Many people will have lived in or had family connections with the parish, perhaps were baptised or married at All Saints or have relatives buried there, visited the church on occasions or just admired it from afar. The church with its magnificent spire, stands on high ground amongst fields to the north east of the A19 and paints a delightful picture of the English countryside for those travelling past.

There has been a church at Thirkleby for at least 900 years. The present Grade II* listed building was commissioned by Lady Louisa Frankland-Russell of Thirkleby Hall in memory of her late husband Sir Robert and was built by the renown ‘rogue’ architect E B Lamb in 1851 and as such is of significant historic interest.

The Quinquennial Report of 2018 flagged up the need for substantial repairs to the roof, stonework, glazing and (estimated to be approximately £140,000 in total). We are a very small Parochial Church Council (5 members) and we felt we needed to consult with the community to obtain support to develop a plan to take things forward to the best advantage for all. After several virtual meetings (due to Coronavirus restrictions) it was concluded that there is support for All Saints Church in the community, and as a result a new ‘friends of’ type group has been formed. Please see the All Saints Together page of this website.

During 2020/21 the PCC were very grateful to secure grant funding for much of the essential roof and rainwater goods repairs work and this was completed in November 2021. We are now awaiting updated quotes for the stonework and glazing work.