Many unsuspecting visitors who stumble upon this deceivingly stark honey-brown church dedicated to St Michael and All Angels are entirely unaware of the treasure trove awaiting them. Perched proud upon a rise just to the south of the village, looking far out across the rolling Wolds uplands, the exterior may convey classic Norman, reflective of its existence at the time of Domesday Book onwards (then in 1121, as one of seven churches bestowed on Kirkham Priory), but the inside conceals an undiscovered gem.
Exposing the visitor to a unique sensory overload quite unlike any other parish church, the walls are covered with exquisite Pre-Raphaelite style paintings provoking an awe-inspiring experience from the glowing hues of reds, yellows, and orange decoration filling every inch from floor to ceiling.
This decoration was the product of a mammoth Victorian restoration project which occurred in the 1860s and 1870s, and was paid for by the second Sir Tatton Sykes of nearby Sledmere House—one of eighteen churches in East Yorkshire aided by the Sykes family—under the supervision of renowned architect, George Edmund Street.
The lavish embellishment was also augmented through carefully restoration by the London firm of Clayton and Bell, who occupied a leading place in stained-glass window design and manufacture, and who faithfully reproduced the church’s original style and design, as did the new chancel constructed in 1856 by J. L. Pearson, hence why it all looks so typically Norman from the outside.
The rich wall paintings were executed to deliberately complement the stained glass so together they convey a unified scheme which unravels stories from the Bible, with the Creation and Old Testament themes confined to the nave, and leading through to the Last Judgement and the New Testament in the chancel. The paintings were again restored in 1985 at a cost of £100,000 thanks to the support of the (Nikolaus) Pevsner Memorial Trust.
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Directions
How to find it: Church of St Michael and All Angels, Garton-on-the-Wolds, Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, YO25 3ES
Open 10am – 4pm every day.
Books by Dr Emma Wells
