St Mary's Church is the

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 ...

Gate Helmsley Gate Helmsley is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, about seven miles east of York. The village lies on the border with the East Riding of Yorkshire. History The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book Domesday ...

, a village east 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 ...

and west of

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. The oldest parts of the church date from the 13th century, while the west tower was added in the 15th century. It was heavily restored from 1885 to 1886, with a new

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

added, and the eastern half of the nave rebuilt. Stained glass was added between 1890 and 1910, designed by

Ward and Hughes Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows. History Ward and Hughes was preceded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created a large w ...

. 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 1953. The church is built of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, with a

Welsh slate The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then rapidly during the Industrial ...

roof. It has a three-bay nave and a two-bay chancel, with a south aisle and north chapel. At the west end is a three-stage tower, which includes a three-light

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

window in the second stage, two windows in the

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

, and a battlement. Most of the windows in the body of the church are 19th century, although there is a moved 13th century

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

in the north chapel. In the porch is a 12th-century

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, which has been reused as a

stoup A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or other Christian art. It is used in Catholic, as well as many Lutheran and Anglica ...

. The font is 13th century and has an octagonal bowl. There are three bells, cast by John Warner in 1889, and the organ was designed by

Abbott and Smith Abbott and Smith were a firm of organ builders based in Leeds, England from 1869 to 1964. History Isaac Abbott established the firm in Leeds in 1869. He had worked for William Hill & Sons, William Hill in London for 20 years. Another Hill emplo ...

in 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gate Helmsley, St Mary Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire Grade II* listed churches in North Yorkshire

See also

References