The Gateway Walk

These pages were contributed my Malcolm Hanson, who runs the Skipton Experience guided walks

Part 6

We will return to Skipton Castle on another day, for the Cliffords were succeeded by the next Lords of the Honour of Skipton - the Thanets; and later the Hothfields - all to leave their own rich tapestry of stories within the ancient castle walls.

Now we must move on, entering the churchyard of Holy Trinity by the east gate and walking alongside the building, before reaching the south porch of this very beautiful medieval church.
Look at the next-but-one window to the porch. You will see the initials A.P. - her monuments are all around you!

Holy Trinity Church

I always think of Holy Trinity Church as the 'Jewel in the Crown' of Skipton; being surrounded on the north side by the'great pile'of Skipton Castle; on the east by the Bailey and settlements beyond; on the west by Eller Beck, beyond which lay Chapel Hill and Water Street; and finally on the south side - an aspect which houses an impressive view of the High Street. I would say this places the building at the very heart of the town, and on a site that can be seen from almost any vantage point within the area.

Our old friend, Robert De Romille is reputed to have built the first church here; a plain wooden structure that might have lasted a century or so before making way for the present building. Nothing apparently remains of this first church, though some claim the Sedilia is actually 11lth century. This must be disputed since the ornament consists of four stone seats within pointed archways, sided by cylindical columns and set in the south wall of the nave.

The Canons of Bolton Priory next granted funds for the building of a church around 1300; much of which still remains including the aforementioned south wall, the lower part of the tower and the north door. The church was extended in 1483, when a grant of £20 was given towards the undertaking by Richard III, - the then Lord of the Honour of Skipton. Holy Trinity suffered quite a lot of damage in the Civil War; the Parliamentarians ransacked the church, desecrating the Clifford tombs, and they also indulged in playing a pastime called 'pot-shooting the tower'. This they apparently did with great relish.

The Church of Holy Trinity has suffered some indignity over the centuries. It has been struck by lightning on at least three occasions - the last in 1925 when the organ got the brunt of a thunderbolt that split the instrument in two. Locals recall the thing actually letting out an almighty wail, and for some time after, as hot air rose through its pipes, it continued to make an unearthly howl that sent shivers up the spines of the spectators! As we haven't had any macabre stories until now, let's stay on this theme, and go back to a time when church services were continually interrupted by a particularly obnoxious stench rising from the vaults - something of an ordeal for the congregation. You see, once on a day, it was normal practice to bury parishioners within the church, and Holy Trinity - being the only church in Skipton at that time - was full to overflowing, leaving barely inches of precious earth and flagstone betwixt those that lay below the nave and those that sat within it! Things got even worse when, in 1843, gas was installed to heat the church for evening services - now more humming came from the dead than the living! Something had to be done since people were collapsing through inhaling lord-knows-what in the atmosphere. It was. The floor was covered with 18 inches of concrete, and much to the relief of the congregation, it dissipated the smell and services could finally be attended without fear of succumbing to the dreaded reek of putrefying flesh.

Since the last story turned out to be more grisly than ghostly, I will finish this particular theme on a rather more eerie note - perhaps like the one reputedly played by our organ of 1925 fame. Here's a description of an age-old superstition that in times past, the residents of Skipton believed in - and some say still do!

'On the Eve of St. Marks day, the 25th of April, if you are bold enough to sit in the porch of Holy Trinity just before midnight, you will see the spirits of those destined to die in the coming year'.

You might like to try it yourself, but a word of warning - if you see your own wraith marching up the pathway, take good care to leave instructions that your burial is not to consist of being squeezed into the church vault!

Once upon a time the Choir Screen at the entrance to the chancel carried a latin inscription : 'In the year of our lord 1533, and in the 25th year of King Henry VIII'. It is interesting to note that at the time the screen was erected, King Henry VIII was busy taking steps to ensure that the future of the monarchy remained with his bloodline, and had the upshot of his actions come into being, then Skipton's status of a mere baronial town would have changed beyond all recognition. 'There is not perhaps in all history,' wrote Arthur Clifford in his book, Collectanea Cliffordia, 'a similar instance of a private family which in a regular and constitutional way, had so fair a prospect of inheriting the crown of their native land.'

Henry VIII's remarkable action was to leave a codicil in his will authorised by Act of Parliament - that should his children, Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth die without issue, then the crown of England was to be settled upon the heads of the sons of the Lady Eleanor Brandon, wife of Henry, Lord Clifford, the second Earl of Cumberland. Now at that time, the only other pretender to the crown was Mary, Queen of Scots, who, though being the grand-daughter of Henry VIII's eldest sister, was entirely excluded from his will, thus giving her a lesser claim than that of the issue of the king's second sister, the Queen Dowager of France. A further barrier to Mary becoming England's sovereign was that she had married the French king, Francis II, and had there been male issue, that son would have also become a king of France. There simply would have been no way the English would have accepted rule by a 'frenchie', or even contemplated a shared monarchy with France. Poor Mary was right out of the picture! The rightful claimant to the crown would now indeed be the first-born son of the Lady Eleanor - she who had married Lord Henry Clifford of Skipton Castle!

But it was not to be. Had Lady Eleanor's son grown to manhood, it is very probable that Queen Elizabeth would have maintained her father's will and would have had the young Clifford declared her rightful heir by Act of Parliament, bringing forth in 1603 - on the death of the Virgin Queen - a Clifford to the throne. But there was no male issue, and the crown went instead to James VI of Scotland and I of England, and our little baronial northern town remained just that, and instead of the Clifford family ruling over the English nation, that honour went to the Stuarts, and later, the house of Brunswick. 'So near and yet so far...

