Ancient Churches / Uralte Kirchen

It seems like every town in England, even the smallest village, has at least one church. It's usually a pint-sized church, with a couple dozen rows of pews, perhaps, and inevitably, that church is ancient. The churches aren't just a couple hundred years old, but hundreds and hundreds of years old. Stone keeps for a long time.

One of the truly amazing things about churches in England is that they are open for visitors, so you can wander in and out as you please. There are no guards watching over things and the ancient artifacts aren't hidden away for safe keeping. And there are all sorts of treasures, like tombs of knights and crosses from the Saxons and hand embroidered kneeling cushions and antique Bibles in the pulpit. These churches aren't museums, but are active parishes with services of various kinds offered during the week and on Sundays.

We've explored five churches in the past couple days. In the hamlet of Lastingham, you find a church that was built in 1078. Actually it was rebuilt in 1078, the original church having been founded in 654. In addition to the church itself, there is a Norman crypt below it. The church in Pickering has medieval wall paintings, some of the largest and best preserved in England. In Kirkdale, you find an Anglo-Saxon sundial with inscription in Old English explaining that the church was rebuilt in 1055. The 13th century church in Nunnington boasts the tomb of the Knight Sir Walter de Teyes who died in 1325. The newest church in Hovingham features a Saxon tower built around 1055, while the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1860 following the original wall lines and structure.

Each church has amazing features, that photograph better than a written description could offer, so you can see these churches for yourself here.