St Mary & St Cuthbert, Bolton Abbey
St Mary and St Cuthbert, Bolton Abbey
The Priory Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is the Grade I parish church of Bolton Abbey, in the Yorkshire Dales. The nave of the Augustinian priory remains in use for worship; the chancel and transepts stand as ruins beside it.
- Location
- Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire
- Country
- England
- County
- Yorkshire
- City / town
- Bolton Abbey
- Address
- Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire, BD23 6AL
- Postcode
- BD23 6AL
- Built
- Late C12 to C16 nave of Bolton Priory; restored 1875-80
- Architect
- G E Street (restoration 1875-80)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Mary and Cuthbert
- Diocese
- Leeds
- Parish
- Bolton Abbey
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Gothic; Augustinian priory nave
- Materials
- Ashlar and coursed squared stone with lead roof
- Grid reference
- SE 073 542
- Opening hours
- Sorry, there are no regular opening times for this church.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby
- Website
- https://boltonabbey.com/
Overview
Historic England lists the church as originally the nave of the priory: late twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, restored in 1875-80 by G. E. Street, in ashlar and coursed squared stone with a lead roof. A sixteenth-century uncompleted tower hides the thirteenth-century west front, which has a deeply splayed portal with dogtooth moulding and three tall lancets above. The south side of the nave has six tall two-light plate-traceried windows; the north aisle has fourteenth-century Decorated windows and a clerestory of lancets.
Augustinian canons moved here from Embsay in 1154. At the Dissolution in 1539 the western half of the nave was retained for the parish. The adjoining priory ruins (separately listed Grade I, 1131775) include the thirteenth-century transepts and a five-bay chancel. Wikipedia records continuous worship on the site since 1154. The church is a member of the Greater Churches Network.