Country England Groundbreaking 12th century Diocese Diocese of York | Denomination Church of England Phone +44 1723 500541 Heritage designation Listed building | |
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Location Scarborough, North Yorkshire Churchmanship Open Evangelical / Traditional Anglican Address Parish House, Castle Rd, Scarborough YO11 1TH, UK Parish St Mary's With Holy Apostles Similar Rotunda Museum, Scarborough Castle, Peasholm Park, North Bay Railway, Scarborough SEA LIFE Sanctuary | ||
St Mary's Church is a parish church in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in the Church of England. It stands high above the old town, just below Scarborough Castle.
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History
The church was built in the 12th century. It was once a large church with two towers (west and central), but was largely destroyed during the siege of Scarborough Castle in the English Civil War. The church was rebuilt in the late 17th century and restored in the mid 19th century. The building has now has a square tower at the east end, replacing the former central tower, and a series of stone vaulted side chapels on the south side. The internal walls are almost covered with late 18th century and early 19th century wall monuments, including one by Roubiliac to Elizabeth Craven.
Graveyard
The church has a large graveyard, with tombs mainly of the 18th and 19th centuries. A much visited grave is that of Anne Bronte, who died in Scarborough in 1849. Anne's sister Charlotte commissioned a stone to be placed over her grave, with the simple inscription "Here lie the remains of Anne Brontë, daughter of the Revd P. Brontë, Incumbent of Haworth, Yorkshire. She died Aged 28 May 28th 1849". When Charlotte visited the grave three years later, she discovered multiple errors on the headstone, and thus it was refaced. However, Anne's age at death was still written as 28 when, in fact, she was 29 when she died. In 2011, the correction was finally made when a new inscribed plinth was laid by the Brontë Society in front of the eroded headstone.