St Mary's Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in 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 ...

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

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 ...

, England. It was built in the 15th century and is an active place of worship.

Location

The church is located off Kirkgate, next to what was formerly the town's market square. As it is on the banks of the

River Wharfe The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale. ...

, it has been prone to flooding.

History

Though there is no record of a church in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

for "Tatecastre", the

Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...

(AD 731) records that Hieu, founder and

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

Hartlepool Abbey Hartlepool Abbey, also known as Heretu Abbey, Hereteu Abbey, Heorthu Abbey or Herutey Abbey, was a Northumbrian monastery founded in 640 CE by Hieu, the first of the saintly recluses of Northumbria,Bede, ''Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Angloru ...

came to live in Tadcaster, so there may have been a wooden church before the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. The first stone church was erected in about 1150 AD, with further additions till 1318, when it was burnt and sacked by the Scots. It was rebuilt on a larger scale in about 1380. Further additions were made during 1420 to 1480, bringing it to its present shape. Unfortunately the building was subject to flooding, which was inconvenient for the worshippers and caused structural damage, as noted in a petition of 1758 and an architect's report of 1859 which noted amongst other things that the top of the tower overhung the base by . To safeguard it from further floods, the church was taken down in 1875–77, re-erected and raised . This was largely successful until 2015, when it was flooded to a depth of about . The rebuilding was supervised by architect Edward Birchall of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, who used much of the old material and carefully reproduced the features and style, at a cost (raised by public subscription) of £8,000. This included the incorporation of a 12th-century arch and a fragment of a

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

cross. However, the old pews were replaced with ones of a modern and lighter style. In 1897 the north wall was rebuilt further out, widening the north aisle. The church was Grade II* listed on 12 July 1985.

Building

The church is of a perpendicular style and built out of local

magnesian limestone The Magnesian Limestone is a suite of carbonate rocks in north-east England dating from the Permian period. The outcrop stretches from Nottingham northwards through Yorkshire and into County Durham where it is exposed along the coast between Ha ...

with Welsh slate roof. The church has a three-stage west tower, a three-stage bay aisled nave, south porch and a two-bay aisled chancel. It has been described as possessing "a fine show of buttresses, pinnacles and gargoyles." As mentioned in the section above, it contains fragments of a Norman church incorporated at various points. The tower is square with

battlements A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

, and was originally a bell tower, with a clock being added some time before 1764. A three-faced clock was installed in 1858 and the present one dates from 1887. The current 8 bells were re-cast in 1935 from an earlier set of 6 bells, dating back to 1760. It has niches which would formerly have held statues of saints.

Interior

The interior features pointed arches on columns and extensive carved woodwork, including the 1877 pews, a 1912 pulpit and a 1915 screen in the

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

chapel. The black and white flooring is marble, from 1903. The East Window above the altar is stained glass by Morris & Co. Most of the design is by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

, but some panels are by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

himself. The organ dates from 1833 by Elliot and Hill, but having been rebuilt three times. File:St Mary Tadcaster 11 July 2018 interior 1.jpg, Interior File:St Mary Tadcaster 11 July 2018 window 1.jpg, East window File:St Mary Tadcaster 11 July 2018 interior 4.jpg, Organ and choir stalls File:St Mary Tadcaster 11 July 2018 pulpit.jpg, Pulpit

Parish

The parish has four churches; in Tadcaster, Newton Kyme, Kirk Fenton, Kirkby Wharfe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tadcaster, St Mary's Tadcaster Anglican Diocese of Leeds Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire Grade II* listed churches in North Yorkshire