church in its present condition, and seems to be almost all that remains of bishop Hatfield's work in its integrity. It is of perpendicular character, and is 80 feet high. It is supported by four lofty arches which spring from the sides of as many shafts. The first story is quite modern, the flooring cutting off from the view below four narrow shafts terminated by the four evangelistic symbols, of which St. Mark's lion is mutilated; the rest are in good preservation. In the story above, which is lighted by four perpendicular lights, are contained six bells* of different dates; and on which may be read the following legends. (1.) JESUS BE OUR SPEED. 1656. (2.) GLORY BE TO GOD ON HEE. 1656. (3. GOD SAVE HIS CHURCH. 1656. (4.) GOD SAVE HIS CHURCH. 1692. (5.) THOMAS MEARS OF LONDON FECIT. 1802. The arrangement of the nave was evidently that of a nave with clerestory and aisles; the clerestory, however, seems to have been demolished in 1787, and instead of three roofs covered with lead, one monstrous slated roof was substituted. On the north of the nave the * In 1802, the bell which was said to have come from Mount Grace was broken. This bell, remarkable for the sweetness of its tone, bore this inscription,-In multis annis resonet campana Johannis; with three coats of arms, too much encrusted over to be made out. The earliest notice of the use of a bell in any of the churches in Britain, occurred at the monastery of Hacanos (Hackness) in the year 680, when that monastery was founded. Upon the death of a monk or nun, the sound of the bell summoned the survivors to pray for the soul of the deceased. Whether the same signal was then employed to assemble the congregation for divine worship on ordinary occasions, does not appear; but we may observe in this practice the origin of the present custom of tolling. the bell when any one dies; and reader When thou dost hear the toll, or knell, The churchwardens' accounts for the years 1786 and 1787, afford a very remarkable instance of the reckless manner in which churchwardens were in the habit of dealing with edifices upon which their forefathers spared neither expence nor skill. For instance, 19 tons 16 cwt. 3 qrs. 24 lbs. of old lead, stripped from the roof produced, to eke out a scanty contribution from the parish, £320 15s.; three roofs were thrown into one, and that one covered with slates, so that an account amounting to £332 10s. 54d, was by this wholesale spoliation and vandalism, and by returned cuttings of lead clerestory was supported by pillars and arches of Norman date, apparently of the time of Carilepho; a respond abuts against the north-west tower-pier; the next support, proceeding westward, is a massive rectangular pier with semicylindrical shafts abutting on its east and west faces as figured below. Cleghorn CJD.Idel This species of column is not unfrequent, and is usually considered to be the first step towards the clustered arrangement of pillars, a specimen of which reduced to £7 17s. 14d.! The churchwardens might have been capital managers for the then parishioners, but as wardens of the church, to use a mild term, their mode of action was injudicious. There is more excuse for the rector who re-built the chancel; his fault was simply being infected with the utter want of taste of the times; the chancel is at least a substantial piece of work, and betrays nothing miserly in the rector. may be seen in the form of a pilaster or respond, supporting the western arch. The capitals are circular, with square abaci, with the exception of that of the third pillar, which has an octagonal capital; its appearance indicating a square capital with the corners cut off. On the south side are four pointed arches supported by circular pillars of later date than the foregoing, with circular bell-shaped capitals; these arches are so arranged, that a fifth is springing from the eastern pillar, but is stopped by the south-west pier of the tower, giving the arch the appearance of having been cut through. The aisles are lighted by windows of the latest style of ecclesiastical architecture, with low arches: externally at the eastern end of the south aisle there is an indication of an earlier arch. The breadth of these aisles is very disproportionate to the rest of the edifice, as is very evident from the ground plan, the breadth of the nave and aisles being greater than the length east and west; this alone would point to a late date for the last alterations. The south porch contains a mutilated benatura, and admits us to the church by an early English arched doorway, probably of Pudsey's time; the slender shafts connected with this doorway have all been cut away; the arch itself is in tolerably good preservation. On the north side, opposite, is a doorway, now blocked up. The western front has nothing remarkable (unless we consider its remarkable ugliness) but a Norman semicircular arched doorway, which seems of later date than the pillars and arches on the north side of the nave. The original font seems to have been destroyed or made away with in some other way during the great rebellion, in common with many others in this neighbourhood; and the same hand appears to have been employed in restoring them. This present font, which is figured below, is a plain and tasteless piece of work, supported on the same column which sustained the former one. It is octangular and on four of its sides contains the following legends : T. M. [Thomas Mann, vicar], 1662.-R. C.-I. S. G. W.-T. D.-These latter being the initials of the four churchwardens of the time. A wooden pyramidal cover is suspended from the roof beneath a gallery, and works with a pulley; this cover has some carving of no very remarkable character on it. A writer on ecclesiastical architecture observes that "A common custom in the sixteenth century was the insertion of stones, bearing the date of any alterations made at this period, and for about a century after the reformation." North Allerton church seems to afford an example of this custom; for on the south wall of the south transept, near the ground, are two stones inserted; the one to the west had doubtless an inscription, which is now entirely obliterated; on the stone to the east is an inscription, much mutilated, of which the following is a restoration : The last line is quite indistinct, with the exception of the date; the whole inscription was "Cor mundum crea in me Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis."-Ps. li. 10 (1. 10 vulgate). Credo videre bona Domini: in terra viventium.-Ps. xxvii. 15 (xxvi. 19 vulgate). The date certainly seems to synchronise with the time when the aisles received their last alterations, as far as the walls are concerned; yet it is but right to say that it may be a monumental tablet, though the former verse seems inconsistent with this supposition, even if we were to consider the belief in the doctrine of purgatory to have had an influence, which, however, was not an article of the faith of the church of England in the year 1576.]* There appear to have been no remarkable monuments in the church at the time of Leland's visit, though he only says he found "no tumes of noblemen" in it. The following is an account of some early testamentary burials, given by Torr in his MSS., but of which no traces are to be found. 4 Aug., A.D. 1610. James Bowes, of North Allerton, gent., made his * For the above detailed account of the church, I am indebted to my much esteemed friend, the rev. George H. Lee, S.C.L. |