In the Yorkshire Dales dry stone walls are everywhere and are
an important feature of what makes the Yorkshire Dales special. Some date from
the medieval period, others are monastic boundary walls and many result from
the various Acts of Enclosure, which divided up
common land and laid out the field patterns we see today.
Many dry stone walls are well maintained providing boundaries
for fields in which cattle and sheep graze and are an important habitat for
wildlife. Regrettable some dry stone
walls have gaps and holes, have lost their tops stones, or are simply piles of
stones lying in a field or are just lines on maps as the stones have been
completely removed for other building projects.
So it is with the churches in the Dales, we can see patters of
churches going back centuries with remains of ancient Abbeys and other places
of worship from small remote chapels of ease to larger parish churches and
non-conformist chapels. Some churches
have been closed and are looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust and
some chapels have been turned in homes or even knocked down.
The renewal of the dry stone walls in the Dales is gradually
underway. Different agencies from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Committee, The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust farmers, land-owners and contractors are working to renew the Dale’s walls and
barns and restore them to their former glory. The pattern of restoration may seem,
opportunistic, uncoordinated, and sporadic yet over a period of time we can
see a significant difference as these important features of the Dales landscape
are being restored to their former glory.
So it is with the renewal of churches in the Dales in some
areas congregations are small and declining, in other area there is a lot going
on. People are actively engaged in seeking, proclaiming and demonstrating the
Kingdom of God in word and deed and in making disciples.
We see different denominational streams working together on
youth projects such as the Lower Wensleydale Youth Project and Reverb in
Wharfedale. In some villages Christian
communities are being reformed as congregations agree to worship together and
share resources such as in Hebden, Kettlewell and Grewelthorpe.
In other places congregations have been totally rebuilt for
example at Bolton Priory, where at one
time the church was proposed for closure yet is now one of the largest
congregations in the Dales.
There are also new worshiping community’s springing up in
different places or around different themes such as the Forest Church congregation
at Grinton or Splash that meets in a children’s play area in Brompton on Swale
or Funkey Church in Richmond.
On top of this there has been death and renewal of the
Christian Community at Scargill House in Wharfedale; which less than ten years
ago was closed and put on the market. Also in Wharfedale, Yorkshire Camps has
with the help of the Brammel Trust purchased Netherside Hall as a home for
their evangelistic youth camps.
We also see churches developing their work of loving service
with; food banks in Richmond and Skipton and debt advice services being offered
by Hope Debt Advice in Bedale and Skipton Baptist Church.
So just as with the dry stone walls, progress with the renewal
of the Church in the Dales may seem, uncoordinated, and sporadic. Yet if we
are prepared to stand back, we will see that there are many encouraging and
significant signs of growth as people respond to the spirit of God and the new
contexts they find themselves in.
