Vandalism and social duty: the Victorian rebuilding of the ‘Street Parish’ churches, Ryedale, North Yorkshire

The mid-19th century saw the greatest change to the material culture of Anglican worship since the Reformation. Yet despite the singular importance of this period to the life of the parish church, archaeologists have rarely engaged with these buildings. This thesis proposes an archaeological methodology for the examination of parish churches heavily restored or rebuilt during the 19th century. This innovative and flexible archaeological methodology integrates metric recording, systematic visual and stratigraphic analyses, 3D reconstruction, and a detailed synthesis of documentary resources. The ‘Street Parish’ churches in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, which were restored between 1855-1872, are utilised as case studies to test this methodology. Rather than being wholly dictated by national trends, the Victorian restoration of parish churches is shown to be a complex negotiation between these trends and local factors, including local personalities and the existing fabric. Indeed this thesis demonstrates that Victorian rebuild churches are heavily influenced by the earlier structures on the same site, often retaining the medieval plan form and architectural development. This study shows that through the archaeological study of 19th-century restoration, it is possible to recover a huge dataset which represents a significant thread of evidence about the character and development of the medieval church as well as post-medieval church investment, which have hitherto been missed or deliberately ignored by existing academic discourses. This research informs our understanding of these under-valued buildings, in order to enable their strategic future management.