Over Silton Church

Alfred J. Brown, that tireless chronicler of the North York Moors, once suggested the little church at Over Silton was tucked away in its hollow below the village to avoid the attention of marauding Scots¹Brown, Alfred J. Fair North Riding. Page 97. Country Life Ltd. 1952.. Given the long history of Scottish raids into northern England—starting as early as the 11th century under King Malcolm III—it is not such an outlandish idea.

The church, dedicated to St Mary, stands oddly appealing in its isolation, ringed by open fields. Pevsner described it as “a wonderfully relaxed sight.”²Pevsner, Nikolaus. “The Buildings of England – Yorkshire – The North Riding”. Penguin Books. Reprinted 1985. It is mostly 15th-century, with later alterations, though the oldest part is a 12th-century inner doorway in the south porch³NYMNPA HER No: 1154 Church of St Mary. A few more trees and it might vanish altogether enough to fool the Scots.

• 1
  Brown, Alfred J. Fair North Riding. Page 97. Country Life Ltd. 1952.
• 2
  Pevsner, Nikolaus. “The Buildings of England – Yorkshire – The North Riding”. Penguin Books. Reprinted 1985.
• 3
  NYMNPA HER No: 1154 Church of St Mary