Marton Church has a very unusual appearance, with eye-catching features which signpost its rich historical background.
Please find attached below our history leaflets, written by friends of Marton Church.

There was a church at ‘Martun’ in the Domesday Book (1086). We assume it was here on this site – probably a simple building with a wooden/thatched roof and a cobble stone base. We believe that these cobbles were re-used (visible on the outside of the North wall) when the church was rebuilt in the 1580s, complete with a tower and bits and pieces from nearby Marton Priory. 

Our sign describes St Mary's as a "12th Century building on a Saxon Site. The church has its origins in the dual Augustinian monastic community for men and women here in Marton." According to Historic England, Marton Priory is the only known example of an Augustinian double-house, where canons (ordained priests living in community, rather than monks) and nuns lived together with strictly segregated lives. Marton Priory was founded in 1154, about a mile north-west from the church, but between 1158 and 1167 the nuns moved to their own priory at Moxby (or Molesby) which is about a mile south-west from the church. 

In April 1536, across England and Wales there were more than 800 monastic houses with 10,000 people living in these communities. Under Henry VIII, the 'Dissolution of the monasteries' led to smaller houses like Marton and Moxby (with less than £200 income) being closed in 1536. Over the next 4 years, the larger religious houses also surrendered, and all their land, buildings, contents and assets were sold off. Moxby Priory and Mill became privately owned properties, but Marton Priory became a quarry for local builders. We believe that some of the distinctive features in Marton Church came from the priory, including the quirky crow step gables and buttresses, the angel and tracery above the door, IHC (medieval shorthand for the name Jesus) in various places including the medieval door, a Frosterly Marble slab which may have been the priory's altar, a piscina with tracery in the sanctuary and the sun ray fragments in the west window.

In August 2024 we had a History Day, supported by friends from Stillington and District Archive Group. 
This included the presentation about Marton and Moxby Priories in the video.