The Church of St Peter, Croft-on-Tees is a 12th century

grade I 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 ...

parish church in the village of

Croft-on-Tees Croft-on-Tees is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It has also been known as Croft Spa, and from which the former Croft Spa railway station took its name. It lies north-north west of the coun ...

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. Artefacts and carvings inside the church are believed to have given rise to many of the characters created by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

, who as a child, attended St Peter's in the 1840s when his father was rector of the church. The church also features in

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

' book ''"England's Thousand Best Churches"''.

History

The church was first started in the 12th century and was added to in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries with major renovations in the late 19th century. The bulk of the church is in the

Decorated 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 ...

with a later addition tower on the west side which is constructed of different stone to the rest of the church; the exteriors walls of the church are constructed from red sandstone which is found in the

Tees Valley Tees Valley is a mayoral combined authority and Local enterprise partnership area in northern England, around the River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley. The LEP was established in 2011 and the combined authority was establish ...

, though it has been re-inforced with brown sandstone. The nave and chancel together, measure from west to east. Whilst most of the architectural style of the building is described as Decorated, the clerestory, which was added in the 15th century, is noted for being in the

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

style.

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- ...

crosses are to be found in the chapel and the north door area. The site has been identified as being a location of Anglo-Saxon worship. In 1680, the Milbanke family installed an elevated pew in the church (the Milbanke Pew) which is on the same level as the pulpit. It is reached via a "grand staircase" and is supported by Tuscan columns with fitted with red curtains. Glynne describes the whole section of the pew and stairs leading up to it as being "ugly". The church was grade I listed in 1968 and includes the Todd Tomb in the churchyard, which commemorates John Todd of nearby Halnaby Hall, which is grade II listed. Simon Jenkins in his book, ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', awards the church three stars out of five and describes it as being

Lewis Carroll

Between 1843 and 1868, Lewis Carroll's father was the rector at the church in Croft. The family arrived in the village when Carroll was just 11-years' old, and he stayed until he was 19 before he left for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Many items inside the church have been cited as inspiration for a varying number of characters from Carroll's work; the grinning cat on the sedilla is believed to have inspired the

Cheshire Cat The Cheshire Cat ( or ) is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in ''Alice''-related contexts, the association of a "Ch ...

and the sword which John Conyers is supposed to have killed the

Sockburn Worm In the folklore of Northumbria, the Sockburn Worm was a ferocious wyvern that laid waste to the village of Sockburn in Durham, England, Durham. It was said that the beast was finally slain by John Conyers. The tale is said by many to be the inspir ...

with used to be in the church and is presented on the occasion of a new incumbent of the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

. In 2018, the sedilla was renovated as part of an £160,000 extension of the church. At the same time, a carved stone

Jabberwock "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The bo ...

, which was detailed as per an original drawing of the dragon in the 1871 version of "

Alice Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

", was added to the building. The renovation, which includes Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF), will have a new visitors section with material created by pupils from

Richmond School Richmond School & Sixth Form College, often referred to simply as Richmond School, is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school located in North Yorkshire, England. It was created by the merger of three schools, the oldest of which ...

. Due to its connection with Lewis Carroll and ''Alice in Wonderland'', the church attracts many visitors from overseas, notably Brazil, China and the United States.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croft-on-Tees, Saint Peter Grade I listed churches in North Yorkshire 12th-century church buildings in England Richmondshire Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire