St Olave's Church, York (pronounced Olive) is a

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 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 ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. It is situated on Marygate, by St Mary's Abbey.

History

St Olave's Church is situated within St Mary's Abbey walls, which was ruined in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It is dedicated to St Olaf, patron saint of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' entry for 1055 records that ‘This year died Earl Siward at York; and his body lies in the minster at Galmanho, which he had himself ordered to be built and consecrated, in the name of God and St. Olave, to the honour of God and to all his saints.’ Galmanho is a former name for the area where the church stands and

Siward, Earl of Northumbria Siward ( or more recently ; ) or Sigurd (, ) was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname ''Digri'' and its Latin translation ''Grossus'' ("the stout") are given to him by near-contemporary texts. It is possibl ...

, is believed to have had his York residence. This is the earliest date for a church dedication to St Olaf (Olav in Norwegian) anywhere. St Olave's Church was extensively rebuilt in the 15th century. Substantial repairs were carried out in the 1720s including the insertion of windows in the north aisle, the wall of which had earlier served as part of the abbey and later city defences. The church was restored in 1848 – 1849, and reopened on Wednesday 14 February 1849. The church was again renovated starting in 1887. After a closure of 5 weeks, the church reopened on 2 September 1888. The ceiling of lath and plaster which covered the central aisle of the nave was removed. The pillars, arches and north and west walls were stripped of paint and plaster. A new chancel was added in 1887–9 by George Fowler Jones, a York architect, and later extended in 1906. This contains the five-light 15th-century east window. Despite these changes the architectural style is broadly 15th century.

Current parish life

St Olave's has a strong musical tradition, with a large

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and recently restored

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, as well as a ring of six bells hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...

. In addition the orchestra of the Academy of St Olave's performs three concerts each year and plays for one orchestral Mass on Remembrance Sunday. The Sunday sung eucharist is at 10.30 using Common Worship (order one, contemporary language).

Incumbents

Initially referred to as Chaplains, the post was Curate from 1499, and Vicar from 1663.

Memorials

*George Hutchinson (d. 1775) *Michael Loftus (d. 1762) *

William Etty William Etty (10 March 1787 – 13 November 1849) was an English artist best known for his history paintings containing nude figures. He was the first significant British painter of nudes and still lifes. Born in York, he left sch ...

(d. 1849)

Burials

Organ

The pipe organ was built by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd and dates from 1907. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

References

External links

St. Olave's Church Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:York, Saint Olave Church of England church buildings in York Grade I listed churches in York 15th-century church buildings in England Anglo-Catholic church buildings in North Yorkshire Churches dedicated to Saint Olav in the United Kingdom Marygate