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Medieval parish churches of York

church in United Kingdom

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 25, 2026
Entity authorityQ1861191 ↗
Source-derived summary

York had around 45 parish churches in 1300. Twenty survive, in whole or in part, a number surpassed in England only by Norwich, and 12 are used for worship. This article consists of a list of medieval churches which still exist in whole or in part, and a list of medieval churches which are known to have existed in the past but have been completely demolished.

In 1086, the Domesday Book listed eight churches and a minster (not the current building). The number had declined to thirty-nine by 1428 due to taxation; nineteen medieval churches are in use today.

Surviving medieval churches and those of which fragments remain in situ

All Saints, North Street

All Saints was founded in the eleventh century, but most of the present building is fourteenth and fifteenth century. The land on which the church was erected was reputedly donated by Ralph de Paganel, a Norman tenant-in-chief whose name is commemorated in the Yorkshire village of Hooton Pagnell. All Saints Church is attractively situated near the River Ouse and next to a row of fifteenth-century timber-framed houses. Externally, the main feature is the impressive tower with a tall octagonal spire. Attached to the west end is an anchorhold or hermitage built of concrete in the 1920s on the site of a house occupied by a hermit on the early 15th century.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Medieval parish churches of York” is church in United Kingdom. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Medieval, parish and churches, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1300, 1086, 1428—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Medieval, parish and churches is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “church in United Kingdom” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1861191. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1300, 1086 and 1428.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Medieval parish churches of York”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Medieval parish churches of York primary sources, Medieval parish churches of York archive and Medieval research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Medieval parish churches of York”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Medieval parish churches of York” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.