Bolton Priory Church - The Interior

The C13 west door to the Priory Church of St. Mary and St. Cuthbert

After less than hour spent exploring the ruins of Bolton Priory and investigating the River Wharfe, I returned to St. Mary’s church, where the service for those attending the Rotherham Dean Pilgrimage was coming to an end, and took a few photos of the magnificent C13 west door, the tall windows above it and also the blind arcades either side of the doorway. 

A view of the windows above the west door

As I knew that one of my friends would be writing an account of the day, I took a few photos of the nave with the congregation in place, which I thought would be suitable for this, and waited for the service to finally finish. 

A view of the nave during the church service

Having purchased an official guide to the history of the church, I then went inside and spent only a few minutes having a quick look around while the church slowly emptied and our group gathered together, before walking back to the Bolton Abbey car park and heading to Skipton. 

A general view of the north arcade

The single north 4-bay arcade is in the Early English Gothic style, with the nave being finished in the mid C13. The moderately stout columns are both octagonal and circular in plan, with matching capitals, and the principal mouldings end with small headstops. 

A stone slab used as an altar in the north aisle

In the north aisle, there a few Neoclassical wall memorials, an ancient stone floor slab that once covered the tomb of Elizabeth Morley is now used as an altar, and a few miscellaneous stone architectural details – one of which appears to be a roof boss – are scattered around.

Various stone architectural details