St marys in the centre between the two beaches

St Mary's Church is a parish church in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. It stands high above the old town, just below

Scarborough Castle Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle, encompassing the Iron Age settlement, Roman signal station, an Ang ...

History

The church was built in the 12th century. It was once a large church with two towers (west and central), but was largely destroyed during the siege of Scarborough Castle in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. The church was rebuilt in the late 17th century and restored in the mid 19th century. The building now has a square tower at the east end, replacing the former central tower, and a series of stone vaulted side chapels on the south side. The internal walls are almost covered with late 18th century and early 19th-century wall monuments, including one by Roubiliac to

Elizabeth Craven Elizabeth, Princess Berkeley, sometimes unofficially styled Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (''née'' Lady Elizabeth Berkeley; —), previously Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven, of Hamstead Marshall, was an author and playwright, perhaps be ...

. The chancel was rebuilt c.1450 and subsequently destroyed in the Civil War, with some remains on the east end. During the Civil War, the churchyard was used as a base to fire cannons at the castle, with the castle returning fire. The tower collapsed in 1645 and was rebuilt in 1670. The church was heavily restored in the 19th century and is now about half the size it once was.

Graveyard

The church has a large graveyard, with tombs mainly of the 18th and 19th centuries. A much-visited grave is that of

Anne Brontë Anne Brontë (, commonly ; 17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English novelist and poet, and the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne Brontë was the daughter of Maria (born Branwell) and Patrick Brontë, a poor Irish cl ...

, who died in Scarborough in 1849. Anne's sister

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

commissioned a stone to be placed over her grave, with the simple inscription "Here lie the remains of Anne Brontë, daughter of the Revd P. Brontë, Incumbent of Haworth, Yorkshire. She died Aged 28 May 28th 1849". When Charlotte visited the grave three years later, she discovered multiple errors on the headstone, and thus it was refaced. However, Anne's age at death was still written as 28 when, in fact, she was 29 when she died. In 2011, the correction was finally made when a new inscribed plinth was laid by the Brontë Society in front of the eroded headstone.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Scarborough Scarborough, St Mary Scarborough, St Mary Buildings and structures in Scarborough, North Yorkshire