remaining stone from the church was removed and used to repair the walls. There was much construction in the area in the 19th century, and a new church was constructed as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

to St Mary, on a site on Scarcroft Road. It was designed by

J. B. and W. Atkinson J. B. and W. Atkinson were English brothers who worked together as architects. John Bownas Atkinson (1807 – 1874) and William Atkinson (1811 – 1886) were the sons of the architect Peter Atkinson (architect, baptised 1780), Peter ...

, and was constructed from 1872 to 1874. In 1876, it was given its own parish. A

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

was added in 1880. St Mary was demolished in 1963, and many of its fixtures were relocated to St Clement, including monuments and boards, two of which record the terms of John Carr as

Lord Mayor of York The Lord Mayor of York is the chairman of City of York Council, first citizen and civic head of York. The appointment is made by the council each year in May, at the same time appointing a sheriff, the city's other civic head. York's lord mayor ...

. The church was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 2000. The church is constructed of red brick, with stone dressings and plinth and dark brick bands. It has angled

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es, and a steep slate roof covering both nave and chancel, topped by a small

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

. The nave has side aisles, and the east end is in the form of an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. The windows are lancets, those at the east and west ends having three lights, with two-light windows either side. The stained glass in the east window was designed by

Jean-Baptiste Capronnier Jean-Baptiste Capronnier (1 February 1814 – 31 July 1891) was a Belgium, Belgian stained glass painter. Born in Brussels in 1814, he had much to do with the modern revival of glass-painting, and first made his reputation by his study of the ol ...

in 1875. Inside, the arcades are of brick, with stone piers and detailed stone capitals. There is a circular stone font, and an octagonal stone pulpit. The choir stalls and screen are later, and were designed by Robert Thompson.

References

External links

* {{Deanery of York churches

Clement Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. * Clement's P ...

19th-century Church of England church buildings Churches completed in 1874 1874 establishments in England Pope Clement I Brick buildings and structures in the United Kingdom