Members of the Local History Group gathered together to hear about and discuss, the rise of Nonconformism in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries, with particular reference to Methodism in Upper Wharfedale.

After the Reformation, Elizabeth 1^st established in 1559, the Protestant Church as the official Church of the country. Attendance was compulsory and if you did not attend you were fined. There were further demands and restrictions on ministers, which lead to many resigning their livings and the rise of Nonconformism.

Several groups were formed – Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Independents – later Congregationalists and Methodists. Methodism sprang from John Wesley’s own beliefs on how the religious life should be led. He and his brother Charles and their followers toured the country. He preached twice in Grassington on 1^st May 1780 and 29^th April 1782. He spoke by the barn, now a private house, and formerly the Mountaineer outdoor clothing shop, just beyond the car park opposite the Town Hall.

Although the first meetings would be outside, eventually they would be held in private houses or barns, forming into societies and often going on to build chapels.

However, well before the above visits of the Wesleys, folk had been inspired by the itinerant preachers from The Great Haworth Round, the wide spreading preaching circuit of William Grimshaw the curate at Haworth. Early records from Keighley Reference Library show early societies were in Grassington, Skyrethornes, Hebden, Burnsall and Skyreholme. As time went on there were societies in Barden, Conistone, Kettlewell, Buckden, Litton, Thorpe, Starbotton, Yockenthwaite, Dibdale, Linton and Hawkswick. So, a very wide covering of Upper Wharfedale.

Who were the folk who joined the societies, going on in many places to build the chapels?

The names and occupations of the trustees of the early chapels found in early documents, show how varied those trustees were. There were Yeomen, Lead miners, Farmers, Grocers, Gentlemen, Weavers, Cotton Spinners, Shopkeepers, Maltsters, Publicans, Cordwainers (Boot and Shoemakers and Repairers), Spinners, Servants. These occupations give a good idea of what the environment looked like with mills near water, lead mines on the moors, farm animals on the pastures and the usual shops and pubs.

The trustees would raise the money and be responsible for paying the debt. Often chapels were in debt for a long time.

The 19^th century was the age of chapel building. Grassington Chapel was built in 1811 replacing an earlier meeting house. Later, the present frontage, gallery and pews were added and later still the schoolroom and cottage. In the next decades chapels appeared up and down the dale – Buckden, Starbotton, Kettlewell, Conistone, Hebden, Burnsall and Barden although not thought of now, as been in Upper Wharfedale. Nearby chapels were at Hetton and Cracoe, These chapels would have been known as Wesleyans.

By 1843 these Wesleyan chapels were not the only Methodist places of worship. Primitive Methodists or Ranters, had begun a revival, wanting to get back to the original form of worship as in John Wesley’s time – simple, enthusiastic, and outdoor preaching style. Nonetheless they built chapels, three in places where there were already Wesleyan buildings – Grassington, Hebden and Kettlewell. Two others were built at Threshfield and Howgill.  The Grassington Primitive was built almost opposite the Wesleyan and is still a substantial building on the track from Chapel Street to Garrs End Lane.

An early preaching plan of 1843 lists 15 villages where services took place. Grassington and Kettlewell having 3 Sunday services and 4 other villages having 2

During the talk and afterwards there was discussion of the social advantages of these groups up and down the Dale, it seems likely that after the religious aspect of the meetings, informal chat would ensue. The meetings were divided into classes, each with a leader, to help, guide and advise. Chapels large and small would have a Sunday School which in some areas in early times, would teach the children to read and write. Chapel Anniversaries were celebrated with tea parties and often a concert as well.

Not all societies led to a chapel been built, such were in Skyrethorns – a very early society -Litton, Arncliffe, Thorpe, Yockenthwaite, Skyreholme, Linton, Hawkswick.

It seems clear that in the 19^th century and perhaps into the 20^th century Methodism would have played an important part in the communities of Upper Wharfedale. But now with the many changes that have taken place in all parts of lives and livings, only one chapel remains Grassington.

