Holy Trinity Church, Wensley

Modern pilgrims might well cast a dubious eye at the coin slot on St Agatha’s reliquary, a reminder of the economic factors that helped to drive visitor numbers

Highlights

• Reliquary of St Agatha

Wensley’s church has a medieval chest that once contained St Agatha’s relic. It was brought here from Easby Abbey after the Reformation. The actual relic has gone, but the reliquary itself is still in good condition, looking a bit like a cupboard with a locked box at the front.

There is a hole on top of the locked box that appears to be a slot for coins – a reminder that trade in relics was one of the main causes of the Reformation. Whatever one’s views on relics, this device does look embarrassingly like a primitive vending machine.

It is said to be the only wooden reliquary to survive in England, though St Cuthbert’s carved coffin in Durham Cathedral served a similar function. The chest dates from the 15th century. Three fragments of carved Saxon stonework are set into the wall beside the reliquary, making a pleasing collection of devotional artefacts from the start and end of the middle ages.

St Agatha herself dates from even earlier, a Roman-era martyr who was horrifically tortured then killed in Sicily for refusing to renounce her faith. Easby Abbey is 9 miles northeast of Wensley. It was closed at the Dissolution, and the reliquary chest, along with a wooden screen from the abbey, were moved to Wensley’s church.

The church guide when I visited appeared to be written in the 1930s. It was still relevant – since medieval churches do not change greatly from year to year – but lacked a drawing of the church’s wall and column paintings. Deciphering them is tricky, the most discernible features being various bare legs. The ones on the nave column are said to be those of Adam and Eve, rejoicing at Satan being cast out of heaven by St Michael.

The church had recently been declared redundant, and the Churches Conservation Trust has since produced a new leaflet, available on its website. The church dates from the mid-13th century on the site of a Saxon building. It has a large grey/blue stone slab in the middle of the nave, covering the grave of two early priests said to be brothers with the same name, Clederow. All wedding ceremonies in the church started with the couple standing on this stone.

Directions

Holy Trinity Church, A684/Low Lane junction, Wensley, Leyburn DL8 4HX

www.visitchurches.org.uk (search for Wensley)

W3W: waltz.hints.tweaked

GPS: 54.3015N 1.8601W

The church is just south of the centre of the village. It is open every day.