Some Notes on Christ Church, Great Ayton

Christ Church is a Victorian building, constructed at a cost of £5,000 after the nearby 12th century church of All Saints had become too small to meet the needs of the parish.

The new church was opened on May 19th, 1876 and  consecrated on March 12th, 1877, by the Archbishop of York, William Thompson, after which a confirmation service took place. A number of prominent local landowners contributed to the cost of the church and the then Vicar, the Rev. Joseph Ibbetson,  himself collected £1,400.

The architect for the new church was Mr John Ross, an old scholar of the Friends' School in the village (now Ayton School). A newspaper account of the consecration suggested the church was "unquestionably one of the prettiest of its kind." Pesvner, however, in his famous survey of the architecture of England s buildings, was less kind, describing Christ Church, rather harshly, as having "a restless composition and an uninteresting interior." Nevertheless, it has some features worthy of note, not least because of their links with several well-known local families and benefactors.

These are most marked if you study the coloured windows in the church. The large east window, above the high altar, for instance, was presented by the Marwood family, which gave the land for the church, hall, school and vicarage. The family's coat of arms can be seen at the top of the window.

The windows in the north wall are to the memory of Dr William Augustus Loy, his wife and daughter. The windows depict the Resurrection of Christ, His appearance to Mary, Christ in his healing ministry and "a virtuous woman," as described in the Book of Proverbs, industriously employed for her family, whose children "rise up and call her blessed."

Along the south wall are several more coloured windows. One, overlooking the side chapel, was presented by the Kitching family in memory of Alfred Harold Kitching (brother of Mrs Pru Southall of Ayton Firs), a glider pilot, who was killed during the invasion of Sicily in 1943, aged 23. It also commemorates the other Aytonians who fell in the Second World War and includes not only their names but two well-known local features - Roseberry Topping and Easby Hill. Above them are portrayed St. George and St. Michael, triumphant over the evil serpent. This window is the work of the artist Hugh Easton, who was commissioned for a similar task in Westminster Abbey.

Further along the south wall are windows in memory of Dr. Charles Stuart (who spent 39 years working locally) and his sister; these show the Nativity and the adoration of the shepherds in the stable at Bethlehem.

The coloured windows nearest the church door, depicting, unusually, groups of workers from various trades and professions through the ages, were presented in 1980 in memory of Dora J.E. Kitching by her husband and family.

The side chapel itself was created as a memorial to those local men who died in the 1914-18 war and their names are painted on either side of the tryptich over the altar. Furnishings for the chapel were given in 1981 in memory of sacristan Nancy Steel.

Hanging on the north wall, near the "link" door which leads through to the coffee lounge and hall, you will see a painting of Madonna and Child by William Lee-Hankey (1869-1952), which is on loan to the church from the Kitching/Southall family.

Incidentally, the coffee lounge, office, cloakrooms, storeroom and linking corridor were opened by Princess Margaret on July 6, 1971.

The organ was installed in 1899 and restored some years ago through the generosity of Mrs Dora Kitching. Numerous wooden fittings in the church are by Robert Thompson, the "mouse man" of Kilburn.

Among other interesting features on the north wall is a memorial plaque to the Rev. James Ibbetson, who was Vicar for 50 years from 1827 and who was instrumental in having the vicarage built in 1846 and later, Christ Church.

There is also a framed version of the Lord's Prayer, executed by Edwin Rayner Burnley, using a quill pen, in 1847, when he was just ten years old - a remarkable piece of work which was presented to the church by his granddaughter. At the back of the church is a list of parish priests of Great Ayton from the 14th century to the present time. The list is complete from 1577.

If you have not already visited the ancient church All Saints, you should try to do so; it is open (and used for worship) during the summer months. It was the church attended by the circumnavigator Captain James Cook as a boy; his mother and members of his family are buried in the churchyard.