ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH POINT OF INTEREST

This opening was long thought to be a leper’s squint, allowing parishioners with leprosy to view services from outside. Recently, however, Dav Smith at the University of York has suggested it was a hagioscope, or opening providing a line of sight between the main altar and a lost chantry chapel.

The north chapel was likely added in the 15th century and lit by the large window added opposite to the south wall. This chantry chapel was likely dedicated to the Virgin, based on evidence of the incised initials in the tracery of that window (VV M). The W or double V represented the ‘Virgin of Virgins’.

The original foundations remain visible outside, as does the stonework of two arches that may have been an aisle leading to it.