St Mary’s Church, Fridaythorpe: The simple, distinctive and fascinating church tucked away in the Yorkshire Wolds
Being 560 feet (170m) above sea level the village is the highest in the Wolds, and after the Norman invasion ownership was divided between the Archbishop of York, Thomas I, and a Norman farmer named Odo the Crossbowman.
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Hide AdNothing is known about the site of the church before its construction in the early 1100s, although a capital in the north arcade bears the intriguing inscription “this 713 found hear” (sic).
The church design is classic Norman, with a south door and chancel arch dated to c.1140 and an unusually squat tower built c.1190.
In the 1200s was added a north arcade. The chancel arch has traditional Norman zigzags, and column capitals are carved with Norman patterns.
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Hide AdMuch later additions included 18th century pinnacles on the tower, and a Victorian south porch. The church was subject to much restoration work in 1902-3 financed by Tatton Sykes (1826-1913), 5th Baronet of Sledmere House.
The noted ecclesiastical architect Charles Hodgson Fowler put in a new north aisle, replacing one - long demolished - which had been added in the 13th century, and built a south porch.
A wooden clock added to the west side of the tower bears the inscriptions “ANO DOM 1903” and “Time is short: Eternity is long”.
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Hide AdSt. Mary’s lies on the Sykes Churches Trail, a tour of churches which were built, rebuilt or restored by the Sykes family.
The trail has been devised by the East Yorkshire Historic Churches Group and is split into northern and southern routes, visiting 21 of those churches given a new lease of life by the Sykes family.
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