Church of St Mary the Virgin

St Mary the Virgin stands in the village of Hornby, six kilometres south-east of Richmond in North Yorkshire. The church sits beside the remains of Hornby Castle on a slight rise, with the village clustered around it. Its oldest part is the tower, built in 1080 and mostly Norman in style. The upper section of the tower was added between the 14th and 16th centuries in the Perpendicular style. The main building dates from the Norman period, though the chantry chapel was added in the 1330s. The church’s history includes grants by Stephen, Earl of Richmond, in the early 12th century. It later became a peculier under the Archbishop of York and was rebuilt in 1413 by John Conyers. The Duchess of Leeds, Fanny Georgiana, arranged a major refurbishment in 1877. The Holderness Chapel contains 14th-century effigies and memorials linked to families who settled here after the Norman Conquest. Five war graves in the churchyard mark victims of the Catterick Bridge explosion in 1944. Inside, the clerestory has Perpendicular windows and the north aisle features Decorated tracery. The 18th-century font was a gift from a lady of Holderness. The church is Grade I listed and forms part of the Benefice of Lower Wensleydale with five other parishes. The surrounding graveyard holds simple headstones and the remains of Hornby Castle’s parkland.