Lastingham Church
By Mike Haigh from Northern Earth 67
The village of Lastingham is to be found in a quiet, verdant valley in the foothills of the North York Moors. As one strolls between the pleasing cluster of stone cottages, it is hard to imagine that this area was once described as being "more suitable for the dens of robbers and the haunts of wild beasts than for human habitation"1.
Lastingham was first recorded in the mid-7th century, during the reign of King Ethelwald of Deira2. A son of St Oswald of Northumbria, he was a Christian king who wished to found a monastery where he could worship and eventually be buried. He approached Cedd, the evangelical bishop of the East Saxons, who had been trained in the Celtic tradition and had a widespread reputation for holiness1. Ethelwald offered him land on which to found a monastery and it was apparently the bishop who chose the mound at Lastingham. Before building work commenced, Cedd began purifying the site through fasting and prayer. His brother, Cynibil, finished the task after Cedd was summoned to court, and thus the land was made acceptable to God and purified from the "taint of earlier crimes"l. What these were was not specified, though it does raise the possibility that some older, pagan, monument existed on the chosen site. With the site cleansed, work on the monastery could begin.
Cedd returned to the East Saxons (Essex) but continued to visit Lastingham when he could. During one visit, in 664 CE, he caught plague and died. At first he was buried in the open, but later, when a stone church dedicated to Mary, Mother of God, was built, his remains were reinterred to the right of the altar. On Cedd's death, yet another of his brothers, Chad, became abbot, and the monastery continued in seclusion until the 9th century, when it was sacked by the Danes. Little remains of the Saxon monastery except for some stone fragments nowadays housed in the crypt. These include part of a doorway and the head of a cross estimated to have stood about 25 ft tall3.
Although the site was abandoned, it was not forgotten, and in 1078 CE the monastery was refounded by Abbot Steven of Whitby Abbey. It was probably he who organised the building of the crypt. It is supposed that it was built as a shrine for pilgrims over the remains of St Cedd. Work continued until 1086, when the site was abandoned in favour of another at York. The church became parochial in 1228 and has remained a parish church ever since.
That is a brief history of Lastingham church. The most interesting feature is the remarkable crypt. It is unique in that it was designed as a miniature church, complete with apse, nave and side aisles. Its most memorable property is its effect on people. Many testify to its power and atmosphere; ex-Ley Hunter editor, Paul Screeton, said "if you want to get a feeling of what ley power is like, go into the crypt at Lastingham church ... you get that buzzing feeling". NE's former editor, Philip Heselton, reported that a friend of his who spent some time down there felt unable to speak afterwards4. Even the normally sceptical Andy Roberts notes that he had to leave because of some "supernatural pressure" in the air5. The late Guy Ragland Phillips once took a psychic witch into the crypt and she reported a number of powerful influences both good and evil6. It will come as no surprise to learn that the church is allegedly haunted. The blind Canon Gordon Thompson told Guy Phillips that he often experienced a "discarnate spirit" in the church, usually near the door linking the vestry and sanctuary6. It is not just the psyche/imagination that this structure seems to stimulate. Paul Devereux and Ian Thomson noticed that a compass they placed in the crypt continued moving with a rhythmic jigging7. Mr Cook's letter in this issue adds further fuel to the Lastingham mystique. Those unknown artesans assembled by Abbot Steven created an edifice whose power to affect our emotions and imagination remains undiminished today.
NOTES
* Do readers know of any other sites which have a consistent affect like Lastingham crypt evidently has? The editors would love to hear reports of 'subjective' experiences at such places, experiences which indicate the working of the 'genius loci' upon the mind Please indicate when writing if you are not happy for us to publish the report, or to print your name with it.
Home | Contact Us | Site Map | Search
© Northern Earth