The ancient 12th Century Church of All Saints' was the original parish church of Great Ayton until the new building of Christ Church replaced it following a proposal in 1866 that a new church should be built . This was because the old building was becoming too small to house the growing congregation of the parish.
Several photographs depicting features of this beautiful old building are in the Photo Gallery.
This Church is open for visitors from April to October from 1.00pm - 3.00pm Tuesday to Sunday as well as Bank Holiday Mondays, subject to the availabilty of Guides. If you wish to arrange a group tour or are travelling a distance and want to ensure the Church is open prior to your visit, please contact the Custodian Robin Hazell (01642 722 975)
In the summer months we have a Taize style Evening Prayer on the first Sunday of the month and Songs of Praise Service, usually on August Bank Holiday Sunday at 6pm. The annual Candlelit Carol Service is usually the Tuesday before Christmas at 7.30pm - but wrap up warm!
The Victorians had walked away from All Saints Church when Christ Church was built in 1876, and it fell into a state of disrepair until a wonderful man called Maurice Hodgson took it under his wing. Maurice was a Churchwarden at Christ Church and a local farmer of true Yorkshire stock, and he continued caring for All Saints until in his 90s. he died in February 1997 just two months short of his 98th Birthday. He wrote about his life, and you can read his Life History here.
We have also recently come across a recording made in the 1980 where Maurice is giving a Guided Tour around All Saints to his nephew and his wife, Keith and Joan Heaviside. You can listen to that tour by visiting our Audio page or clicking Here. The link takes you to our Audio page where you can click on the talk.