Turning southwards a mile or two further on, we pass through the pretty
village of Wintringham, and, when the cottages are passed, find the
church standing among trees where the road bends, its tower and spire
looking much like the one just left behind. The interior is interesting.
The pews are all of old panelled oak, unstained, and with acorn knobs
at the ends; the floor is entirely covered with glazed red tiles. The
late Norman chancel, the plain circular font of the same period, and the
massive altar-slab in the chapel, enclosed by wooden screens on the
north side, are the most notable features. Under the tower--a position
in churches where many interesting objects are often hidden up by
curtains and woodwork--you find a quaint list of rules and fines for the
bell-ringers, dating from nearly two centuries ago. Coming again into
the sunny churchyard, we pass through the shadows cast by the gently
moving foliage, and are soon climbing steadily into the smooth
undulations of the uplands. At the turning to West Heslerton, a long
entrenchment of prehistoric date stretches away on either side for two
or three miles. In the seaward direction it goes up to Sherburn Wold,
where you find an early camp, and where bronze daggers and celts have
been discovered. At a meeting of four roads a little further on, we come
to the head of the valley, appearing in the background of the
illustration given here; and going to the east we reach Helperthorpe,
one of the Wold villages adorned with a new church in the Decorated
style. The village gained this ornament through the generosity of the
present Sir Tatton Sykes, of Sledmere, whose enthusiasm for church
building is not confined to one place. In his own park at Sledmere, four
miles to the south, at West Lutton, East Heslerton, and Wansford you may
see other examples of modern church building, in which the architect has
not been hampered by having to produce a certain accommodation at a
minimum cost. And thus in these villages the fact of possessing a modern
church does not detract from their charm; instead of doing so, the
pilgrim in search of ecclesiastical interest finds much to draw him to
them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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