Flimston Chapel

The chapel, likely associated with Monkton Priory, dates back to the medieval period and retains a mediaeval nave and chancel, alongside a small room to the north. In 1787, the building was converted into a carpenter’s shop, stone shed and granary by the tenant of Flimston farm, resulting in cart-entrance arches still visible in the east wall and the insertion of internal walls; the north room was then used as an external staircase. The building was restored to its original purpose as a chapel between 1901 and 1903 by Colonel and Lady Lambton, as a memorial to their three sons, and rededicated to St Martin. Following a period of disuse after World War II, it was again restored in 1963 by the staff of the Royal Armoured Corps.

The chapel is a large, single-cell building constructed from rubble limestone with larger quoins. It features a steeply-pointed vault and a tile roof with verge parapels. A south door is blocked; visible within are arches of two cedilla, also blocked. The small side room to the north now serves as a vestry. It provides access to the altar and contains a restored barred window. A semicircular bell-rope shaft in the centre of the west wall internally is not original, as it obstructs a previous window, but does predate the building’s conversion into farm use.

During the Lambton restoration, a porch was added to the north side. Small finial crosses are positioned at the east end and above the porch. The east window comprises three lancets, mirroring the arch and outline of the earlier windows. A west bell-turret has openings on all four sides and a corbelled cornice. The sanctuary features plain and glazed floor tiles laid in a patterned design, along with movable altar rails and a modern font on a square shaft.

Memorials to the Lambton family are affixed to both the north and south walls. In the churchyard, the Lambton family vault is surrounded by boulders with plaques displaying their initials. A rough-hewn Celtic cross also stands in the churchyard, alongside a low churchyard wall.