Church Of St Chad

The Church of St. Chad is a parish church with a history spanning several centuries, beginning in the 12th century. The original core of the church consists of the nave and chancel, followed by a 16th-century vestry. A south aisle was added in the 19th century (1861), and a 20th-century timber belfry surmounted by a spirelet was built at the west end. A 20th-century west porch was also added. The church is constructed from coursed sandstone rubble, with ashlar detailing on the aisle. The roofs are tiled, with oak shingles covering the belfry.

The north side of the nave features two paired cusped lancet windows (dated 1864), along with a small, round-headed window. The west wall has a single cusped 19th-century lancet window. The south aisle incorporates several cusped lancets: two pairs on the south wall, and single windows in the east and west walls. The chancel’s east window is 14th century, a two-light design with a cusped quatrefoil above. A small, round-headed window on the north side is partially cut and blocked by the vestry. The south side features flat-headed windows, the east window having two trefoiled lights and the west window a single light under a trefoiled head, with a blocked round-headed door between them. A chamfered string course on the north wall incorporates the blocked window, with preservation of this detail inside the vestry. An inscription on the chancel's east wall commemorates the raising of a cross on the east gable to mark Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887. The vestry is flat-roofed with two square-headed windows in a late Perpendicular style. The west end has a broached spirelet capped with a copper weathercock, set above a timber belfry. The west porch is timber-built on sandstone walls, with a tiled overhanging roof and a single, chamfered west door with a pointed hoodmould, dating from 1861.

Inside, the south aisle arcade has 2 1/2 bays, with the first column from the east exhibiting a crocket capital and foliated spurs. The nave and chancel are covered by late 15th/early 16th-century, flat-pitched panelled roofs with bosses; winged angels decorate the wall plate in the nave. A floor has been inserted to create a ringing chamber at the west end. The chancel arch is likely from 1861 but incorporates some earlier masonry. Notable furnishings include a late 16th/early 17th-century communion table and a 17th-century pulpit. A 19th-century font is also present, alongside benches in the south aisle that incorporate 17th-century panelling. Two lavishly ornamented, free-standing brass candelabra, originally from the church of Choisy-le-Roi, France, are situated near the chancel arch. Historically, in the medieval period, Boningale was a dependent chapelry to Stockton.