Christine Bell

Wigglesworth Hall, its people and story……..

The History Group was unable to make a visit to Wigglesworth Hall, near Hellifield, now a large and busy dairy farm, but were very interested in identifying the story and early social history of the Hall and lands, which was presented at an indoor meeting on the 26^th  February.  This revealed connections with many familiar notable families in our area.

An “enclosure” belonging to a man named Wincel was indicated in the 1086 Domesday Survey, and the small community became known as “Winchelsuuorde”.  By the year 1200 much of the area, including “Wigglesworth”, was possessed by Fountains Abbey which was founded in 1137 by Cistercian monks from Clairvaux, France, and held by a Norman family of de Arches.

De Arches remained at Wigglesworth for over 100 years, a powerful and influential family, until a daughter named Beatrice inherited the property and married Reginald de Knoll which brought the manors of Wigglesworth and Starbotton together.  Their son, Elyas, is reputed to have built the original Hall in the 14^th century.

A successive marriage resulted in Wigglesworth Hall and lands being occupied by Adam de Hammerton of Ribblesdale and their male line continued until 1537 with marriages to daughters of William de Radcliffe, Sir John Tempest of Bracewell, Sir John Assheton, and Sir William Plumpton of Grassington.  It was about 1500 when Isabel Plumpton, married to Sir Stephen Hammerton, is considered to have had the great Tithe barn built, which served all the Long Preston parish, but which was seriously damaged by fire in 1958.

Sir Stephen Hammerton became involved in the revolt against the Pilgrimage of Grace and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, particularly concerned with Sawley Abbey.  He was found guilty of treason and was executed in 1537.  Wigglesworth manor was within the major part of the estate which was forfeited to King Henry VIII, and the manor was subsequently granted to Sir Thomas  Holcroft, later transferred to Sir Richard Sherburn of Stoneyhurst, a staunch Roman Catholic.

The Sherburns made extensive alterations to Wigglesworth Hall, which included a secret Priest hole, but this Tudor house was  largely replaced by a Georgian rebuild.  Evidence of earlier relics were identified later, including a small part of a flagged passage four feet below the surface reputed to run under the River Ribble to Hellifield Pele tower.  The Hall had remained in the Sherburn family for well over 100 years, but there was a succession of new owners from the early 17^th century into the 20^th century.  The land was always farmed but when the Sherburns were in occupation in 1575 the Hall was used as a dower house for elderly and widowed women, recusants as they refused to conform to Protestant worship.  The men however usually did conform in order to avoid financial penalties on their estates.

However, the Wigglesworth family re-emerged in the 16^th century manor of Conistone, for centuries held by the family de Hebden but which came to the Tempests of Broughton.  In 1568 Richard Tempest sold the manor to Alexander Rishworth, but before the sale he leased a farmhold, buildings and lands to his tenant Richard Wigglesworth.  Richard was able to buy the manor when the lease expired, and which his son Thomas inherited.  The family continued succession and by 1681 it was owned by a further Richard, by which time the original lands had increased by purchases to be one of the larger farms in Conistone township.

Richard had married Anne Leyland in 1677, and when she died he married Elizabeth Topham.  Eventually the extensive property was inherited by Richard’s two brothers, Thomas and William.  Thomas continued with the estate while William became a prosperous tanner at Cottingley.  When Thomas died in 1741 he left the entire property to William, which included land in Bolton Abbey, Otley and Conistone.  William transferred the Hemplands houses and land to Richard Horner, the Conistone house and lands to Robert Topham……..and here we concluded our delving into the Wigglesworths and Wigglesworth Hall.

Postscript : During the early 19^th century a family  of Wigglesworths used the Coat of Arms of the de Arches, namely three Saxon arches.

With thanks for the use of the Wigglesworth Hall website, and

Arthur Raistrick’s book “Old Yorkshire Dales.

