In 1895 a clock by GJF Newey was added, one of the very first they crafted. The cost of the
clock itself was £83 and the total costs including fitting came to £96 10 6s. The quarterhourly chimes are part of the everyday life of the whole village – providing a useful service
and a gentle reminder of the presence of the church.
In 1905 the churchyard was enlarged allowing the Grade II Lych gate to be re-sited in its
present position, at the entrance off Cherry Tree Avenue. It originally stood nearer and
parallel to the church. It is stone with two archways, one pedestrian and one for funeral
biers. The gates are oak and there is a storeroom at one end.
1911 saw the addition of the rood screen of carved oak, given by Lady Victoria Dawnay and
her children to the memory of her husband, Col. the Hon. L. P. Dawnay.
In 1937 the Paske-Smith window was placed in the Nave North Aisle. This depicts Saints
Andrew and Cuthbert and is in memory of Edward Paske-Smith, Vicar 1898-1909 and
Annie, his wife and Reginald their son.
The mid to late 1990’s saw a well-supported campaign to fund church repairs. In 1996 the
spire was clad in scaffold as repairs were carried out to restore the crumbling stonework.
Then in 1999, restoration of the organ took place. Careful maintenance meant that it was a
decade before another project was necessary: in 2009 a fund raising campaign allowed work
to be carried out on the Porch. As well as repairing the weather-damaged stonework the
flags were re-laid and the steps removed to facilitate access to the church for everyone.
Of the tombs in the churchyard, three, situated hard against the south wall of the church,
just east of the porch, are worth a visit, on account of their size, the quality of the lettering
and their local interest. One is to members of the Lund family, whose name is
commemorated in the Lund charity, still used to relieve hardship in the village. The two
others, side by side, illustrate the continuing intermarriage of the most prosperous families –
the Bourchiers, Burtons, Hawkings and Headleys. Some distance west of the tower, down
towards the river is the tomb of Payan Dawnay and his sister, Lydia. In keeping with their
humble natures it is an unassuming plot with a simple marble headstone. It was evidently
intended as a mausoleum for the Dawnay family but no further Dawnays were buried there.
Due to the proximity of RAF Linton on Ouse the churchyard contains the graves of a
number of airmen with simple white headstones commemorating their lives. A full listing of
these, along with the other graves in the churchyard, can be found on the table at the back
of the church.
For service times and special events visit our website: allsaintsnewton.weebly.com
Bibliography:
Bulmer, T - History and Directory of North Yorkshire (1890)
Cross, C - York Clergy Wills 1520-1600: II City Clergy, Vol. 2 - 1989
Gill, Thomas - Vallis Eboracensis – The History and antiquities of Easingwold (1852)
Page, W - A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2 (1923)
Additional information from the All Saints Church Terrier Report and Inventory and notes
at the rear of the current church Burial Register.
All Saints, Newton on Ouse GP-13-08797
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All Saints
Church,
Newton on Ouse
All Saints is the parish church for the three
villages which constitute our Benefice –
Newton on Ouse, Linton on Ouse and
Beningbrough. There has been a church here
since Saxon times. Certainly there must have
been a church in 1089 when Ralph Paynel,
High Sheriff of York, gave it to the priory of
Holy Trinity, York. Paynel had restored the
service in Newton and gave part of the tithes to
the French Abbey of St Martin in Tourain,
which he had founded. The brethren of Holy
Trinity passed the rights to William de Place
who in turn granted the church and all his
lands to the hospital of St Leonard in 1314.
The first known Rector of All Saints was Dom
Radulfus de Gaylenton who was instituted on the 6th November 1229. After the Dissolution
the patronage passed to Bourchiers, lords of the Manor at Beningbrough, and then down to
the Earles and finally the Dawnays. On the East wall of the Nave there are three funeral
brasses to the Bourchier family and within the chancel there is a Monument Brass with
effigies of the 6th Viscount Downe, in clergy robes, and his wife.
The dedication of the church has altered over the years. The 1541 will of Brian Godson, a
priest of the Dominican Order in York, states his desire to be buried in the church of All
Hallows, Newton on Ouse. The Rev John Gatenby’s sketch of the church in 1843 is titled ‘All
Saints’ but in the 1868 National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland the church is
referred to as ‘St Mary’s.’ Bulmer’s History and Directory of North Yorkshire (1890) states
that the church is known as “St. Mary but originally dedicated to All Saints.” The Clergy List
of 1891 shows the dedication had reverted back to All Saints and so it remained. It is
possible that the dedication changed as part of the rebuilding in 1849 (see below), perhaps
at the request of the Hon. Lydia Dawnay, who financed the work and passed away in 1890.
The base of the tower dates from the early 12th century, but the rest of the building,
consisting of an aisled nave of four bays, chancel and spire, is modern having been rebuilt at
least twice. The tower arch is semi-circular with two shafts to each respond having cushion
capitals and square abaci of early Norman appearance. The large size of the tower is
confirmation that a church of some importance stood here so long ago. It is built from 3’0”
thick prink-brown sandstone, similar to that once quarried at nearby Terrington in the
Howardian Hills. Thomas Gill, in his ‘Vallis Eboracensis,’ remarked that upper level of the
tower, removed to make way for the spire in 1849, ‘belonged to the very earliest period of
Norman architecture, if indeed it might not have aspired to a still earlier date.’ Mr Gill also
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considered that the proportion of the tower was more Saxon than Norman and had similar
views about the detail of the door in its west side, which has since been removed.
