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St. Agatha's Church in the shadow of Easby Abbey
 | A wonderful place to worship!! One of the great beauty spots in North Yorkshire next to the ruins of the ancient Abbey. St Agatha was founded on a site that has been a holy place for centuries and there is a real sense of God’s presence in our well-maintained church. The marvellous Medieval wall paintings take your breath away!
Each Sunday a small and dedicated congregation worship together using the traditional ‘Book of Common Prayer’. The service uses a form of service that dates back to the 17th century yet we also try to make sure the services are accessible and interesting to newcomers!
The pattern of services involves some additional variety because we encourage Baptisms as part of our regular Sunday service. We use a modern form of words - Common Worship, (very much 21st century) while still retaining a traditional style. We adjust our service time on those Baptism Sundays to 3.15pm to make it more convenient for young families. Easby is becoming increasingly popular as a wedding venue; it has a seating capacity of more than 150. (see ‘Parish Weddings’ on our website for more information).
The church has level access and is just a short distance from the nearby small public car park.
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CONTACT
Church Warden: Mrs. Hazel Austin 01748 824504 |
CHURCH HISTORY by JANE HATCHER
 | St. Agathas stands on a site first used for Christian worship about 1300 years ago. The present building, dedicated to St Agatha, a Sicilian saint, was here before Easby Abbey was built around it about 1155. Just inside the door is the font which dates from about this time. At the base of the back wall of the church is a stone bench which provided some seating before churches were fitted with pews – such a feature is the origin behind the saying “the weak go to the wall”.
The chancel is the most interesting part of the church. Around the walls are rare medieval wallpaintings probably painted about 1250, covered up after the Reformation of the 16th century, and rediscovered when the church was restored in Victorian times. On the left wall are scenes from the Garden of Eden, plus on the window reveals, four scenes of medieval agricultural activity – sowing, pruning, digging and hawking. On the right wall are New Testament scenes beginning with the Annunciation, following by the Nativity in the stable at Bethlehem, the Shepherds and the Wise Men. Below is the taking down of Christ’s body from the Cross, its burial in the tomb, and the discovery on Easter Morning that he had risen.
Also in the chancel is a plaster cast of the Easby Cross, an apostle pillar carved about 790, before the Vikings invaded. The original, carved from stone quarried near Whitby, is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
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