Welcome to our Church
Home of the famous Medieval Wall Paintings
St Peter and St Paul’s is a living Church, part of the Church of England Diocese of York. We have a large and active congregation, who continue a thousand year old tradition of prayer and worship.
The Church is also popular with couples wanting marriage or baptism for their children; it is well used by the town for civic and community occasions and concerts, and provides a real focal point for Ryedale. Its extensive medieval wall paintings also make it a wonderful source of enjoyment for pilgrims and visitors from all over the world.
The Church is open daily and is a space of great peace, valued by many who seek to draw closer to God in public worship or private prayer. So once you have explored this website, come and explore for yourself this ‘House of God and gate of heaven’.
Our Parish Safeguarding Representative is Judith Short, who also represents the benefice parishes of Marishes, Lockton and Levisham. She can be contacted on 07415847626 or 01751 473769 theshortsof61@yahoo.co.uk and our policy and other Safeguarding information is available here
We would like to thank everyone who allowed us to use their photographs for our website.
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Some history of the building
The Church you see today was built on the site of an earlier, Saxon building. Little is known about this early Church, and all that remains is a carved cross shaft and the bowl of the stone font. The Saxon Church on this site may well have been wasted during William the Conqueror’s ‘harrying of the North’.
The early Norman Church, which was built around 1140, would have been of simple cruciform layout, with a central tower surrounded by a nave, a chancel and two transepts. Soon, aisles were added to this original structure: the north aisle in about 1150 and the south aisle towards the end of the twelfth century. The present west tower was built in the early part of the thirteenth century, and sometime in the fourteenth century the chancel was widened to cope with the liturgies of the period. A porch was also added, and then, in the fifteenth century, two chantry chapels, either side of the high altar. On the abolition of the chantries, the Roucliffe Chapel, on the south side of the sanctuary, was for some time a school, before, in 1920, undergoing renovations to restore it to liturgical use.
The medieval wall paintings, which give our church its fame, were probably first commissioned in 1450, and were painted the following decade, as details in the costumes and armour of some of the figures makes clear. Nikolaus Pevsner, the renowned expert on architectural history said that ‘This is one of the most complete set of wall paintings… and they give one a vivid idea of what ecclesiastical interiors were really like’. They are in fact one of about five sets of such extensive wall paintings still in existence in the country. The images vary in scale and in what they depict: some are large single figures; others tell stories. Details of each scene are given in the guide book, available from the Church bookstall.
Probably at the time of the Reformation, and certainly with the spread of Puritanism, the paintings were hidden from view with coats of whitewash. Only in 1852, with work being carried out to repair and clean the nave, were the paintings revealed. The Vicar at the time, the Rev’d Ponsonby, wanted them re-covered, showing his dislike of them in a letter to the Archbishop of York: ‘As a work of art [they are] fairly ridiculous, would excite feelings of curiosity, and distract the congregation’. He went on to say that ‘the paintings are out of place in a protestant Church, especially in these dangerous times’; he subsequently had them re-covered in a thick yellow wash within a fortnight of the discovery. Fortunately, what had been revealed was recorded by drawings made by W H Dykes, an assistant architect at Durham Cathedral.
In the 1870s the Church underwent extensive restoration, particularly to the tower and transepts. Box pews were replaced with the present oak pews and two galleries were dismantled. A decade later, once the restoration and reordering of the fabric was complete, the firm Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster were contracted to restore the paintings. Though a lot of damage was done to the paintings by removing the covering paint and the memorials which lined the nave wall, the Vicar, Rev’d Lightfoot, insisted that where it was possible, restoration should take place rather than leaving fragments. The paintings were consequently extensively repainted and the whole project was finished by 1895.
The interior of the Church remained true to the plans of the Victorian restorers for most of the twentieth century. The chancel screen was erected in 1927 and the oak panelling of the sanctuary was completed in the same decade, with a new reredos dedicated in 1930. The vestries were added in the 1930s.