Plans for the first of the rebuilds started when William Henry Dawnay, Viscount Downe
appointed John Oates as the architect. The foundation stone was laid in 1838 and the new
building was officially opened in 1839. The sketch by the Rev Gatenby in 1843 is the only
known depiction of this building. According to Thomas Gill it was of ‘very plain construction’
whereas Baines regarded it as ‘handsome.’ The current building dates from 1849 after the
Hon. Lydia Dawnay commissioned the York architect George Townsend Andrews to prepare
the new design in 1848. Andrews had already established himself as Architect to the
Railway King, George Hudson, for whom he built many of the larger North Eastern Railway
Stations. The design is typical of the Gothic revival style that was fashionable at the time. It
was during this rebuild that the magnificent spire was added. At 150ft tall the spire is a
well-known landmark, visible from as far away as Brimham Rocks (20 miles). During the
war it was used as a navigation aid, helping to guide the pilots safely home. Today it
continues to provide the same service for those training at RAF Linton on Ouse. The spire
was renovated in 1996.
The exact reasons for rebuilding the church in 1849, only 10 years after the last rebuild, are
unknown. Some hold that it was due to the church being in disrepair, perhaps after a fire,
as well as the design no longer being fashionable in the era of the Gothic revival. Others
maintain that after the Dawnays commissioned the building of
the Holy Evangelist church in nearby Shipton they felt that
their own village church needed to be grander. Certainly the
addition of the spire, 150ft from the ground, would have helped
with such an aim.
The following extract from Thomas Gill’s 1852 ‘Vallis
Eboracensis’ is a clear indication of the esteem in which the
spire was held, describing feelings that it continues to instil in
passers-by today:
‘The splendid and graceful spire, which cannot fail to make an
impression on every one whose heart is at all open to the beautiful
and noble in visible objects, and which more entirely satisfies the eye
and elevates the mind than any other part, even of a Gothic church,
unless it be the first view of the eastern interior. Who can stand on
the banks of Ouse just opposite, and not feel the touching beauty of
the poet's language!
"Watching, with upward eye, the tall spire gru (sic).
And mount, at every step, with living wiles
Instinct to rouse the heart and lead the will,
By a bright ladder to the world above."’ William Wordsworth
In the style of the 14th Century, the church is stone and covered with stone slate. The lofty,
light interior is of open oak-timbered framing. The pulpit, chancel and screen are of foreign
oak whilst the body of the church is stalled with stained fir. The octagonal font, added in
1849, is of stone construction. Described by Bulmer as ‘finely carved,’ Thomas Gill regarded
it as a ‘beautiful piece of sculpture.’ The conical oak font cover is on a counterweight and is
very similar to the one contained in the Holy Evangelist, Shipton
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At the time of the 1849 rebuild several new Stained Glass Windows were added, most
notably the East Window. This is by Thomas Willement (1786-1871) who is credited with
restoring the lost art of heraldic stained glass. He was heraldic painter to George IV and
Artist in Stained Glass to Queen Victoria. It contains an epitome of Scripture history.
After the Tower the next oldest features are the three
bells, which were preserved from the original church.
These are inscribed (1) 'Jesus be our speed, 1619'; (2)
'Jesus be our speed, 1621,' in Lombardic characters; (3)
'Christus est lux vita et veritas' in the same characters.
The tenor weight is 4 cwt. 1 qtr. and 11 lbs. These were
restored and re-hung to chime only in 1949, in honour of
Mary Hawking. The 1621 bell was recast by Miers and
Stainbank at this time.
The first window from the East was replaced c1875. It is
triple lighted, depicting Faith, Hope and Charity, In
memory of Mary Jane Jennings (died 1875) and her son
Robert Burton Jennings (died 1875). It was made by
local glazier J W Knowles of York. Another triple-lighted
window, again by JW Knowles was installed in the East
Wall in 1876. This depicts two angels to either side of
The Ascension. The dedications are in memory of Robert and Mary Burton of Linton on Ouse
(left), Mary Ann, wife of Henry Burton (centre) and John and Ann Hawkins of Newton on
Ouse (right).
The carved altar was added in 1879 in memory of the Rev Edward Greenhow.
1885/6 saw John Masterman commissioned to construct the Organ Chamber. This replaced
the Lady Chapel and houses the Pipe Organ by Isaac Abbott of Leeds, purchased in 1886
after £400 was raised through subscription. It is marked ‘Leo Dennis fecit [made this] 1886.’
There are two manuals and pedals, with thirteen stops. It was officially inaugurated on 17th
June 1886. This was carefully maintained over the ensuing years but finally required
overhauling in 1999. This was carried out by Peter Wood of Harrogate.
The carved oak reredos was paid for by subscription in 1892 as a memorial to Lydia Dawnay
who had died in 1890. The figures were carved from lime wood by Messrs Oor and Sons of
Roermond, Holland. Designed by the famous architect Temple Moore it was a local man,
Thomas Sparling of Shipton who constructed the oak frames and structures of the reredo.
He was skilled at carving both wood and marble and so was commissioned in 1919 to craft
the memorial to the local men who had died in the First World War. This can be found on
the Nave North Aisle Wall.
In 1893 a stained glass window by Kempe was placed in the Nave South Aisle. The signature
logo of three sheaves of wheat can clearly be seen in the top left corner. Second from the
East it depicts Saints Andrew, Peter and John and is in memory of Payan Dawnay, brother
of Lydia. It was dedicated by his nephews Geoffrey Nicolas and Francis Herbert Dawnay in
1891.
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