Moira Fulton reports back on the recent visit to St Leonard’s Scorborough and St Mary’s Watton on Saturday September 26th
“Our thanks for suggesting this tour must go to Liz Pexton, the Churchwarden of St Mary’s, who suggested that YHCT members might be interested in visiting the recently restored church at Watton and the adjacent remains of the Gilbertine Priory.
We decided to link our visit to a tour of St Leonard’s Scorborough which is a few miles away. St Leonard’s was one of the first churches built by John Loughborough Pearson 1857-1859. It was built at the cost of £5,500 by a local landowner to replace a semi- derelict earlier church.
Our group of 28 members were first led around the exterior of this imposing building by Jane Crease before going into the magnificent interior with its high vaulted roof and fine stained glass. From there we drove the short distance to Watton. Here we were kindly invited to visit Watton Abbey, now a private house, which post the Reformation was created from the Priors’s Lodgings of the Gilbertine Priory.
Here we saw documents relating to building, whose last Prior, escaping the fate of some of his fellow monks after the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, succeeded in becoming Archbishop Holgate of York.
We also visited the nearby enormous barn, probably of monastic origin, recently restored by Historic England. From there we walked to the intriguing church of St Mary’s, which although of medieval origin, may incorporate parts of the demolished Priory.
Here we were welcomed by Tony Pexton who explained how, after strenuous efforts and grants (including one from the YHCT), a damp, run down church had been transformed into a welcoming space well supported by the local community. Apart from vital repair work, a kitchen, seating area and toilet have been installed.
After our tour of the church with Jane Crease, we were served a delicious tea by Liz Pexton and her helpers. We were all very grateful to Tony and Liz Pexton who helped arrange the day and to Simon and Louise Reevell for our tour of Watton Abbey”