Crusader Knight Brass
This curious memorial brass of a Crusader was recovered from the vaults below the church and is now mounted on the North side of the Sactuary Arch.
The device on this brass has been characterised as a possible variant of a symbol associated with Knights Templar and those charged with the protection of the Holy Grail, but the identity of this mysterious knight is unkown.
Arthuret Church
Many believe there has been a Christian presence at Arthuret since the 6th century. At first little more than a simple shelter thatched with reeds and moss.
There is reference to a stone church of AD1150 but little remains save for the old Preaching Cross in the churchyard and a Crusader Knight brass now mounted on a pillar near the present alter.
The old church, ruined in the Anglo-Scottish violence of the 15th & 16th centuries, was replaced after the union of the two crowns, by the present St.Michael and All Angels in 1609. Its building was financed by a national collection organised by the Archbishop of Canterbury after the king received reports that the people of Arthuret, Kirklinton, Bewcastle and Stapleton were “without faith, virtue or regard for any religion”.
Archie Armstrong, Court Jester to King James I and Charles I, was buried near the churchyard cross on April Fools Day, AD 1672. He was disgrased at court for publicly insulting the Archbishop of Canterbury but was fortunate to be allowed to retire to Arthuret.
St.Michael's and All Angels is one of several historic parish churches in the MTI district to be linked in a unique heritage trail.