The Church is situated within the village of Sleights on the A169, the main road from Whitby to Pickering, about four miles from Whitby and a few hundred yards from the bottom of Blue Bank, the steep hill leading out of the village onto the North York Moors National Park. It is sited at the T junction of Coach Road, which is the main road through Sleights, and Iburndale Lane. It can be entered by paths from either road but Iburndale Lane is better for parking. The photograph below was taken by Geoff Thorpe one Summer and can be purchased as a postcard within the Church
The photograph below was taken around Christmas time in 1995 and shows the Church in full Winter garb.
Church Service times can be found here All are very welcome.
Here is another winter
photograph from another direction.
This following two pictures are copies of different etchings of
the original Eskdale Chapel, the ruins of which can still be seen
near the railway line adjacent to the River Esk and they can be
reached by a signed footpath which leads to the valley bottom
from Eskdalegates Farm. This Chapel is known to have existed in
1224 and was certainly used as a regular place of worship by the
local residents of Eskdaleside from 1394 to 1764 when it was
closed for Divine Service on 5 December as shown by the writing
on the second etching and replaced by the "new"
Georgian Chapel or Church which is shown below.
The following picture is then a copy of a photograph taken around
1850 of the Georgian Church which existed at that time. It was
built in 1764 and was in use until 1895 when the "newer"
Victorian Church was built. It actually stood on the area where
the pathway now leads to the present Church
Here is a different view of the Georgian Church taken from about
the same place to the South as the modern pictures above,
and here is a picture of its interior.
