Welcome to St John the Baptist Church, Levisham. A late nineteenth century church, built as an ‘alternative’ to the ancient ‘Valley Church’ of St Mary’s (now redundant), St John the Baptist’s in the farming village of Levisham incorporates the font from the original church and other features, too, including the celebrated ‘Dragon Stone’.
However, most visitors who enter the church are struck immediately by the symmetry of the roof beams, and the more observant will soon begin looking for mice, for examples of the woodcarving skills of ‘Thompson of Kilburn’ abound. (A game of ‘Hunt the Mouse’ will delight young and old alike.)
Yet even with so much to see, the church is a much-appreciated place to stop for a moment of tranquillity and peace.
Directions
For St John the Baptist’s Church, Levisham, continue through Lockton, following signs to Levisham. The road enters a deep valley – especial care needs to be taken in icy conditions – and the linear village of Levisham is on the other side of the valley, about a mile further on from Lockton. Head through the village towards the pub; the church is near, to your left.
This church, formerly a Chapel of Ease when the parish Church was in the valley, became the Parish Church, dedicated to St John the Baptist in the 1950s when St Mary's ceased to be used.
In the porch is a list of the Rectors of Levisham going back to the year 1269, reminding us of the long succession of Christian ministry in this village.
The building incorporates reminders of the whole period of Christian presence in the village. In the porch are broken portions of a carved grave stone depicting a dragon in Scandinavian style, thought to be from a pre-Conquest graveyard.
The font is from Norman times or earlier. It was originally in St Mary's but was turned out and replaced by something more modern in the 19th century, and the ancient font with its rough surface and crude carvings of a cross and Bishop's staff was carted away to a farmyard where it was used as a cattle trough until it was rescued and restored to its proper use when the chapel-of-ease was rebuilt.
Two bells from St Mary's are housed under the altar, and wood from the old church was used by a member of the congregation to make the central section of the communion rail. An inscription in the wooden candlesticks records that they were made from ‘oak and bell metal of York Minster, burnt 1840’.
Several members of the Baldwin family, who lived at the Hall during the 1920s - 1940s, are commemorated in the furnishings - the pews, the communion rails, all made by Robert Thompson of Kilburn and bearing his mouse trade-mark. Many visitors enjoy searching for the mice!
More recently, the plaque depicting John the Baptist hanging to the left of the altar was given by a former rector, the Revd. Robert Toogood and the churchwardens' staves were commissioned from a local craftsman. The new kneelers were made by members of the community to commemorate the Millennium.
St Mary's - the Church in the valley
The original Parish church of St Mary's in the valley between Lockton and Levisham is now a ruin.
Archaeological and documentary evidence suggests that the first church on the site was built in the early Norman period, though various pieces of carved stone have been found from Saxon times. The graveslab incised with a sword which can be seen in the chancel may be that of Ralph de Bolbeck, Lord of the Manor of Levisham in the 13th century and of land in Lockton who possibly built the church to serve both his Manors.
The site of the valley church would not always have been the quiet, secluded spot that it is today. The main road from Whitby to Pickering came down Lockton bank and then followed what is now the bridle track to Farwath on the East side of the beck, marked on old maps as Sleights Road. In Medieval times we can imagine the Church as standing near a busy road carrying farm traffic on its way to market, officials going about the business of the Royal Forest of Pickering, churchmen and pilgrims travelling between Whitby Abbey and York Minster.
St Mary's was extensively rebuilt in 1802 during the incumbency of the first of the two Robert Skeltons, at the joint expense of parish and rector - the walls, windows and roof paid for by the rector, the altar table, rails, seats and floor by the parish. At this time, the rector laid claim to a family vault within the altar rails. A number of plaques and inscribed memorials to various members of the Skelton family can be seen in the railed-off chancel of the ruined church today.
The tower was a later addition, built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1897.
The Chapel of Ease
As St Mary’s was so far from the village, a Chapel of Ease was built on the site of the present Church. It is referred to in documents as an ‘ancient chapel‘, but there is no record of how ancient. It survived till the middle of the nineteenth century and was used for services in the winter and for the annual Vestry Meeting. Then the roof gave way and the walls began to collapse, and in 1853 the Rector, the Rev. Robert Skelton, reported that it was now in ruins.
With only the church in the valley for use all the year round, congregations began to fall off. There was now a Primitive Methodist chapel in the village offering an alternative to the steep and muddy road down to St Mary's. In 1865 Robert Skelton wrote to the Archbishop :‘The great thing which specially impedes my Ministry and welfare of the Church is the Church being in the valley where there is a steep hill to go to it and back again and to which in winter none of the infirm and old people can go..…’. He brought to the Archbishop's attention the ruined state of the chapel in the village and asks ‘how it can be assisted to be rebuilt again? Three years later he was making the same plea, asking how he could obtain funds to rebuild it? He pointed out that he had organised the fund-raising to rebuild Rosedale Church ( which was also in his charge), but could not face setting about the same money raising effort all over again for Levisham where ‘the Parish is so small, and the inhabitants many of them poor’. Eventually, the chapel was rebuilt - but not for nearly another 20 years The Malton Gazette of April 26th 1884 has a photograph showing a gentleman of clerical appearance, presumably the rector, the Rev.T.H.Berry, and two other village worthies standing by a ruined wall, with an account of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the new building. On November 22nd there is a report of the opening by the Archbishop of York of what was described as a ‘comely little church‘, which had cost about £260 .It was later enlarged by the addition of the porch and bell turret, and during the incumbency of the Revd.W.J.E.Armstrong, Rector 1894-1924, by the building of the chancel. The pulpit is in memory of Armstrong’s father-in-law, Charles Wetherill.
The Church in Levisham today
From August 1995, the parish of Levisham along with Lockton has been part of a united benefice centred on Pickering.
Since the closure of the Methodist chapel in 1984 this has been the only church in Levisham. It is the home for a lively congregation drawn from varied traditions, and is warmly welcoming to all who wish to worship with us.
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