Heritage Open Days - St Helena's Church, Austerfield - Wed 16 Sept
- Occurring
- for 4 hours
- Venue
- St Helena's Church
- Address St Helena's Church, High Street Austerfield The church is somewhat hidden behind a large beech tree. Opposite Keith Ashton Memorials. There is limited parking alongside the garden railings near the library phone box, DN10 6QU, United Kingdom
St Helena's Church, Austerfield
Open 12 noon - 4.00pm
Refreshments between 1.00 - 3.00 pm
Come to have a look inside and outside the church at the amazing features.
See the displays of the village in years gone by.
Enjoy the angels on display around the church, from our Angel Festival held in August.
Stroll and stay a while in our silver award Eco Garden.
St Helena's is an 11th Century Norman Church with strong links with the Mayflower Pilgrims who set sail to the New World in 1620. Austerfield was the home of William Bradford.
The church was built in 1080 by John de Builli, using stone from the Roche Abbey quarries. Over the centuries the church has seen new sections built and renovations completed to make it the church you see today.
The Tympanum over the south doorway depicts a serpent like dragon. An article published in 1954 suggests it is 8th century and relates its symbolic meaning to the calculation of the incidence of Easter Day.
In 702AD Austerfield was the location of a Synod where a dispute between the King of Northumbria and Wilfrid, Bishop of Ripon was resolved. The Synod also discussed and agreed the way that Easter is calculated.