St Oswald's Church, West Rounton, stands
inside the corner formed by the junction between the main street and
the eastbound lane, towards the southern end of the village. The
church's oldest part dates from about 1150, but it was completely rebuilt
in the 'Norman style' around 1860, using Ashlar and coursed squared stone.
Only the south doorway and chancel arch survived from the original building,
along with a former north doorway that was later blocked up.
West Rounton (Wesleyan) Methodist Church stands
about sixty metres north of the parish church, on the eastern side of the
main street. The building was erected in 1907, with 'Wesleyan Church 1907'
being inscribed over the windows. It replaced an earlier building, showing
that the Methodists had been here for probably twenty or thirty years at
least, but no details of their first arrival can be found. The church later
closed and was converted into a private dwelling.
The Church of St Mary, Appleton Wiske, sits in an
open plot of land behind buildings at the south-west corner of the village,
between Front Street and Baker Street. The village itself lies about fifteen
kilometres (ten miles) to the north of Northallerton. The parish marks the
north-eastern limit of the diocese and the path of a Roman road runs close
to the western side of the village. The first reference to the church comes
from 1299 when Edward I heard Mass here.
The small Norman structure consists of nave, chancel,
and porch, plus a single bell in the bell cote above the west end. By
1586 the church, or more accurately the chapel, was known as the Chapel
of St Mary Magdalen in Appleton. In the nineteenth century it was referred
to as a chapel of ease, probably to All Saints Northallerton. Little
exterior restoration work seems to have been undertaken apart from the
rebuilding or creation of the porch which is rather mismatched.
Appleton Wiske (Wesleyan) Methodist Chapel
is on the eastern side of Front Street, approximately thirty metres
before the road curves to the south-east. The building was erected
in 1821, built in red brick in Flemish bond. In the nineteenth
century the village had two other nonconformist churches. The
Primitive Methodist Chapel in Baker Street, built in 1831, and
the Independent Congregational Chapel in Front Street. Both
are now private houses.
Hornby Methodist Church occupies a fenced
plot on the northern side of the main street through the village,
approximately sixty metres west of the central t-junction in Hornby.
The chapel, which is the only place of worship in the village,
probably dates from the early years of the twentieth century. It
replaced at least one earlier building which was attested in the early
1820s, but no description of this older building, or buildings, is
available.
All photos on this page kindly contributed
by Colin Hinson.
