St Leonard
Malton, Yorkshire
Our church was founded in 1190 and is probably the oldest Roman Catholic Church still in use in England.
The narrow vestibule area has a tessellated floor and original staircases rise to the gallery on each side. Here, a Victorian stained glass screen was erected in 1866. A further glazed inner screen was added beyond this in the 1990s renovations.
The choir areas, the organ, pulpit, and sanctuary areas have seen the most change during the current life of the building. The common form pitch pine panelled box pews and their platforms on the ground floor, were a later addition to the building, installed in 1866, replacing the original bench seating and a number of high back pews. The pews, which have mahogany cappings have a straight back, and are uncomfortable for long periods of sitting, even with the addition of cushions. A number of these still contain the hat hooks of 1866. Prmission has been granted for these pews to be removed, bar the retention of two gently curved examples to be relocated under the windows at each side.
The gallery box pews are original to the 1811 building. They are similar in design to the ground floor pews, although the seats have a raked back. Seen in their completeness, the gallery pews create an aesthetic architectural form of their own and remain an important contributor to the heritage of the building.