Phyllida.

Barden Tower, the Priest’s House and Chapel are so familiar to those of us who live near Skipton we would drive past the historic site almost without paying it any attention.  It certainly is more prominently in view when approached from the south, the Strid and Bolton Abbey.  But this visit, in the long sunshine of a late summer’s day, made a noticeable impression on our group.  Due to unforeseen circumstances this change of plan was organised by Peter and Peggy at very short notice, and much appreciated.   We met at the 17^th century Barden Bridge, which has a considerable number of masons’ marks under the arches and which has withstood the force of storm waters all these centuries.  There was inconclusive discussion on where the ford may have been, or even the site of an earlier bridge, before we moved uphill to Barden Tower.

Although sadly ruinous now, the effect of the imposing structure of Barden Tower presented a newly absorbing interest to our group.  The day was very quiet, with no breeze, very atmospheric, and the knowledge we were looking at such a scene of centuries of historic drama was completely understood.

When William the Conqueror was establishing his authority over our Island, one of his awards was

the Honour of Skipton to the Norman lord, Robert de Romille, which included the vast Forest of Barden.   Romille built the original Skipton Castle in 1090, a motte and bailey castle, and established six forester lodges within Barden Forest, one of which was Barden ‘Tower’, which were presumably wood and thatch structures at that time.   Five of the Lodges were mainly small farms or vaccaries, but the ‘Tower’ was used to hold Forest Courts and administer local justice, and also as a refuge in the 14^th century during the raids of the Scots.

In 1310 Edward II was king, and he appointed Robert de Clifford (1st Lord Clifford) the Honour of Skipton, and as Guardian of Craven.  Barden Tower continued as before within the estate but also became the residence for the Cliffords and guests during the hunting of deer and wild boar through the forest.

The 15^th century Wars of the Roses claimed the lives of Thomas Clifford (8^th Lord) and his son John (‘Butcher’ Clifford), supporters of Lancastrians.  During this time John’s son, Henry, was hidden in a remote farming community in Cumbria or Westmorland, for the safety of a surviving Clifford.  With the disastrous result for the Lancastrian cause at Towton, the Cliffords were stripped of their lands and Skipton Castle.  King Henry VI was deposed and the throne seized by the Yorkist Edward IV.  Edward’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, did later capture the throne for himself, as   Richard III, following his occupation of Skipton Castle and the estates.

When Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, the Houses of Lancaster and York had been wiped out and the Welsh emerged as the real victors of the Wars of the Roses, placing Henry Tudor (Henry VII) on the throne, and the Cliffords regained their lands and Skipton Castle.

Henry Clifford, (10^th Lord Clifford, nicknamed the ‘shepherd lord’) established some stability in Barden Forest, rebuilt the Tower in stone and enlarged the structure as a three-storey rectangular tower with a stair turret on the north wall and a projecting rectangular tower on the south wall.  A huge window on the south wall opened onto a first-floor Great Hall and overlooked the great park.   Henry preferred this as his residence rather than Skipton Castle.    At this time, early 16^th century and into 17^th century, Henry also built the Priest’s House and Chapel, including a small tower rising from the Chapel porch which was known as a banqueting tower/belvedere, and the whole complex was encircled by a curtain wall.  The extensive area known as Little Park began to be created, with a kitchen garden, orchards and herb gardens, as well as ornamental gardens.  The considerable workforce was accommodated in a camp/quarters, which have been identified as platforms, terraces and hollow ways.

Barden Tower was attacked and ransacked during the rebellion of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and then suffered serious damage during the Civil War.  Succession had progressed to Lady Anne Clifford (daughter of the 3^rd Earl Cumberland) in 1657, and she commissioned extensive repairs and restorations and extensions during the long years of her ownership, although she rarely resided in the Tower.  However, this major restoration suffered once again, as Lady Anne’s heirs allowed use of the Tower to lapse.  By the end of the 18^th century lead was removed from the roof and the roof timbers taken out, leaving the Tower to crumble, and we are left to wonder what the next dramatic episode will be for Barden Tower.……….Through successive marriages between Earls Cumberland, Burlington and Cavendish, the estate of Bolton Abbey and Barden belong now to the Dukes of Devonshire.

