St Edmund, Knapton

7 February 2007

View of St Edmund, Knapton

This visit was again prompted by family history research initially, though as with all other church visits similarly inspired, it was worth coming whatever the reason. This church is situated in parkland, tucked away between trees in the grounds of Knapton Hall.

After visiting (or rather viewing from a distance) my "ancestral seat" (a small railway cottage), we headed for the church, arriving at just the right time of day, the quiet time of late afternoon.

As we followed the old rights of way around the fields it struck me that my Victorian ancestors would probably have walked this way too, from the home where my great-grandfather was born, to the church where he was christened. I just hope that they didn’t get caught on as many thorny bushes as I did en route.

The last part of the walk was through the more ordered Knapton Hall parkland, where sheep were grazing, surrounded by rather nice rusting old railings with kissing gates giving access.

Plaque celebrating the Millennium

It was one of these days where you don’t have a definite plan, so I hadn’t researched whether the church was open, I just had a vague idea of visiting, after Rillington. Not only was the church not open (which I’d expected), it isn’t actually used as a church anymore (which I hadn’t expected). St Edmund was one of the growing number of churches declared redundant as a place of worship. It is still cared for though, as the sign by the door indicated.

Bellcote, St Edmund's, Knapton

The photo left shows the bellcote, the right photo one of those miscellaneous bits of ironwork that somehow look much more attractive when a bit rusty and worn.

St Edmund, Knapton, porch – 1 St Edmund, Knapton, porch – 2

There was a church here before the Victorian period, but the Victorians seem to have had a passion for restoring and rebuilding churches, and this one dates from the 1870s. This would make it "new" when my ancestor was baptised here. I wonder what they thought of it then.

I’m sorry I have no photos just now of the inside of this church, a church that the Pevsner guide calls "one of the most enjoyable churches in the [East] Riding", when describing its charming interior. These views of the porch floor will have to do, for this is as far as my exploration went, admiring these Victorian tiles. Another visit may be made in the future.

One comment

  1. Julie Wilkinson

    I was christened here, my parents were married here. I can trace my family back to the 1880s to Knapton.

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