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Standing just off the A1(M) near Knaresborough, St Martin’s Church in Allerton Mauleverer is one of North Yorkshire’s most remarkable historic churches.
With links stretching back more than 800 years and deep connections to the family behind nearby Allerton Castle, the Grade II listed building is no longer used as a regular parish church.
But, it continues to attract visitors keen to explore its striking architecture, medieval memorials and fascinating past.
A church with medieval roots
A church dedicated to St Martin has stood on the site since the late 12th or early 13th century, when a member of the powerful Mauleverer family established a place of worship here.
The family would become closely associated with Allerton Mauleverer and the wider area for centuries.
The present-day church largely dates from 1745–46, when Richard Arundell, heir to the Mauleverer estate and MP for Knaresborough, oversaw a major remodelling of the medieval building.
Rather than creating an entirely new church, elements of its earlier history were retained and incorporated into the redesign.
The link to Allerton Castle
One of the church’s defining features is its relationship with nearby Allerton Castle.
The church sits just outside Allerton Park, the estate surrounding the Gothic-revival castle which stands on the site of the Mauleverer family's ancestral home.
The family's influence on the area lasted for hundreds of years, and many generations are commemorated inside the church.
Because of that connection, St Martin's offers visitors a rare insight into both the religious and social history of one of Yorkshire's most significant landed families.
What visitors can see inside
While the exterior is notable for its neo-Norman design, the interior contains many of the church's most impressive features.
Visitors can see a dramatic hammerbeam roof, Georgian box pews, an elaborate two-decker pulpit and a large painting of Moses and Aaron positioned above the chancel arch.
Among the most remarkable treasures are medieval wooden effigies believed to depict members of the Mauleverer family, including cross-legged knights dating back to the 13th and early 14th centuries.
The church also contains alabaster memorials, historic brasses and tombs linked to generations of local nobility.
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Saved for future generations
St Martin's was declared redundant in 1971 and passed into the care of the Churches Conservation Trust two years later.
Since then, the organisation has worked to preserve the building and ensure public access to one of North Yorkshire's lesser-known historic landmarks.
Today the church remains open to visitors, offering a chance to step back through centuries of Yorkshire history while exploring a building that has witnessed medieval knights, Georgian reconstruction and the changing fortunes of one of the county's most influential families.