To conclude our visit, we drove along the ancient Howgill Lane with views over the broad landscape, much of which was once dense forest…….and enjoyed our lunch at Brownies cafe.

Phyllida

Almost tucked away on the Bolton Road is the charming little Quaker Meeting House and burial ground, beside a wooded beck and close to the high wall of Farfield Hall, where our group gathered in pleasant sunshine.  We were met by Mr. Chris Skidmore who relayed to us a most interesting historic and atmospheric account of the property, while we sat on the simple benches.  A low gallery allowed seating for the Elders, Overseers and the Minister.  The room was open to the roof where the structural 17^th century beams were exposed, including a crown post which supports the roof in different directions, all built by local craftsmen and labourers as for barns and cottages, plain simplicity with no ornamentation or symbols as is the Quaker expression.  There are simple headstones in the ground, beautifully inscribed, and then there are the large chest tombs topped by inscribed slabs in memory of the Myers family (transgressing the simplicity of Quakers.)  Dates on the burial stones seem confusing as they refer to both the Julian and the Gregorian Calendars.

In 1666 a yeoman farmer called Anthony Myers moved into Farfield Farm, which later became Farfield Hall.  Being a Quaker himself he provided the plot of land to be used as a Quaker burial ground, as the Church declined to bury them, and the building of the Meeting House followed in 1689 at the time of the Toleration Act.  Historic England considered this Meeting House one of ten most important buildings to represent England’s extraordinary history of faith and belief.

George Myers, son of Anthony, inherited the property at Farfield on his father’s death, succeeded by HIS son George who was also the agent of the Bolton Abbey estates and became a personal friend and mentor of the young 3^rd Earl Burlington, Richard Boyle, who was a prominent architect and enthusiast of Palladianism.

Through a succession of short-term inheritances over the last two centuries the

Meeting House has now been acquired by The Friends of Friendless Churches.

Although heavy rain was expected, the sun still shone as we crossed the road to the charming garden of Farfield Cottage,

overlooking the splendid density of mature trees and the River Wharfe, at the invitation of the owner.  We were ushered into a property revealing a strong 17th/18th century structure, with typically thick walls, mullioned windows, a simple stone fireplace, wall presses, old wooden doors, a stone cellar with a dairy slab, and an enthusiastic owner pleased to explain all the necessary improvements she had made.  Contrary to this most interesting interior, the external frontage of the cottage had been completely refaced in the Palladian style of symmetry in the 1720s, (Burlington of course, and almost certainly connected with his ‘improvements’ to Farfield Hall in the 1720s).  All the historic records of structural changes and additions may well be kept at Chatsworth.

We drove then into Addingham and to High Mill down by the river.  The usefully condensed history of the Mill is on their handsome display board :

“High Mill, the oldest of Addingham’s mills, was originally a medieval water-powered cornmill.  The weir built to supply the

water still exists but has been repaired many times following storm damage.  In 1788 the building was extended to include a textile mill which was operated in two parts, with the corn mill still working until the 1870s.  The mill was at times used for spinning cotton, worsted, flax and silk.  Originally owned by the Lords of the Manor, the Vavasours and then the Smiths, the mill and the tenancies of the three parts changed hands as firms prospered and failed.  It was eventually owned by the Cunliffe-Lister family (also owners of Low Mill among other enterprises) until it closed in 1967.  The building was then used by a light engineering firm before being converted into eight houses in 1984.”

(It has been questioned, as the corn was being milled for some considerable time whilst two textile businesses were operating, how much dust from the spinning and weaving would have found its way into the flour?)

