Church of St Helen

Church of Saint Helen

A parish church in Brigsley, dominated by its 11th-century tower but substantially rebuilt and reordered in the 14th and 15th centuries, with major alterations undertaken in 1796 and further restorations during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The tower, constructed of ironstone rubble and squared blocks with bands of cobbles, limestone and chalk to the upper section of its first stage, features limestone ashlar dressings to the second stage and parapet. It rises in two stages, with buttresses adjoining the nave. The west face contains an inserted square-headed door in a rendered surround beneath a 20th-century concrete lintel, a pointed traceried two-light west window with hoodmould, and a blocked slit window above. A moulded stringcourse runs around, and the upper stage is lit by pointed two-light traceried belfry openings with hoodmoulds. A moulded stringcourse with angle gargoyles and a coped embattled parapet complete the design.

The nave, constructed of squared ironstone and ironstone and limestone ashlar with cement rendering to the lower sections, retains blocked arcades of three bays to the south and two bays to the north, a legacy of the 1796 removal of aisles. The north arcade piers remain partly exposed, showing a shafted or quatrefoil centre pier and sections of blocked pointing. The south arcade comprises two piers with four shafts and four hollows. A re-set pointed 15th-century window to the left of the north arcade features 18th-century Gothick glazing and leaded lights. Three 19th and 20th-century square-headed wooden three-light north windows with leaded lights have been inserted, and two square-headed two-light clerestory windows light the upper sections. Buttresses rise between the bays.

The chancel, constructed of squared ironstone and limestone with squared chalk above, was extensively reconstructed in the early 14th century. Its south side contains a blocked pointed chamfered door with the head missing, and two pointed two-light windows with hoodmoulds—one retaining partly restored geometrical tracery, the other reticulated tracery. The north side has similar windows with plain restored tracery. The east window is a pointed three-light design with partly-restored intersecting tracery and hoodmould. A chamfered plinth runs around the base. The chancel roof is covered in pantiles, while the nave is slate.

Internally, a tall round-headed chamfered tower arch with two orders of voussoirs and plain imposts dominates the space. The line of the former nave roof is visible above. The chancel arch, a 19th or 20th-century double-chamfered structure, was exposed during later building work. The chancel contains a pointed chamfered piscina to the south with a corbelled bowl, and a tall triangular-headed aumbry or niche to the north with a mutilated raised chamfered surround. A mid-18th-century black marble floorslab commemorates Richard Cressy (died 1746) and other family members, decorated with ornate carved arms in a recess. A medieval octagonal font on a tall shaft with moulded plinth and base survives from the earlier church.

Furnishings from the 18th century include a panelled octagonal pulpit with a pair of fluted pilasters supporting an octagonal tester with cornice, communion rails with column-on-vase balusters with square knops and fielded panelling to the east wall, and a half-glazed door to the tower arch with a Chinese fret glazed panel above two fielded panels. A blocked former tower arch gallery retains a balustrade similar in design to the altar rails. Painted commandment boards and Royal Arms dating from 1819 by G. Stout of Grimsby complete the interior furnishings. The alterations of 1796 included the removal of aisles, the insertion of a west door, and a refitting of the interior.