Ayton Parish Church

There are charters of the late 11th and early 12th centuries granting the lands of Eiton, as Ayton was then known,[1] to Coldingham Priory.

[2] The church later received an altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with endowments of various acres and rigs in the Lordship of Ayton.

[3] The old chapel, which had been extensively altered and renewed over the years up to the 18th century was, originally, a simple rectangular building, but changed to a T shape with the addition of the north aisle.

[2] The meeting of 1497 involved the Spanish diplomat Pedro de Ayala on behalf of James IV of Scotland with representatives of Henry VII of England, and the outcome was a seven-year truce.

[6] The church was built by eminent 19th century architect James Maitland Wardrop, in the "First Pointed" style of Gothic architecture, and is a near T-shape with a 3-stage square-plan tower.