St Nicholas Church, Guisborough
We'd been in Yorkshire for one whole night at this point and were eager to head to Guisborough for the priory (which had closed for the winter that very morning!), however when parking we came across this lovely church just on the border of the priory and decided our luck was in. So we made it the third Yorkshire site of our trip (not including The Witching Post Inn) and it was a great start to a cold and vaguely raining November morning.
Not much is known about this church or what stood on the site previously, but it is assumed that a church predates the one we see today due to the Domesday survey of 1086. This mentions Guisborough having a church, but no evidence of one survives so it may not have even been on the same site as the one in present day.
1291 brought the papal document which refers to a church beside Gisborough Priory (the spelling is intentional), which could be a reference to the church which stands today as this is beside the priory. However, the current church dates back to1500 so it seems likely that there was one on the same site.
The current church is a 16th century building and underwent restoration in 1790 and then a more in-depth renovation between 1904 and 1908. The church is home to the de Brus family cenotaph in the form of a Renaissance alter table, but it is only a memorial. It is often mistaken as a tomb but there is no burials in this space. It is thought that Margaret Tudor (Queen of Scotland) arranged the memorial to mark the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the priory.
Now the De Brus family have quite the connection to a few sites we've already visited. Not long after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror gave away large estates, what is now known as Cleveland was given to a Norman knight, Robert de Brus. It was he who founded Gisborough Priory (intended spelling) in 1119. He established his seat first in Skelton where they built Skelton Castle in 1140ish. Robert de Brus II was then given estates in Annandale which is now Dumfries and Galloway and his descendants in Scotland became the Bruce family which produced Robert Bruce of the Scottish throne.
Now we've come in contact with some offshoots to Robert the Bruce, we mentioned how Douglas Castle came to be thanks to his rewards, but Egglestone also comes into contact with the de Brus in a loose fashion as the cenotaph is made of marble which was quarried there.
Although on this occasion we didn't wander in, we are aware that inside the church by the cenotaph is a collection of medieval mosaic floor tiles that were found in the grounds of the priory next door. Behind it is a window which holds fragments of medieval glass from the priory's east window. There is also a stone cross rescued from the ruins on display within the church. So despite Guisborough Priory being in ruins next door, parts of it live on within this church for us to view.
Aside from the odes to the priory's history, there are several other memorials to historical figures and families within the church. A window to the west end of the church is the Bramley Memorial window, this can be easily spotted due to the half eaten apple in the window design, a nod to the Bramley apple. Then there is the Chaloner family vault under the chapel floor and a plaque near the chancel arch dedicated to Susanna Pickering. By the Victorian font is a wall memorial to Dr Stainthorpe. While we aren't familiar with some of these names yet, they were important enough to be memorialised within these walls.
In short though, this is a rather nice Anglican church dedicated to St Nicholas. It has its own churchyard, and while riding on the coattails of the grand priory ruins next door, the church is the first feature and in some respect the protector of the site. It stands still and shows a window into the past while firmly of the present, meanwhile its ward (the priory) stands in ruins an echo of the past. The area inspires poetry, what can we say.
Haunted? We don't think so. While we wouldn't want to be caught in this churchyard after dark, we don't think anything bad would jump out at us. This is quite a busy area and it is hard to say what is lurking as the history of the site is up in arms. However, we'd like to imagine the spirit of a vicar or two just looking after the church from within. It inspires that sort of vibe and it does seem quite a popular church, very in-keeping with the times.
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