St Stephen's Church is 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 ...

of Acomb, a suburb of

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 ...

in England. A church has lain on the site since the Saxon period, and some remains of the Saxon church were uncovered in 1830. By the time of 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 ...

, it was a possession of

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

. In 1228, it was transferred to the Treasurer of the Minster, and a vicarage was built in 1313. It was transferred to the Crown in 1547. By 1830, the church was ruinous, so from 1831 to 1832 it was rebuilt, to a design by

George Townsend Andrews George Townsend Andrews (19 December 1804 – 29 December 1855) was an English architect born in Exeter. He is noted for his buildings designed for George Hudson's railways, especially the York and North Midland Railway. Andrews' architect's p ...

. It seated 338 worshippers, partly in two galleries. Cruciform in plan, it was constructed in

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 ...

limestone with a slate roof. The original

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

was retained, but it was rebuilt in 1851. A

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

was added in 1889, and the following year, an east window was added. In the 20th-century, a porch was added, as was a lean-to on the north wall. In 1848, it was described as "an elegant structure with a graceful spire, and, standing on the highest ground in the vicinity of York, thas a very picturesque appearance". The

Royal Commission on Historic Monuments Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

was more critical, describing it as "ostensibly in the Early English style, ut itshows no real appreciation of mediaeval architecture". The roof was rebuilt in 1952, and in 1954, a peal of bells was installed, cast in 1770 for St Mary Bishophill Senior. In 1983, the building was

Grade II 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, H ...

. The church suffered a fire in 1992 but was restored soon afterwards, and many of its fixtures and fittings survived. These include stained glass, the oldest of which was made by Edmund Gyles in 1662, depicted the arms of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

. The arms of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

are displayed on a panel in the porch.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acomb, St Stephen

St Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

Church of England church buildings in York Grade II listed churches in York 19th-century Church of England church buildings Churches completed in 1832