There’s been a church here in Pickering for almost a thousand years, and there are many links with the history that has shaped this country and beyond.
But it’s the vibrant medieval wall paintings that really catch the eye and make this church a source for pilgrims and visitors from all over the world.
Pickering’s a bustling Market Town at the foothills of the North York Moors. The famous North York Moors Steam Railway runs from Pickering to Whitby; dramatic Pickering Castle is nearby, and the church, at the top of Market Place, is at the heart of it all.
The Parish Church is a truly wonderful building, well-loved and well-used by the local community and a real focal point in Ryedale. It’s the setting for concerts and other events, a perfect place to help set the imagination free and yet a place of great peace, a space valued by many who seek prayerful silence or simply somewhere to be.
A large and active congregation meet here to pray, study and worship God, and we look forward to welcoming you to this special building, and hope that you will enjoy the architecture and wall-paintings, the peacefulness and the space.
We hope, too, that as you explore this marvellous and historic area, you may want to stop off to look at other churches in the benefice: Lockton Church, a hidden little gem of a building with seventeenth century furniture and a window from the workshop of William Morris; Levisham, famous for its railway station a mile and a half away from the village, its charming country church by the village green possessing such a wealth of ‘Mouseman’ pews and furniture; and, to the south of Pickering, set amidst fields, the delightful church of St Francis, Marishes.
All the churches in the benefice (except Marishes) are open daily, and each is a real delight, as visitor comments indicate. Each church is supported so well, demonstrating such love and care from worshippers: places of real tranquillity in a busy age, where people come to be at peace with God and with themselves.
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