St Peter and St Paul’s continues to change with the needs of the community it serves, and in 1997, the Parochial Church Council decided to carry out an extensive reordering. Pews were removed from the west end of the nave to allow the font to be replaced and to provide an open space for congregating after services. The south transept was established as a memorial chapel, and the north transept was screened off to provide more storage space. The vestries were refurbished, and the whole project was completed in 2008. In 2016, and thanks to a grant made available under the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund, the roof of the north transept was repaired.
For nearly one thousand years, generations of Pickering’s residents have worshipped in this Church, been married at the altar steps and baptised in the font, and have had their funerals here. The work of this Church continues to this day with a vigorous body of worshippers and communicants, who continue to take part in regular worship. This Church is Pickering’s Parish Church and seeks to serve the whole community and to be there for all who need its ministry.
Guide books, with more information about the history of the Church and its interior, are available from the Church bookstall.
The early Norman Church, which was built around 1140, would have been of simple cruciform layout, with a central tower surrounded by a nave, a chancel and two transepts. Soon, aisles were added to this original structure: the north aisle in about 1150 and the south aisle towards the end of the twelfth century. The present west tower was built in the early part of the thirteenth century, and sometime in the fourteenth century the chancel was widened to cope with the liturgies of the period. A porch was also added, and then, in the fifteenth century, two chantry chapels, either side of the high altar. On the abolition of the chantries, the Roucliffe Chapel, on the south side of the sanctuary, was for some time a school, before, in 1920, undergoing renovations to restore it to liturgical use.
The medieval wall paintings, which give our church its fame, were probably first commissioned in 1450, and were painted the following decade, as details in the costumes and armour of some of the figures makes clear. Nikolaus Pevsner, the renowned expert on architectural history said that ‘This is one of the most complete set of wall paintings… and they give one a vivid idea of what ecclesiastical interiors were really like’. They are in fact one of about five sets of such extensive wall paintings still in existence in the country. The images vary in scale and in what they depict: some are large single figures; others tell stories. Details of each scene are given in the guide book, available from the Church bookstall.
Probably at the time of the Reformation, and certainly with the spread of Puritanism, the paintings were hidden from view with coats of whitewash. Only in 1852, with work being carried out to repair and clean the nave, were the paintings revealed. The Vicar at the time, the Rev’d Ponsonby, wanted them re-covered, showing his dislike of them in a letter to the Archbishop of York: ‘As a work of art [they are] fairly ridiculous, would excite feelings of curiosity, and distract the congregation’. He went on to say that ‘the paintings are out of place in a protestant Church, especially in these dangerous times’; he subsequently had them re-covered in a thick yellow wash within a fortnight of the discovery. Fortunately, what had been revealed was recorded by drawings made by W H Dykes, an assistant architect at Durham Cathedral.
In the 1870s the Church underwent extensive restoration, particularly to the tower and transepts. Box pews were replaced with the present oak pews and two galleries were dismantled. A decade later, once the restoration and reordering of the fabric was complete, the firm Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster were contracted to restore the paintings. Though a lot of damage was done to the paintings by removing the covering paint and the memorials which lined the nave wall, the Vicar, Rev’d Lightfoot, insisted that where it was possible, restoration should take place rather than leaving fragments. The paintings were consequently extensively repainted and the whole project was finished by 1895.
The interior of the Church remained true to the plans of the Victorian restorers for most of the twentieth century. The chancel screen was erected in 1927 and the oak panelling of the sanctuary was completed in the same decade, with a new reredos dedicated in 1930. The vestries were added in the 1930s.
St Peter and St Paul’s continues to change with the needs of the community it serves, and in 1997, the Parochial Church Council decided to carry out an extensive reordering. Pews were removed from the west end of the nave to allow the font to be replaced and to provide an open space for congregating after services. The south transept was established as a memorial chapel, and the north transept was screened off to provide more storage space. The vestries were refurbished, and the whole project was completed in 2008. In 2016, and thanks to a grant made available under the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund, the roof of the north transept was repaired.