One of the inhabitants of High Mill, Chris Cobley, of the Addingham Civic Society and of a Heritage Group, met us by arrangement and very entertainingly expanded on the Mill’s history.  We were able to see where the water entered the building in an arched tunnel running the length of the Mill and its arched exit, powering two ‘internal’ millwheels, (Arkwright’s water frame had been installed, and initially the textile mill used the same water wheel that drove the grinding stones of the corn mill.)  The expansive three-storey high building allowed the lower two floors for workers’ domestic use, the top floor would house the looms.

So, still in sunshine but with dark clouds approaching, we went for our pre-arranged lunch at nearby Hamiltons  –  thanking Ian and Rita for a well-researched, well organised and enjoyable day.

Photos and text by Phyllida

Another good weather day for the outing, thoughtfully planned and executed by Marion and Gayle.

We met at the sandstone mediaeval church, which dates back to the 13^thC and was previously known as St Michael. It is open every day and visitors are welcomed to visit the church. It was the original place of worship in the old parish of Mitton and on the back wall in the church there is a list of rectors which goes back to 1103! In 1954, English Heritage designated All Hallows a Grade I listed building.

It was immediately noticeable that this is a church of several parts.

The plan consists of a nave, a narrower chancel, a north (Shireburne) chapel, a south porch and a west tower. The latter is in three stages, with diagonal buttresses. There is a ring of six bells.

The door leads directly to the font, where beyond that, one can see where the original entrance, now locked off, was. The nave with its Early English Gothic style, was built about 1270. The date of the roof is unknown, but cannot be earlier than the 14^thC. The pews are Jacobean in style, about 1600. The pulpit has panels with Queen Anne moulding, (not earlier than 1730) and the electronic organ is modern, being installed at the time of the Millennium Re-ordering. That re-ordering saw the 15thC tower, bricked up in the 19^thC, opened up again. The gallery where the old organ stood, is now an area for extra seating and meetings.

The chancel was added in about 1295 and has a false ceiling, installed in 1850. Both nave and chancel were tiled in 1845. The rood screen is believed to have come from Sawley Abbey after the dissolution of the monasteries, but could have been Cockersands.

In 1439, a chapel was added on the north side of the church, which was pulled down in 1594 when Sir Richard Shireburne arranged for the present chapel to be built as a family mausoleum. This chapel, divided from the chancel by the Elizabethan screen, contains memorials to the Shireburne family who lived at Stonyhurst.

The Tower was added in the early 15^thC.

Great Mitton Hall and Little Mitton Hall

Mitton Bridge built around 1900, crosses over the River Ribble below Great Mitton Hall. The bridge once connected the Yorkshire side of Great Mitton and the Lancashire side of Little Mitton. Since 1974, both sides are in the county of Lancashire, township of Mitton.

Great Mitton Hall, next to the church, was built in the 14^thC and was the site of the original manor house of the de Mittons, who remained as manor lords until 1310. The close proximity of the manor house and the church was how the Normans first built their manors, as they were the local parish priest as well as manor lords.

Great Mitton Hall in the 14^thC, would probably have been built as an H configuration. One side would have been for the servants with a cross hall to service the manor lord family. The structure would have been made of wattle and daub, with a wooden frame. Later, in the 17^thC, the stone façade was made over the original Tudor style house for fire prevention.

We were lucky enough to be spotted in the churchyard looking at her property by Jean Kay. Jean generously invited us all access in to her garden and we were able to obtain super photos of the house and the beautiful garden she has cultivated over the last 16 years. She and her husband Ken open up their garden to the public once a year to raise money for charities. The garden was to be opened that coming weekend.

Close by, on the other side of the river, is Little Mitton Hall built by Ralph Catterall in the 1480s. The “Little” has now been dropped and since 1974, just called Mitton Hall. It was purchased in 1860 by John Aspinall, member of another well-known local family, who rebuilt and added to the original building. The crowning glory of Mitton Hall is the magnificent oak-panelled Great Gall. A minstrels gallery runs eight feet above the floor and the west wall features an original stone fireplace containing a priest hole discovered in 1874.

