Patrick Comerford
Saint Mary Bishophill Senior was once an Anglican parish church in the Bishophill area of York, and I visited the church site within the city walls when we were staying in York last weekend.
The churchyard stands behind gates and tall railings at the point where Bishophill meets Cromwell Road. Carr’s Lane, an old cobbled lane on the east side of the churchyard, runs down to Skeldergate, separating the churchyard from the site of an old Quaker burial ground, where the burials include the American abolitionist John Woolman (1720-1772) and several members of the Tuke family.
Across the street from the old churchyard and the former Quaker burial ground, the Golden Ball stands on the corner of Cromwell Road and Victor Street, facing the entry to Carr’s Lane. It is York’s first community co-operative pub, and I enjoyed visiting it too last weekend.
Saint Mary Bishophill Senior had long fallen into disuse when it was demolished in 1963. At the time the church was being demolished, excavations in 1959-1960 and 1964 came across evidence of a Roman presence on the site and a of 10th century cemetery with a precinct wall, although there was no clear evidence was found of an associated church and nothing was found to support speculation that there had been a Saxon cathedral on the site.
A Roman villa or town house, with an open courtyard, was first built on the site of the later churchyard ca 350.
It has been suggested that Saint Mary’s Church, Bishophill Senior, is the aula of Saint Mary, referred to by Alcuin as existing in the 8th century. However, there is no evidence for ecclesiastical use of the site before the 10th century, when a rectangular enclosure was formed on the site in the 10th century, probably as part of a religious burial ground.
The earliest church on the site was built in the early or mid-11th century, before the Conquest. It was a small rectangular stone building, reusing some Roman and Northumbrian stones. By the late 11th century, there was a single-cell church on the site.
Additions were made to this church in the early Norman period but after damage by fire in 1137 an entirely new church was built. A north aisle and a south doorway were added ca 1180 and the enclosure was also enlarged, to both east and west.
The oldest surviving record of the church is from 1202. Both the crown and successive noble families had the right to appoint rectors, and the church often had two incumbents, until the mid-18th century.
The chancel added in the early 13th century was longer than the original structure, which became the church nave. The north aisle was extended one bay further east ca 1300, and a north chapel was built ca 1319. A severe thunderstorm on 6 April 1378 destroyed the wooden porch and part of the stone belfry. The north aisle of the chancel was rebuilt, perhaps in 1403, two south windows were inserted in the late 15th century, and the east window and roof were replaced.
After the Tudor Reformation, the parish was extended in 1586 to include Clementhorpe, outside York city walls.
Brick was used to heighten the chancel in the 17th century, and a north west tower was built in 1659, replacing a detached tower in the churchyard. Work on the church continued when a brick porch was added in the late 18th century. A gallery was built in 1841 to house a growing congregation.
The church was restored in 1859-1860, by the York architects and brothers JB and W Atkinson. They were also commissioned to build Saint Clement’s Church on Scarcroft Road to meet the needs of a developing suburb on the other side of the city walls.
When the new Saint Clement’s Church on Scarcroft Road was made the parish church in 1876, Saint Mary’s was falling into decline and it was reduced to being a chapel of ease. This decision was unpopular with parishioners, and the church was transferred instead to the parish of Saint Mary Bishophill Junior instead in 1885.
The church was used for worship until 1919, and was closed entirely in 1930. By 1950, it was in a poor state of repair. Although it was grade I listed, the church was demolished in 1963.
Much of the stonework was rescued by the architect George Pace During excavations on the site, three fragments of an Anglo-Saxon cross shaft were found, all dating from the 10th and 11th century. But local speculation that there had been a Saxon cathedral on the site was not confirmed.
George Pace reused parts of the fabric in building Holy Redeemer Church, on Boroughbridge Road, Acomb, on the west side of York. Some of the monuments and fittings inside the church were moved to Saint Clement’s Church on Scarcroft Road, while the organ and plate were moved to Saint Mary Bishophill Junior.
The churchyard remains consecrated ground. The earliest visible headstone dates from 1775. The wall and gates largely date from the 17th to the 19th centuries and are grade II listed. The section to the south-east may incorporate part of the boundary wall of the Saxon burial ground.
Since the church was demolished, the Bishophill community has taken responsibility for maintaining the churchyard as a community garden in partnership with the Parochial Church Council of Saint Mary’s Bishophill Junior.
Across the street, in the heart of Bishophill, is the Golden Ball, where Charlotte’s father introduced me to the Sunday music evening. The pub stands on the corner of Cromwell Road and Victor Street, facing the entrance into Carr’s Lane. It is a Grade II listed free-of-tie pub with a well-preserved Victorian layout and tiled bar, and it is York’s first community co-operative pub.
The pub was first mentioned in newspapers in 1773, and it is said locally that Charles Dickens, was a patron during his frequent visits to York to relative who worked on nearby Micklegate.
The future of the Golden Ball was thrown into question some years ago, when the licensees, Linda and Dave Foster, decided to retire. But its regulars stepped in with a plan to secure its future, and a co-operative was launched on 12 November 2012, making the Golden Ball the first city centre pub in England that is owned by the community.
In time, 200 members paid £400 to sign up to the co-operative, and the pub’s community links have blossomed since then. A range of community groups use the pub. It has hosted beer festivals and an annual summer fete, sells works by local artists and hosts local music nights.
The Golden Ball supports local independent businesses, selling locally sourced food as well as local, free-range eggs from Johnson’s in Terrington delivered directly each week. Visitors are invited to donate a box of eggs to Hoping Street Kitchen to help provide free meals for people in need. The pub was grade II listed in 2010 and is listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.
