St John the Evangelist's Church, Osmotherley

St John the Evangelist’s stands in the village of Osmotherley in the North York Moors. It is a small Anglican church built of slate and sandstone in the 19th century. The building is listed Grade II for its architectural interest and remains an active place of worship. Its benefice is shared with another parish several miles away. The church was designed by the Lancaster firm Paley and Austin, who also built larger churches elsewhere. The church cost about £1,400 when it opened in 1874 and seated roughly 150 people. Its plan is simple: a four-bay nave and a single-chancel range with a north porch and a south vestry. The east end of the chancel is rounded, and the west end carries a small bellcote topped by a spirelet. Most windows are lancets, but the vestry has square-headed openings and the west front shows a rose window above two lancets. Inside, the nave and chancel form one uninterrupted space under slated roofs. The porch is timber-framed on stone bases and gabled, while the bellcote is also timber with slated sides and small dormers. The walls are of coursed slate rubble with sandstone dressings, giving a quiet, solid feel. The fittings are plain, fitting the modest scale of the building.