During WWII the hall was used to house officers of the Third Field Training Regiment and dances were held in the upstairs ballroom. It later became an hotel, then a club and currently is an hotel and restaurant. We repaired there for refreshments after our next exciting venue.

Stonyhurst College and Hall Barns

On then to Stonyhurst College for a talk from Marion about the history of the college, as we sat in the sun outside the college Chapel.

Stonyhurst is a co-educational public school adhering to the Jesuit tradition. The earliest deed concerning Stanihurst is held in the college Arundell Library and dates from approximately 1200. In 1372, a licence was granted to John de Bayley for an oratory on the site. His descendants, the Shireburne family, completed the oldest portion of the extant buildings. Richard Shireburne began building the hall, which was enlarged by his grandson Nicholas, who also constructed the ponds, avenue and gardens. The estate passed after his death to his wife and then to their daughter Mary, Duchess of Norfolk.

The school goes back to the days when English boys were unable to receive a Catholic education in Elizabethan England, so were educated in expatriate schools on the European mainland. After a complicated history, the Jesuits running these schools were forced to flee and moved to Stonyhurst in 1794. Over the next century student numbers rose and by the turn of the following century, it had become England’s largest Catholic college. A seminary was constructed on the estate and an observatory and meteorological station erected in the gardens.

Many changes in both buildings and teaching have happened over subsequent years and famous alumni include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Laughton and former DG of the BBC, Mark Thompson. Stonyhurst has a strong sporting tradition and has produced Rugby World Cup winners, as well as famous faces in science, music and academics.

But the piece de resistance awaited us just a five-minute stroll away at Hall Barn Farm (courtesy of the tenant farmers there). The large cruck barn at Hall Barns looks fairly ordinary from the outside, with its patchwork of later stone walls and garage type sliding door. Cruck frames support the roof directly from the ground, so you can’t always tell from the walls what is

inside………

Five pairs of crucks shoot up in to the gloom. They are joined by very high collars and have two spurs supporting the timber wall posts which are now almost hidden in the stone walls.

The blades measure at least one foot by two feet at the base and are at least 24 feet tall.

And lucky cows still get to winter there!

Words by Judith

Photos by Judith and Phyllida

St Peter’s Church in East Marton is a small Dales church hidden in a fold of the hills at the point where the Pennine Way, marking the spine of England, crosses the Leeds-Liverpool canal on its journey across the country from east to west. The parish likes to think of itself as the intersection of the cross that marks the centre of the nation! The church was grade II listed in 1954.

Built of stone with a slate roof, St Peters has a rich history dating back to the 12^thcentury. The oldest part of the church is the broad tower which is a notable example of Norman architecture. The belfry has a ring of three bells. Further examples of Norman work, including the zig-zag marking of their arches, can be seen in a number of stones in the north and east walls of the church.

Another piece of possible Norman work is the massive font leading to the door to the Tower. This was the subject of much discussion! It could have been that earlier decoration or pictorial carving has been hacked off on four sides and that the original drain was taken out to one side. Afterwards, I read that the Victorian restorers had drilled a new drain through the centre, placed it on an old grinding wheel supported by three round stones.

There are 17^th century boards with the Creed, 10 Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer on the wall behind this.

On the altar steps under the carpet, is a carved crusader’s sword. Possibly from a crusaders tomb and relocated?

The early 19^th century saw Richard Heber as Lord of the Manor and his brother Reginald as Bishop of Calcutta and author of many glorious hymns. You’ll probably sing along when I mention “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty” and “Brightest and Best”. Richard was perhaps the greatest book collector of all time, but his enthusiasm bankrupted the estate.

The Roundells purchased all the lands in West and East Marton belonging to the Hebers in 1841. The Roundell and Heber families previously to this owned nearly the whole of the parish of Martons Both in equal moieties and there are several memorials to them in the church.

