St Anne's Church

St Anne’s Church stands on Church Green in Catterick village, North Yorkshire, beside the A1(M) and A6055 roads. The present building began in 1412 on a site used for worship since the 7th century. Some stones in its walls come from earlier structures, and part of an Anglo-Saxon cross shaft is built into the north aisle. The church was dedicated to Saint Anne in 1415 after its consecration. A small chapel on the north side remembers the Royal Air Force Regiment, which had its depot at nearby RAF Catterick from 1946 to 1994. The church’s 1412 building contract with stonemason Richard of Cracall is one of the oldest surviving English contracts. It shows how the de Burgh family funded the work and set detailed rules for the mason. The contract demanded the new church be finished by the 1415 Feast of St John the Baptist, unless war or plague intervened. Inside, an octagonal font bears coats of arms of local noble families carved in black limestone. The church also holds monuments to figures like Sir Walter Urswick, who served the Black Prince and later became Constable of Richmond Castle. Visitors find a nave and chancel framed by north and south aisles, with later additions including a tower and porches. The east window holds a stained glass Last Supper by William Wailes, installed in 1862. Other windows by Charles Eamer Kempe date from 1896 and 1900. A sundial above the porch door carries the Latin words Fugit hora, ora. The churchyard contains graves from both world wars, many of airmen from RAF Catterick, and a memorial to No. 26 and No. 41 Squadrons.