Lastingham Church, North East, England

While there had been an early Christian site at Lastingham, little is known of it.  However in 1078, Abbot Stephen of Whitby received permission from William the Conqueror to take some monks to restore the monastery at Lastingham as a Benedictine house.

One of the first things Abbot Stephen built at the end of the 11th century was the crypt. He built it as a shrine to Saint Ceed over the spot where the saint is thought to have been buried.  Over the crypt he then began to build an Abbey Church, however the monastery was abandoned in 1088 and Abbot Stephen and his monks moved to York and built St. Mary’s Abbey.  We don’t know why he abandoned his plans at Lastingham but we do know that the planned monastery was never completed.  It is however Abbot Stephens work that makes Lastingham special. 

The crypt at Lastingham belongs entirely to the work of Abbot Stephen and his monks in the 11th Century.  The crypt is what is unique about this church.  It is also the only crypt in England to have an apse; a rounded end.  The crypt here is its own mini church, containing a nave, chancel and side aisles.  The four columns that support the vaulting of the crypt are standing on bases which are thought to be pre-conquest and were probably stones from the older church once on this site, which were reused in the 11th century.

After the building work was abandoned in the 11th Century, the church remained the property of St. Mary’s Abbey in York and the Abbot supplied a priest to serve the local needs of the people of Lastingham and the surrounding area.  The first priest was appointed here in 1228 and the church has served as a parish church ever since.