[3][4] The land for the monastery was procured from the King of Deira and the monks established their house in "a fold of the Yorkshire Moors".

[8] When Cedd died, his brother St Chad, took over as abbot and running of the monastery, but not long afterwards, he moved to Lichfield.

[13] However, they only stayed for ten years before moving on to York; it was reasoned later that the remoteness of the abbey and the outlaw nature of the area forced them to relocate.

[15] This has led to a mix of architectural styles; the walls of the aisles are Perpendicular, but the nave (and indeed, most of the foundations and crypt) are Norman.

[16] Glynne was quite critical of the restoration,[17] but Pevsner wrote favourably about it describing Pearson's efforts as "remarkably sympathetic".

[18] Stone altars in the church have been dated back to Roman times with current thinking being that they were re-worked during the Anglo-Saxon period.

Jenkins notes the rarity of the crypt but also points out that the church lacks monuments and historical artefacts: Lastingham has few furnishings of interest.