Wighill (North Yorkshire) All Saints' Church

     Located, like the church at neighbouring Healaugh and other churches in the region, on high ground just outside the village, the original Norman church consisted of a nave and chancel to which a tower and north aisle were added. The latter is late 12th century and the arcade has keeled piers and octagonal capitals very similar to those at Bilton Ainsty only a short distance away. Of particular interest is the south door, one of the most lavishly decorated in the York area. The arch has three orders, the outer decorated with zig-zag, the middle with beak heads, and on the inner a range of exotic figures and animals. Capitals show the Crucifixion, and the Deposition from the Cross, scenes rarely depicted in this location in a Norman church.

Bibliography

Pevsner, N. and Radcliffe, E., 1967. The Buildings of England, Yorkshire: The West Riding (London, Penguin), 553-4