LASTINGHAM church crypt, North Yorkshire (UK). The church of St Mary is the parish church and its rare Norman crypt, is said to be unique not only in England, but possibly also the oldest Norman crypt in the world with a nave, aisles and an apsidal chancel. Its claimed that in the 1700's the crypt was regularly used as a cock-fighting pit. It has been speculated that the crypt was actually once above ground and was itself used (as a church as the church we see today is raised above the level of the road outside).

---

Size: 7500px × 4219px
Photo credit: © Colin Waters / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: aisles, ancient, apsidal, architecture, ceadda, cedd, chad, chancel, christian, church, churches, cock, cock-fighting, cockfighting, crypt, englands, fighting, gambling, heritage, historic, history, lastingeau, lastingham, layout, mary, moors, norman, north, oldest, parish, pier, piers, pillars, pit, preserved, rare, religion, religious, ryedale, saint, st, stone, supports, undercroft, underground, unique, unusual, world, worlds, yorkshire