For nearly one thousand years, generations of Pickering’s residents have worshipped in this Church, been married at the altar steps and baptised in the font, and have had their funerals here. The work of this Church continues to this day with a vigorous body of worshippers and communicants, who continue to take part in regular worship. This Church is Pickering’s Parish Church and seeks to serve the whole community and to be there for all who need its ministry.
Guide books, with more information about the history of the Church and its interior, are available from the Church bookstall.
From the Visitor's Book last month
During June we had visitors from Trowbridge, Wirral, Durham, Nairn, Pocklington, Kettering, York, Fenhurst, Castleton, Czech Republic, York, Carmarthenshire, Suffolk, Trisant, Australia, Ireland, London, Bridgend, New Zealand, Middlesex, California, New York, Walthamstow, Holy Land, Scarborough, Kent, Bolton, Grimsby, Peterborough, Ontario, Dorset, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, Norfolk, Surrey, Northampton, Brazil, Lancashire, Devon, Essex, Rochdale, Lincolnshire, Nova Scotia, Gloucester, West Sussex, Suffolk, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Cambridge, Worcestershire, Buckland, New Milton, Walton-on-Thames, Horsham, Manchester, Marysville, Texas, Kilnwick, Lincolnshire, Guisborough, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, Arizona, France, Essex, Sheffield, Preston, Holmfirth, Dunblane, Glasgow, Derby, Coldchester, Coventry, Cambridge, Burntisland, Toronto, Stirling, Neuilly, Stratford-upon-Avon, Leeds, Maldon, Walsingham, Tenterden, Horsforth, Arkansas, Perth (WA), Huddersfield, Halifax, Oxford and Anglesey.
We came in to see the wall paintings - amazing - not seen such huge ones before.
Beautiful church. Lovely, peaceful atmosphere.
Revisiting - wall paintings always a pleasure to study.
A beautiful, peaceful and interesting church. The wall paintings lived up to their reputation. Amazing. Fantastic to see the tomb of Sir William Bruce, my 22x great grandad! Thank you.
Fantastic church and wall paintings. Great cup of coffee and the chocolate cake was 'to die for!'
A beautiful church and thankful that we could enter. Wall paintings amazing.
Beautiful. Nothing else to say really!
Amazed to see St. Edmund depicted on the paintings as I'm from Bury St. Edmunds.
A miracle of preservation. So well looked-after
Wall paintings are exquisite So peaceful
Stunning, memorable visit
Very excited to visit the church where Allison's 5X Great grandparents were married. Such a beautiful, historic place.
Beautiful, what an honour to be here!
Beautiful church, amazing paintings, hope your church continues to raise praises to the Lord.
A welcome space for peace. Thank you
We have never seen such stunning paintings. In wonderful condition. Keep looking after them!
Incredible paintings ... and stained glass
Beautiful and very moving paintings
We are blessed to be here, and to seek blessings on this holy place. Thank you God for everything.
Fantastic, I learned so much from the paintings
Beautiful church. Lovely congregation.
Absolutely fantastic! Wonderful to see the paintings, and such a lovely warm welcoming church.
The most amazing wall paintings I've ever seen in England. Long may they last!
Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for opening your doors and providing the opportunity to view your church building.
Been coming to Pickering all my life and this is the first time we called in. Lovely church.
What a beautiful church. Never been to this part of Yorkshire before.
Peace exudes from this place. May God bless all who worship here.
Wow! Totally amazing to find this in Pickering.
Wonderful mix of styles through the ages
Fantastic paintings. Like nothing we've seen before. So tranquil for a market town church.
Wonderful paintings (even from a Jew) Want to spend more time here. Will come back to a beautiful church. Thank you for the welcome and the explanation of the paintings
Wonderful depictions and guide book well worth the offering of £2. Greetings in Jesus' name to all at St Peter and St Paul's church.
Traditional and atmospheric - a 'Faithful' church. God bless all who attend and are connected.
Lovely - a place for a quiet reflection.
Thank you for Pickering's welcome and witness. For the service for Antony and Gill, and on behalf of yet another tour group! Looking forward to sharing new discoveries with you about the paintings and supporting future fundraisings and conservation work!
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