Pickering church lies tucked away at the top of market place, hidden
from passers by except for its spire looking down over the town. Access
is via narrow alleys between the shops and leads into a small but neat
churchyard. The church itself is quite large and therefore difficult to
photograph from such close range.
It is most well known
for its medieval wall paintings and these need to be seen live to
appreciate them, I have included one photograph below of St George
slaying the dragon.
Like many churches in the area a
Saxon church was here first, then it was rebuilt in 1140 and added to
over the next three hundred years. Later, in 1876 it was 'modernised'
and altered further. The font is probably Saxon but otherwise
unremarkable. Evidence of earlier building and carvings is found in a
pile of used stones incorporated into a tower buttress to the west of
the south door (shown below), here you can make out Romanesque designs
and even a dragon.
Also shown below is a grotesque with
tongue protruding which is situated on the capital of the chancel arch,
the guide says it dates from 1300, and a fine sedilia from the 14th
century.
