One of many churches built in the 12th century to bolster the Norman regime, its foundation is attributed to Bertram de Bulmer of Sheriff Hutton Castle
Little parish church
This attractive little parish church with its imposing wooden tower, unique in Yorkshire, tells the ever-changing story of church and village in England.
Wooden tower
The tower was erected to house a peal of 3 or more bells – deemed a necessity for churches from 1400 onwards. The inscription on one bell –
“GOD SAVE THIS NEVILLE. REMEMBER THY END AND FLEE PRIDE. 1593”
is a sombre reminder of the downfall of the family following their involvement in the ill-fated ‘Rising of the North’ in 1570.
The font
In 1160 Geoffrey de Neville inherited Raskelf. His descendants, including Richard III, sometimes resided at their 14th century hall and have left evidence in the church of their rise, reign and fall. The original early Norman ‘tub’ font with its smooth symmetry is a tribute to the mason’s skill.
Early woodwork - font cover
The elegant font cover, the base of the altar table, and the altar-rails date from the 17th century, when churchmen were trying to re-establish the sanctity and dignity of churches, so much reduced by Puritan destruction and reform.
Piscina
The church’s structure reveals many 14th and 15th century alterations and extensions, including the nave and chancel, of which the original ‘piscina’ (stone basin) remains set into the south wall.
Stained glass -east window
In the tracery of the east windows can be seen richly coloured fragments of the fine 14th century stained glass windows including complete shields, denoting the might of the Nevilles and the powerful family alliances which they had made (and sometimes betrayed).
Despite the lofty status of the Neville family, the 14th century glazier, with true medieval mischief, has painted cartoon faces in the scallop shells of the Dacre shield in the east window.
Dacre shield
Early woodwork - pews
At the back of the nave are rustic, oak poppy-head bench-ends, 15th/16th century, the few remaining of the original benches installed when changes in the style and lengths of services made seating a necessity.
Pews and poppy heads
There are remains of old pews and “poppy heads” in the chancel & the altar rails are 17th century. The font at the back of the church is Norman.
Reformation
The story of 16th and 17th century iconoclasm and desire for ‘purity’ can be seen here in the church surroundings. For example, the shaft of the ancient church yard cross, cut down to the obligatory 4ft 6ins; the stained glass fragments; the stripped chantry chapel; and the repairs on the font rim, where the medieval lid locks were wrenched out.
Revival
By the early 19th century the church, like many others, was rapidly ‘hastening to ruin’ (Baines 1823) but, following the Oxford movement revival of the 1830s, rebuilding was contemplated and some work carried out.
Greater Decorum
In pursuit of greater decorum in services, the west end gallery and local musicians were replaced by the choir stalls in the chancel and robed choristers (who marked out their initials in the woodwork).
Bier at the lych gate
A bier was acquired to transport coffins from the lych gate into the church (it is still kept in the north aisle).
Marble memorial
Marble memorials were erected, one to a fallen hero of the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ – Augustus Webb . In 1876 his family sold their Raskelf estate to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
The Tower
The weather-boarded tower seen here is built against the west wall, most probably in the 15th/16th century, was made of locally abundant, therefore affordable, materials. The four massive, interior angle-post supports were said to have been hewn from one tree brought from Sessay woods.
Reredos
During the 19th century the long overdue restoration and rebuilding took place. The tower was repaired, slightly tapered, re-cladded and recapped. The steeply pitched roof, the fine broad chancel arch, the pulpit, the beautifully carved reredos and of course the pine benches, were installed at this time. They recycled ancient woodwork and conserved, where possible, the original windows, maintaining a 15th century style. Their new south aisle extension, arcade and windows mirror the Norman north aisle.
Memorials
The two world wars are commemorated by a red granite memorial cross, two 1914, hand-written, Rolls of Honour, and 3 gravestones in the churchyard.
Since the 19th century many beautifully crafted gifts have been given to the church – the early 20th century lych gate and the poignant east window; not forgetting funds raised to restore the tower in 1954 and the windows in 2010.
Vicars
A list of the vicars of Raskelf since 1477 on the wall just inside the door.
Raskelf village is built on cross roads and lies to the north-west of Easingwold , where farming has been the main occupation for generations, many of the farms being owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (later the Church Commissioners). The church is at the end of the village giving onto fields which once formed the park of a great house, Raskelf Hall, belonging to the Nevilles, Earls of Westmorland. The name Raschel is mentioned in the Domesday Book and a possible explanation is that Raskelf means a Deer Leap—a ditch designed to contain or keep out deer. Ra means Roe—deer and Scylfe or Schel means a Shelving of Land. The village once boasted a primary or elementary school built by John Webb in 1856, a Wesleyan Chapel built in l836 and to this day there is still a Pound , used to enclose stray animals, in the centre of the village (now a pinfold for notices). The small River Kyle flows through the parish and at one time on the nearby main London/Scotland railway line, there was a station to take passengers to York. The village is now mostly residential and Tied houses previously tenanted by agricultural workers at minimal rents have mostly been sold and are occupied by new incomers.