Visitors who want to make Skirpenbeck’s cultural heritage a focus of their stay will find three distinct points of interest: an unusual moated site at the eastern end, a house with striking brickwork and window details, and St Mary’s, whose nave and chancel date from the 12th century. Each theme offers a different perspective. The moated site is notable for its extent and layout, the house for individual architectural features, and the church for the dating of its nave and chancel. This gives you a way to understand Skirpenbeck through its historic architecture and design.

The moated site and its layout

At the eastern end of Skirpenbeck, the moated site lies at Manor House. Its size and layout are unusual. The central island sits on a large platform covering almost one hectare and standing about five metres above today’s ground level. A moat surrounds the platform. Its area and height provide two different measures of the site: the first describes the platform’s size, while the second describes how far it rises above today’s ground. The island, platform and moat make the site’s spatial layout its defining feature. For your travel plans, this offers a different perspective from the architectural features of the houses and church.

A house with brickwork and window details

The House Adjacent to the Cottage to the East dates from the late 18th century. Its walls are made of brown brickwork, and the roof is covered with pantiles. Brickwork is also part of the architectural design around the windows: the house has sash windows with sills and glazing bars, topped with segmental brick arches. A segmental arch is a shallow arch over an opening; here, it complements the window details. There is a dentil brick cornice at the eaves, and the house also has raised gables with corresponding brickwork. A dentil cornice has an edge shaped like a row of teeth. Brickwork therefore appears on the walls, window arches, cornice and gables. Visitors interested in architectural design can distinguish the house from the moated site by this interplay of building elements: here, the focus is on materials and façade details, while the moated site stands out for its unusual size and layout.

St Mary’s and its building history

The Church of Saint Mary in Skirpenbeck offers another point of interest, with a different historical timeframe: its nave and chancel date from the 12th century. The nave and chancel are distinct parts of a church building; mentioning both makes the dating more specific. Compared with the house from the late 18th century, the focus here is on two parts of a church and their dating, while the house is especially notable for its brickwork, roof and window styles. St Mary’s welcomes everyone. If you would like to attend a service, check the service times separately in advance.

Discover more destinations: Withernwick, Skipsea, Everingham, Patrington, Beeford, Aldbrough, Rowley, Melbourne

For the wider travel overview: East Riding Of Yorkshire.