St Peter's Church, Wintringham, North Yorkshire

Repairs on Vesting

St Peter’s is an exceptional medieval church dating from the Norman period through to the fifteenth century with very little restoration or alteration. The spire was restored in 1818, the roofs restored by Oldrid Scott in 1887, and fine oak fittings added to the chancel in 1889-91 by Temple Moore. Pevsner summed up the beauty and importance of the church: “It is the most rewarding church in the East Riding (former administrative boundary) with an exceptional collection of furnishings”. From a visitors point of view the church is packed with things to see and explore.

The church sits in a well-maintained churchyard bordered by yew trees at the end of Wintringham, a village just off the A64 York – Scarborough road.

The church comprises a 4-bay aisled nave and 3-bay chancel with chapels in the eastern bays of the aisles, there is also a west tower with spire. Outwardly of C15 appearance it is built of local calcareous sandstone with an abundance of carving to the tower and aisle parapets. This stone whilst being a beautiful honey colour does have a tendency to be wrongly bedded and as a consequence shales badly, a problem not helped by various attempts to repoint in an overly hard mortar. The oak roofs are covered in Westmorland slate although the lower pitched aisle roofs were covered in lead until the 1940’s. A slim octagonal spire is recessed behind the tower parapet. Windows are a mixture of medieval, nineteenth-century figurative and twentieth-century plain glazing.

The interior of St Peter’s is faded but wonderfully atmospheric. There are several areas of medieval and post-Reformation wall painting and other pieces of polychrome decoration on wood and canvas. Chancel and chapel screens are beautifully carved, as are the misericords in the chancel. There are quality furnishings, fittings and monuments from almost every period of its existence, including medieval carvings, the font, stained glass, screens, altars, wall texts, post-reformation pews in limed oak and other miscellaneous furniture. The walls are whitewashed and the whole church glows a golden yellow on bright days especially when the sun shines through the stained glass in the aisles.

The church was vested in April 2004 and was in need of significant repair. Work started in late 2005 and finished almost two years later. It included a comprehensive programme of masonry repair and repointing; reroofing the south aisle and repairs to other roofs including renewing lead parapet gutters; repair and overhaul of rainwater goods; improvements to ground drainage; repairs to windows, doors, belfry louvres, pews and parclose screen; improvements to ventilation.

Repairs were carried out by local firm Ebor Stone Co. Ltd. under the direction of our architect Mr Peter Pace.