Dewsbury Minster - The Interior

 

Saxon sculpture in the Heritage Centre

When walking around the exterior of Dewsbury Minster, I just took a few general record photographs from a distance, with trees obscuring the view of the north elevation, and I didn’t spend any time at looking at the east end of the church, which was added with transepts and the chancel, chapel and vestry from 1884 to 1887. 

 

The stairs to the community hall on the mezzanine

 

Entering the church by the entrance porch on its north side, I was very surprised to discover that the east end of the church has been extensively reordered, to incorporate a refectory, kitchen, crèche, a community hall and a heritage centre, with further meeting space and an office on the upper mezzanine floor. 

 

The plan of Dewsbury Minster in the Heritage Tour leaflet

On the day I visited, various events were taking place in the community spaces and I therefore didn’t get an opportunity to explore the east end of the church or have a look at the stone that it has been used it build it. Having picked up a very comprehensive Dewsbury Minster Heritage Tour leaflet, I entered the nave, which has also been reordered quite recently, where I was very interested to see the very unusual north arcade. 

 

The north arcade

 

The arcade is dated c.1220 and the Historic England listing describes it as consisting of piers, around which are four detached colonnettes connected by annulets. The south arcade is dated to the later part of the C13 and its Decorated Gothic style quatrefoil piers have complex capitals. 

 

The south arcade

 

Looking from the exterior, I couldn’t get a good view of the clerestory but, looking at the masonry above the aisles, there seems to be no change in its pattern, which is usually an indication that the nave has been raised. Although slightly dirty, the sandstone doesn’t seem to have the same orange colour variation as that used for the C18 tower and north aisle. 

 

The clerestory above the south arcade

 

Although there is no mention of this by Pevsner, the Historic England listing description and other sources, which I referred to when undertaking some preliminary research when planning, the Heritage Tour leaflet states that the masonry between the two easternmost arches of the north arcade is part of the north-east corner of the original Saxon Minster, with a date of 980. 

 

Supposed Saxon masonry in the north arcade

 

After looking at the excellent Threads of Survival exhibition, which was quite unexpected, I went to have a quick look around the Heritage Centre, where there are several high quality information panels that inform the visitor about the Christian history of Dewsbury. 

 

A view of the Heritage Centre

 

The Heritage Centre contains fragments of the Paulinus Cross (AD 850), a reproduction of the cross, other fragments of Saxon sculpture, various grave slabs, a C10 Nordic style hogback grave cover and a late C12 De Soothhill grave slab, which is stylised with dragons and eagles. 

 

The De Soothill grave slab

 

The exhibition of ancient artefacts is as good as those that I have seen in many regional museums and, if wasn’t for the fact that I already spent an hour looking round the exterior and interior, I would have spent more time at Dewsbury Minster, but I had 32 buildings that I wanted to photograph for the British Listed Buildings website.

 

A C10 Nordic style hogback grave cover