The Parish Church of St Andrew, Finghall,The village and parish is sometimes spelt in its archaic fashion of Fingall, dropping the 'H'. The name derives from ''Finegala, Finyngale'' or ''Fingala'' which means the ''Halh'' (land or area) of ''Fina's people''. At some point, the spelling was changed to include the 'H'. is the parish church for the village of

Finghall Finghall is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. History The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ''Fingall'' when it belonged to Count Alan and had 13 villagers. The origin of the place- ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. The building is located on the site of a much earlier

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

church and has some remnants of that era incorporated into the building, though the present structure dates back to the 12th century. The church is nearer to the hamlet of

Akebar Akebar is a township and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, about eight miles south of Richmond. It consists of a caravan site, as well as several farm houses, a public house and folly. The civil parish as a whole consists of several fa ...

than it is to Finghall, which is to the south, because the church was originally in a medieval village that was deserted when it was ravaged by plague. The building is now a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

structure and is still used for worship.

History

The Church of St Andrew, Finghall, was built in the

Early English style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

in the late 12th century and is now grade II* listed. It has a tower to the west with a nave, chancel and a rare double bell holder (

bell-cot 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 ...

) situated on the centre of the church roof. The roof is described as being very low, with one writer stating that " t comesnearly to the ground," and whilst one bell is undated, the other shows it to have been cast in 1620. Some elements are thought to be Anglo-Saxon in nature, including a blocked doorway into the nave dated to around 1140 and an Anglo-Saxon cross-head from the 9th century which is built into the chancel. The church was rebuilt in the 14th century and smaller additions were made in the 18th and 19th centuries with a complete restoration in 1904. Further restorations were undertaken in 1959 and 1964. The most recent restoration was in the year 2000 when the commandment boards were restored. The commandment boards were instituted by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

in the 16th century, but Finghall didn't get theirs until the middle of the 18th century. In 1801, the Reverend Luke Yarker employed several people as musicians and singers in the church. The musicians were supplanted in 1865 by a harmonium, which was replaced in 1894 by an organ that had previously been in

Constable Burton Hall Constable Burton Hall is a grade I-listed Georgian mansion of dressed stone in an extensive and well wooded park in the village of Constable Burton in North Yorkshire, and is privately owned by the Wyvill family. The house is a two-storey ashla ...

. The church is sited next to Leeming Beck (named

Bedale Beck Bedale Beck is a river that flows through the eastern end of Wensleydale and passes through Crakehall, Bedale and Leeming before entering the River Swale at a point between Morton-on-Swale and Gatenby. Between source and mouth its length is . ...

further down the valley) and was formerly in an Anglo-Saxon village. As with other Deserted Medieval Villages (DMVs), the belief was that the plague was a water-borne infection and so the villagers moved to the present day site of Finghall village which lies to the south of the church. This had led historians to label such places of worship as 'Plague Churches'. The church was patronised by the Fitzhugh and the Wyvill families and the site is believed to have been the meeting of a church Synod in the year 768. Other notable families were patrons of the church and were afforded the right of

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...

. The Scrope family lost this right in 1415 when their lands were confiscated (including Finghall church) by the crown on account of Henry Scrope's involvement in the 1415 plot to murder

King Henry V Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

. Scrope was executed at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

for this. Two of the graves in the churchyard belong to military airmen. One is of a

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

airman who was the only son of the vicar at Finghall at that time. E.H.G. Sharples died in January 1918 in a training accident. The other grave is from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and holds the remains of Flying Officer N.J.M. Barry.Barry was

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n by birth and when he was shot down over

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1940, he was a pilot on No. 501 Squadron (RAF). Barry was buried in Finghall as his brother was living in

Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town of ...

at the time. The church is in a Benefice with five other churches; St Gregory's (

Crakehall Crakehall is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, approximately west of Bedale. More known as Thomas Barkers home grounds. The village lies along the route of the A684 road, A684 and is split into t ...

), St Mary's (

Hornby Hornby may refer to: Places In England * Hornby, Lancashire * Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire * Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere * Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...

), St Michael's (

Spennithorne Spennithorne is a village and civil parish in lower Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of the market town Leyburn, on a slight elevation above the River Ure, which forms the so ...

), St Oswald's ( Hauxwell), and St Patrick's ( Patrick Brompton). Together, these six churches are collectively known as Lower Wensleydale.

Vicars at Finghall

Below is a list of rectors from Finghall. At some point in the late twentieth century, the incumbent at Patrick Brompton became the vicar for the extended parish. *John de Segbrook - 1368 * Will Lyllforth * Will Foxholes - 1420 * Roger Parker - 1457 * John Taylor * Peter Conder * William Typping - 1541 * Lacell Routh - 1572 * Reginald Lancaster - 1587 * Matthew Levett - 1622 * Henry Paget * Robert Smith - 1665 * Henry Raper - 1710 * Thomas Nelson - 1735 * Luke Yarker - 1776 * Nicholas Bourne - 1803 * Edward Wyvill - 1820 * George Henry Ray - 1869 * Henry Milner Sharples - 1893 * Walter Hawkesworth Fawkes - 1920 (held in plurality with the parish of East Hauxwell) * John William de la Poer Beresford-Peirse - 1944 * Demetrius Thomas Reynolds Carlin - 1947 * Joseph Nicholls Jory - 1954 * Benjamin William Crawford - 1971 * William Frederick Greatham - 1975 * Raymond Joseph Pearson - 1982 * David James Christie - 1995 * William John Hulse - 2002 * Bryan Stanley Dixon - 2012 (Held in plurality with the parishes of Patrick Brompton, Hornby & Crakehall) * Robin David Christopher Lawton - 2017

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Parish map in 1850
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finghall, Church of St Andrew Grade II* listed churches in North Yorkshire Wensleydale