St Margaret's Church, York

Following Pilates came home to discover that our rather elderly range cooker was on the blink. So research into a replacement began in earnest. A trip to York to have a look at some revealed how much cookers have moved on. Although we could research on the web I wanted to see what they looked like face to face.

This church was conveniently located next to where we were visiting. It is a Grade 1 listed medieval church with a rather interesting history. Although it dates back to the 12th century what you see is largely 14th century. The tower dates back to 1684 when the old one fell down! The porch in the extra arrived at the same time when it was rescued from St Nicholas's hospital nearby which had been ruined in the Civil War. A good bit of recycling I think! It depicts the signs of the zodiac and the labours of the months.

The church was classified redundant in 1974 but has a new lease of life as the National Centre for Early Music. I had to ask for permission to visit as the grounds are secured following problems with vagrants and drug users.

Handy to have close at hand on a rather wet dreary day!