About Us

Welcome to the website for the parish church of St Columba, at Topcliffe, near Thirsk.

The Parish is part of the Benefice of Topcliffe, Baldersby with Dishforth, Dalton and Skipton on Swale. Ours is an ancient parish,  founded in the 7th Century, and more information about the history of the church can be found in the History section of this website.  St. Columba's is a Corporate member of the Prayer Book Society, which promotes and supports the use of the Book of Common Prayer, and we hold monthly sung services of Matins and Evensong, led by members of our choir.  We are currently still in Vacancy since the retirement of our Vicar Revd Susanne Jukes in 2020. During this period we are served by our Area Dean, Revd Mary Rolls, our Churchwarden Chris Hewlett, and the PCC.

We are a small congregation that usually meets every week and we generally have a variety of services throughout the month, details of which can be found under “Services and Events” on this website.  We have an active and committed choir, drawn from the village and from the wider area, who sing a wide range of church music from Renaissance masters such as Palestrina, Byrd and Victoria, through to 20th century and contemporary composers including Judith Weir, Rene Clausen and Morten Lauridsen.  During the Coronavirus pandemic we were prevented from holding all our usual services, but regular acts of worship were resumed as soon as practicable, and details of these can be found in the "News and notices" section of the website.

Full details of the activities in the Benefice can be found by going to the websites for the other churches, through the parish magazine Cross Talk, or by looking on the noticeboard at church.

You would be most welcome to attend any of our services and if you require any more information, please use the “Get in Touch” section of this website. If planning to come do check this website first or contact John Phillips (01845 577034) to ensure the event is going ahead as planned.  If you are interested in singing it would be lovely to hear from you or to see you at one of our services; new choir members are always very welcome (rehearsals take place on Thursdays at 7.30 p.m.) We look forward to meeting you!