Architectural Trail event and Heritage Open Days Festival Weekend

What an excellent Heritage Open Days Festival weekend and Ride and Stride event we had in Helmsley and Upper Ryedale 12 – 14 September.

Saturday 13^th was a wonderful day for our SAPT Architectural Trail and weren’t we so lucky with the weather! Grateful thanks to everyone – SAPT striders and supporters – for their help with this fundraiser for the YHCT and local historic churches. A big thank you to those of you that have generously sponsored our walkers already. If you haven’t already done so, then please add any sponsorship or donations you wish to make on our page on the YHCT’s Peoples Fundraising site.

We surpassed £1,000!! - thank you all.

After the rain, the sun came out at 8.30am to beam down on the 34 walkers starting out after exploring Temple Moore’s beautiful hidden Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, East Moors.

Blue skies bathed the SAPT striders in sunshine and more walkers joined at Newgate Bank where everyone admired the stunning views down Bilsdale and enjoyed the craic and camaraderie, as well as the coffee, scones (cheese or fruit anyone?), cakes, or flapjacks!

Hosts Jane and Ivan Holmes gave the SAPT striders a warm welcome to their own hidden idyllic sanctuary, Tylas Farm, where drinks, packed lunches, and more cake (!) were consumed on their splendid lawn overlooking the River Rye - good job Sheila Gilham and James Freeman had earlier set a cracking pace, so no one felt too guilty! Additional walkers joined here, and after enjoying the splendid views from Tylas down the Rye Valley to Rievaulx Abbey, the party headed for Rievaulx village and a cup of tea thanks to Dorothy Dunn and her team at the Methodist Church.

After admiring Temple Moore’s re-modelled slipper chapel, now Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Rievaulx, the SAPT striders’ ranks were swelled by further walkers. They climbed up to one of Yorkshire’s finest 18^th century landscaped gardens at Rievaulx Terrace - containing its Ionic and Tuscan temples . From here the SAPT striders admired the views down onto stunning Rievaulx Abbey, then headed for magnificent Duncombe Park and, despite a rain shower, walked ahead and down past the idyllic pastoral scene of Helmsley Castle and the Walled Gardens, and into the pretty town of Helmsley, and (many think) Temple Moore’s finest creation, All Saints Church. Here despite the shower, our striders and supporters enjoyed tea and delicious cakes from the Pop-Up cafe thanks to Penny and her team, and a lovely Celebration Service, led by the Reverend Mel Burnside, which was attended by 90+ walkers and supporters who sang favourite pilgrim hymns to the resonant and harmonious sounds of the Bilsdale Silver Band.

Anna Matyus’ superb “A Pilgrimage of Place and Pattern Art Exhibition” in All Saints Church 12-14 September exploring the spiritual resonance of historical sacred buildings, was an astonishing success and attracted lots of admiring visitors. Indeed, two of her excellent exhibits were sold within five minutes of opening at 9am! Our Lottery Funded Restoration and Preservation project and its work on the Edwardian Wall Paintings engaged the interest and cameras of the many visitors we had over the weekend. We concluded with a full house of 54 ticket holders for a Sunday afternoon talk by Helmsley’s very own bon vivant raconteur Martin Vander Weyer about the great Victorian architect Temple Moore, the charismatic, maddening, and inspiring Charles Norris Gray, Vicar of Helmsley 1870 – 1913, and the astonishing Lord Feversham of Duncombe Park, the patron who funded this dynamic twosome to build or rebuild so many of our Victorian heritage churches. This event concluded with Christine Whitehead’s scrumptious canapés and a welcome glass of wine. What a fine Helmsley Heritage weekend was had by all!

With many thanks again to all our friends and supporters,

As aye

George

On behalf of the SAPT Team.

PS The SAPT is now an official charity - the Saint Aelred’s Pilgrim Trail Society CIO, Charity Number 1214879! Watch out for further news and activities.