Church Of St Helen

The Church of St Helen is a former mortuary chapel, now a parish church, dating from 1775. It is constructed of red brick with ashlar dressings, render, timber, and lead roofs. The building is designed in the form of a small classical temple, with a rectangular plan and a pedimented distyle in antis portico, topped by a western classical bellcote; there is also an apsidal east end.

The western portico is accessed by three steps and features Tuscan pilasters supporting a plain frieze and pediment. Glazed oculi with raised keystones are set into the side walls of the portico. The six-panelled west door, leading into the nave, is set within a moulded stone architrave with a restrained moulded overdoor, flanked by single hemispherically headed niches with stone architraves and raised keyblocks. The floor is laid with diamond stone flags. The rendered bellcote has angle Ionic timber pilasters rising to a dentillated eaves cornice, surmounted by a shaped lead roof with a weather vane at its apex. Each face of the bellcote has a single, slender, glazing bar light with a semi-circular head and rusticated wooden surround.

The side walls of the nave have an ashlar plinth, cornice, angle pilasters, and two windows each, featuring semi-circular heads, leaded lights, ashlar architraves, imposts, and keyblocks. The sills are supported by pairs of moulded brackets. The apsidal east end has a blocked opening that matches those on the sides.

The interior features a wooden architrave with an overdoor cornice supported on scrolled brackets at the west door. Wooden panelling extends to dado height on the side walls, with the upper walls divided into panels by plain Ionic plaster pilasters supporting a plain frieze and dentillated cornice. The panels are outlined with moulding. The apse has moulded imposts, plaster architraves and a raised voluted keystone. The archivolt features blank panels, and the intrados of the hemispherically headed apse is decorated with plaster diapers containing bas relief flowers with scrolly petals. The 18th-century panelled pews, vestry screen, readers' desk, and pulpit all share matching moulding and Ionic pilasters. The facetted pulpit is decorated with intarsia stars. The altar rails and table incorporate delicate turned spindles. Lighting consists of two wrought iron fittings and a circular candelabra. Located at the west end are two hatchments belonging to the Earls of Scarborough. The nave contains stained glass dating to 1869. Four wall plaques, made of white marble and in Greek taste, are dedicated to the Earls of Scarborough, for whom the chapel was originally built; these are dated 1832-1856.