Perhaps it was this particular piece of family history that drove Lady Anne Pembroke Clifford to restore - after the desecration of her ancestors' tombs by Parliamentarians - new and more stately 'apartments' for them, while at the same time building a new tomb for her father - one far more worthy of a member of a royal bloodline than that of a mere noble. It stands proud on the south side of the altar: adorned with seventeen shields of the Clifford arms set against a white background, and topped by a slab of black Derbyshire marble. That it is surely one of the grandest tombs in the country is without question, and many a guide book lists it as a 'must see'.

The inscription that lies on the wall above the tomb is worth relating herein:

     'Here lyes, expectinge the second comminge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the body of George Clifford, third Earle of Cumberland, of that Family, and Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, who by right of inheritance from a long continued descent of ancestors was Lord Viteripont, Baron Clifford, Westmerland and Viscie, Lord of the Honour of Skipton in Craven, & Heriditary High Sheriff of Westmerland, and was the last heyre male of the Cliffords that rightfully enjoyed those ancient lands of inheritance in Westmerland and in Craven, with the Baronies and Honours appertayninge to them. For he left but one legitimate childe behind him, his daughter & sole heyre, the Lady Anne Clifford, now Countess Dowager of Pembroke, Dorsett & Montgomery, who, in memory of her Father, erected this monument in 1654.' This noble George Earle of Cumberland was borne in Brougham Castle in Westmerland, the eight day of August, in the yeare 1558; and dyed penitently in the Dutchy House by the Savoy, Att London, the 30th day of October 1605 & was buried in the Vault here the 13th day of March following. Hee was the 17th of his blood Heriditary High Sheriffe of Westmerland and 13th of his blood that was Lord of the Honour of Skipton in Craven and was one of the noblest Personages of England in his tyme, havinge undertaken many Sea-voyages at his owne charge for ye good & Honor of his Countrey. Hee marryed the blessed and virtuous Lady the Margarett Russell yongest daughter to Francis Russell second Earle of Bedford of that name, by whome hee had two sonnes that died yonge in his life-tyme & one onely daughter above named that lived to bee his heyre. Which Lady Margarett his wife (then Countesse Dowager of Cumberland) dyed in Brougharn Castle the 24th of May, 1616, and lyes buried in Appelby Church.

On the north side of the alter stands the black marble tomb of Henry, 1st Earl of Cumberland, and before this is the small tomb of Francis, Lord Clifford, the infant son of George Clifford, and brother to Lady Anne Clifford, who died when he was just five years and eight months old. There are further inscriptions, both on the tombs and on the east wall of the Chancel, dedicated to both Henrys, 1st and 2nd Earls of Cumberiand; and their wives, Margaret Percy, wife of the 1st earl, and the second earl's two wives, the 'illustrious' Lady Eleanor Brandon, and Lady Anne Dacres. All in all the vaults below contain the bodies of five Earls of Cumberland, three of their countesses and four of their children.

There have been some very interesting customs and practices associated with Holy Trinity Church in times past; particularly funerals. Once upon a day, before Victorian-style funerals became the vogue, you might see processions arriving at the porch 'made up of women and children, dressed in white and holding white ribbons attached to the coffins' (Dawson's History of Skipton, 1882) The funerals were nothing like the dirges we recognise today, but 'were bright with hymns and chants' with flowers in profusion. In fact, after the deceased had been buried, flowers would be brought in to the church and wherever that person had sat would be made into a bower; and should the flowers left over, then the Rood Screen might be similarly adorned. The scents and fragrances emanating from such an abundance of flora must have made the congregation feel, for several days, that they were holding services in heaven.

Still, there were on occasion sad funerals - particularly those for women who had died when giving birth to a child. These funerals traditionally took place at midnight, the procession silent; and lit by torches. (interestingly, Lady Anne Clifford - in her diaries - describes attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth I, stating that: 'it took place at midnight; my aunts bearing the coffin.')

Another interesting custom was that of the punishment metered out to those who had been caught in the act of being unfaithful to their spouses; an ordeal that must have been dreaded by the miscreants. Both male and female might be made to dress in long white gowns and stand in front of the Rood Screen, in full view of the worshippers (a congregation no doubt swelled - in anticipation of the 'entertainment' to capacity) then made to confess, revealing to all and sundry just what they had been up to! What a shame such a custom should be lost in the mists of time; there must be many prominent people in public life who while preaching to us on faithfulness within the family - are all 'at it', and I'm sure we'd all like to see them in white gowns!

There is plenty of information available on points of interest within the church (such as the Font, the Lady Chapel and the Anchorite's Cell, as well as the famous 'Green Man' set among the faces on the pillars of roof bosses). You will find leaflets and hand-boards in the vicinity of the south entrance.

As we leave the church, take a look at the tower, and imagine it festooned in boughs of oak, as for many years on Royal Oak Day - May 29th - towers and steeples throughout the country were decorated with oak in commemoration of the Restoration, and the hiding of Charles II in an oak tree. The same was done in celebration of the Gunpowder Plot on November 5th, when the festooning was accompanied by bell-ringing and bonfires - yet more examples of traditions and customs that have very sadly disappeared from our own more material world of the 21st century.

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