Heslington Church

The earliest record of the parish of Heslington is in 1299; it was from that time until 1842 subject to the peculiar jurisdiction of the Prebend of Ampleforth. The advowson passed to the Archbishop of York in 1842. Originally constructed in 1858, the building still looks like a Victorian parish church from the south. It was extended in the 1970s by the ecclesiastical architect Ronald Sims; he removed the old north wall, and added a modern suite of meeting rooms, including a vestry and kitchen, on the north side. The old choir and sanctuary now form a separate chapel, and the congregation sits in a semicircle facing the new altar to the north. Sims's design makes use of exposed breeze blocks…