A Short History of St. Andrew's Church, Boynton and the Stricklands of Boynton

Early History

The name 'Boynton' is of Anglo-Saxon origin, probably corrupted from 'Bofingtun', meaning the 'tun' or homestead of Bofa's people. There may have been a church here in Anglo-Saxon times. If so, nothing of it remains; but the dedication to St. Andres, which the church shares with many of the others in the valley of Gypsey Race, may indicate that it was originally founded by St. Wilfrid on one of his missionary journesy in the 7th century. It is known that many of the doubtless primitive early churches in the area were destroyed in the 'harrying of the North' by William I after the Norman Conquest. There was apparently no church at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1085-6, when the manor was shared by the king and the count of Mortain.

Forty years later, however, there certainly was a church in Boynton. It was probably a chantry chapel attached to the Priory at Bridlington. later on, documentary evidence speaks of two such chapels, deidcated to St. Michael and St. Lawrence; and in 1324 King Edward II licensed John de Bovington (Boynton) to set up a house and lands to support a chaplaincy 'to celebrate divine service for himself and the souls of his parents and ancestors at the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Boynton'. Whether these chantries were entirely separate foundations, or whether they were a part of an original St. Andrew's church, is unclear. It is also uncertain how far the church at this period was independent from Bridlington Priory. Evidence is sparse. We do know, however, that the Prior had the right of presentation to the benefice. The earliest recorded incumbent is tephen, presented as Perpetual Curate in 1268, but Thomas Wyles, who appears to have been the incumbent in 1324, is described only as 'Chaplain', as is his successor.

If documentary evidence is in short supply, still less remains of the church buildings of this period. Probably all that is left of this 'second church', if we may so describe it, is the small Celtic cross let into the south-west buttress of the existing tower, and the ancient scratch dial at the south-west corner of the nave.

During the early middle ages there were two leading families in Boynton. The Boyntons themselves seem to have been in the village since shortly after the Norman Conquest. Walter de Boynton was lord of the manor in 1092, and we know that his father, Bartholomew de Boynton, held the position before him. In 1127 the Lordship passed to Alan Munceaux and was held by his descendants until the end of the 14th century, but the two families inter-married extensively and much of the land was owned by the Boyntons. About 1383 Elizabeth Boynton, the last heiress to the Boynton family lands in the village, married Sir Thomas Newport. Sir Thomas died in 1400, Elizabeth in 1423, and for two or three centuries afterwards their tomb seems to have been on of the splendours of the church. Their descendants bought more land in Boynton, and with it the Lordship of the Manor. The ecclesiologist Dodsworth, who visited the church in November 1620, described several stones and brasses commenorating members of the Newport family.

The Tower

The tower was added to the church in the first half of the 15th century. It is one of a local group of similar towers, including those at Carnaby and North Dalton. There is a west window in the Perpendicular style of that period, which gives light to the first floor gallery. Above that is the bell chamber, which today houses two bells. Such was not always the case, however, for in 1705 the churchwardens were arraigned before the Archbishop's Court because the church was without a bell to summon the congretation to worship. The churchwardens were stung into action, and the same year they ordered a new bell, cast by Samuel Smith of York and inscribed 'Venite Exultemus Domino 1705'; this is one of the two present bells. The other is a rare bell by John Potter of York, dating from before 1380 and inscribed + SANCTA + MARIA +. Clearly this bell was brought from somewhere else, perhaps during the 18th century restoration of the church or shortly before, and it is tempting to accept the local tradition which connects it with the village of Auburn, swallowed up by the sea in c. 1740. Unfortunately, the evidence is inconclusive. It is known that two bells were brought to Boynton from Auburn in 1731, and one of them still hangs in the courtyard at Boynton Hall; on the fate of the other, however, there are conflicting stories.

The roof of the tower is reached via a spiral turret staircase in the north-east corner. The entrance is through the low door on the left of the vestibule; this is kept locked because of the potential dangers, particularly to younger visitors.

The tower was the only part of the medieval church to survive an extensive rebuilding in the middel years of the 18th century. By then, the manor of Boynton had long since passed to the Strickland family.

The 18th Century Restoration

The local tradition was that the old church had been destoyed in a fire. New research, however, has shown that this was not the case, and that the church had fallen gradually into disrepair. By 1767 parts of it had collapsed and the rest was so dangerous that for five months no services had been held there. In the same year the parishioners, together with Sir George Strickland, the Improprietor, obtained permission to take down and rebuild the church on the old foundations -- except for the tower, which was sound, and even that did not escape some modification. It seems probable that the west door into the tower was opened up during the rebuilding of 1767-76, thus providing a vestibule for the newly-build Classical interior of the church tiself. At the same time, the first floor of the tower was opened out into a gallery to serve as the Strickland family pew; it was provided with a Gothick plaster vault and fronted by a turned wooden balustrade. The gallery is reached from the nave by an elegantly-winding wooden stair in the south-west corner. As the visitor will see, this arrangement provided the squire with a complete and uninterrupted view of his tenants and employees during the hours of divine service.

The rest of the church was rebuilt in brick by John Carr of York, who also did work for the Stricklands at Boynton Hall. It was conceived as a Classical structure incorporating the revived Gothick of William Kent, via Batty Langley, and it is appropriate that an example should survive so close to Kent's birthplace and thanks to a family for whom he too had worked. The plain brick exterior gives no hint of the riches within. From the low vestibule, writes the distinguished specialist in Georgian architecture, Francis Johnson, 'one enters dramatically into the lightness and space of the exquisitely proportioned nave, with its boldly coved ceiling and typically Gothick cornice.' At the end of the nave stands the unique double chancel screen of two responds and two quatrefoil columns, with Gothink capitals and classical architrave. This arrangement is repeated one bay further on to form an architectural baldacchino for the alter. A plain wrought iron communion rail runs along the chancel step between the first row of columns.

Beyond the chancel lies the Strickland mortuary chapel, separated from the rest of the church by another plain iron rail, this time with spearpoint finials. Here the visitor's eye is immediately drawn to the east window, designed in Gothic style with stone tracery. The glass is by the celebrated York craftsman, William Peckitt; his signature and the date can be seen in the bottom right-hand corner of the left light. The Strickland arms appear in the circular light above, with the family's turkey crest and the date 1768.