St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale

St Gregory's Minster
54°15′47″N 0°57′46″W / 54.26306°N 0.96278°W / 54.26306; -0.96278Coordinates: 54°15′47″N 0°57′46″W / 54.26306°N 0.96278°W / 54.26306; -0.96278
Location	Kirkdale, North Yorkshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Dedication	Saint Gregory
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Style	Anglo-Saxon
Years built	c. 1060
Administration
Parish	Kirkdale

St Gregory's Minster is an Anglo-Saxon church with a rare sundial, in Kirkdale near Kirkbymoorside, Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.

The minster was built c. 1060 on the site of an earlier church, and is dedicated to St Gregory, who was pope 590–604. The church building is similar in style and age to St Hilda's, Ellerburn.

The church is open during the day and for evening services with volunteer stewards helping visitors on summer weekends. The maintenance of the fabric of the building is helped by financial contributions from The Friends of St Gregory's Minster. The Friends Annual General Meeting is followed by the Kirkdale Lecture about the parish and its environs.^[1]

The Parish of Kirkdale is a local ecumenical partnership with the church of St Hilda's, Beadlam.^[1]

Sundial

The sundial above the church door dates to the 11th century and has a rare Old English inscription.

The Kirkdale sundial

Cave

The nearby Kirkdale Cave which was excavated in 1821 by William Buckland was found to contain a collection of ancient animal bones including the most northerly hippopotamus remains in the world.

References

External links

• Media related to St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale at Wikimedia Commons
• Historic England. "Details from image database (328455)". Images of England. 
• "Kirkdale", Ormerod.uk.net, description of the Minster reproduced from guides published by the Parochial Church Council
• The ancient parish of Kirkdale: historical and genealogical information at GENUKI.