All Saints Church North Dalton
Usual pattern of Church services
1st Saturday in the month Holy Communion service 18.00 hrs
2nd Sunday Service of the Word 9.30am Church Warden lead.
3rd Sunday Communion by extension 9.30am
4th Sunday no service.
All Saints Church is a Grade II Listed Building. The nave was built in the 12th Century, the Chancel in the early 13th Century and the west tower in the 15th Century. It was restored in 1872
Morris (1919, 136) noted that the church was built anew in Early English style, with the chancel arch and the S doorway ‘retained’. He also claimed that there are traces of ‘dedication crosses’ on the E wall of the chancel, perhaps he meant the 5-star pattern stones, which he did not otherwise describe.
The dedication - to All Saints - is, according to Archbishop Churton, indicative of a Saxon foundation; but the church, as it now stands, dates from the Norman era, and retains intact some of the work of its Norman builders. It consists of chancel, nave, and a low western tower with battlements. The tower is of later date, and the chancel shows a restoration in the Early English period, when three lancet windows were inserted in the east end. The chancel arch is Norman, with chevron ornament, and the south porch is of the same style, with three deep zigzag mouldings resting on as many clustered pillars with carved capitals, now very much defaced. The north door of the chancel is also semi-circular, but plainer. The font is circular, and of undoubted Norman workmanship. The interior was re-pewed in 1840, at a cost of £86 10s.; and in 1872 the fabric was restored and a vestry added, at a cost of £1,100. During the progress of the work, a splendid Norman arch and doorway and a leper's window were discovered, built up in the walls. In the south wall of the chancel are two recesses, formerly an aumbry where the plate and books were kept. There is one stained glass window, a memorial of William and Elizabeth Fell. On the walls are marble monuments to the Binnington, Dowker, Fawsitt, and Buttle families. The church will accommodate 200 people. The registers date from 1653. The living,. formerly a perpetual curacy, is now a vicarage, Bulmer's History and Directory of East Yorkshire (1892)]
S doorway: This is not the entrance currently used. It would seem that quite early in the 13th century the nave N doorway was inserted or updated and became the preferred entrance. The priest’s doorway in the chancel is of similar date. This change could perhaps be due to the first building being dependent on one patron based in the farm to the S, but later the church was, as it were, ‘turned to face the village’ on the N and E.
There is parking available on some of the roads around the church.
There are three steps up to the churchyard gates and wheelchair users will need assistance with these steps. There is a sloped gravel path up to the church doors and then level access into the church.
As well as Sunday Services, the church is also host to fund raising concerts and coffee mornings.