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

grade I 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, Hi ...

parish church in the village of

Croft-on-Tees Croft-on-Tees is a village and civil parish in 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 county town of Northallerton. Hi ...

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. 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, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

, 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 FLSW (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 f ...

' 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 a ...

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 combined authority area in North East England, around the lower River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley. The combined authority covers five council areas: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland ...

, 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 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'', � ...

style.

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. 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 ( ) 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 "Chesh ...

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 to be the inspiration f ...

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 head of 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 (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

. 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 b ...

, 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'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...

", 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 coeducational comprehensive secondary school with academy status, located in North Yorkshire, England. It was created by the merger of three schools, the ...

. 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 Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire Croft-on-Tees

History

Lewis Carroll

See also

References

Sources