natureoncam aka Greg's photos with the keyword: Grinton

The Church of St Andrew, Grinton, is the parish church for the village of Grinton in North Yorkshire, England. The grade I listed structure has also been called The Cathedral of the Dales, and as the only parish church in Upper Swaledale, it was at the end of the Swaledale Corpse Way, where those who had died in the upper valley, were brought for burial. Grinton never developed past village status, but its noted crossing point of the River Swale afforded it more importance than other settlements. The church was built in the 12th century and has many alterations to its original Norman architecture. As the church was the only parish church in the area, for 400 years St Andrew's presided over the largest parish by area in Yorkshire. The church is notable for having a chained bible, a Jacobean pulpit with sounding board, and a hagioscope in the south wall. The church is also noted for being the most northerly of the "Pennine Perpendicular churches". A hagioscope also known as a squint or as a leper's squint, was used so that people could observe the process of worship without actually being there. Sometimes this was so concurrent activity with the service could be carried simultaneously, but it also allowed those with a communicable disease in the parish (such as leprosy), to witness the service without infecting the rest of the congregation.