Gledstone House had been commissioned by Richard Roundell around 1770 and the family eventually sold Gledstone along with 5,700 acres of estate in 1923 to Sir Amos Nelson, a self-made cotton magnate from Colne.

A new Hall was built for Amos, designed by Edwin Lutyens between 1925 and 1927. Gledstone House was demolished, but the stables of the house survive, converted into an estate office and house in 1976. They were also built about 1770 and is a Grade II listed building under the name Old Gledstone.

For much of the late 20^th century, Gledstone Hall served as a nursing home, but has since been reconverted back into a family home.

Sandie had not only brought our party of 13 to the church with all its marvellous history, but also arranged for us to visit Amos Nelson’s son, David ( a former High Sheriff of North Yorkshire) and his wife Armoral at Old Gledstone.

Its exterior is square in plan and built in stone, with an archway with clocktower above, through to the courtyard. This is where the unexpected happens! One is wowed by the sight which reveals the circular interior, built of wonderful brickwork. The courtyard has a continuous arcade of 16 elliptical arches with stone bases. Local legend has it that the Stables were built larger than would normally be required as they were capable of accommodating a troop of cavalry with local militia men and equipment. Also that the bricks may have come from local brickworks on land owned by the Roundells.

 

 

Our hosts very kindly showed us around some of the conversion which made up their home of nearly 50 years, a conversion which took three years. It was a wonderful experience for us all to see how the round house….wasn’t!

Words by Judith

Photos by Judith and Phyllida.

Ten members met at the 18th century stone bridge, with it’s outwardly curved ends and cylindrical stone pillars in the village of Austwick.  An old settlement built on a line of springs and the north and south Craven fault.  Listed in the Domesday book as ‘Ousteurvic’, which means ‘eastern dairy farm’; old Scandinavian Austr ‘eastern’ and old English ‘wic’ dwellings or specialised farm.

There is a concentration of datestones from the 1690’s to 1720’s and many uses of Silurian slate, quarried at nearby Helwith Bridge are found here, including footpaths, stiles, gateposts, clapper bridges (the largest collection of well preserved in England are found here);  it is also widely used in buildings, roofs, floors, interior dividing walls, shelves in butteries and privy seats.

We were given a brief tour of the interesting features of Beck House,  which has evidence of several stages of building from 17th Century, with a date of 1761 and initials TA on its front door jamb.  A rare survival here is a privy built into the garden wall and overhanging the beck, probably inserted when the house was gentrified in the 19 century.

Next crossing two clapper bridges, we came to Harden Cottage which has an elaborate door hood with a date stone of 1719 and a large buttress on either side of the south entrance for extra support, due to the Craven fault. On the north side of the cottage, the top right window head has the rare inscription ‘Cheese Room’. Dairies were exempt from the window tax levied from 1696 to 1851.

The property names paint a good picture of times past:  the Smithy, The Cuddy (a small room), Old Joiners shop, The Weaving Shed, The Old School, the Poor House and The Old Reading Room, where the village horse drawn hearse was housed below.  Battle Hill with it’s storeyed porch, a curved wall and stone stairs to the upper floor, (a rare feature in the Dales) original studded door and lintel dated 1763 where a skirmish had taken place and Bonnie Prince Charlie is reputed to have stayed.

We were given an interesting talk about the complex changes made to the front of Austwick Hall, previously owned by the Inglebys;  cousins to the Ingleby family at Ripley Castle.  They contributed generously to the village, including paying for the Church, which was originally conceived as a lecture hall and converted to a church dedicated to the Epiphany in 1839.

Cock fighting took place in a pit between Austwick Hall and The Game Cock Inn,  banned in 1835.  At one point there were four public houses in the village, which probably led to the building of 3 storeyed Northcliffe House for the Independent Order of the Rechabites, a friendly society founded in 1835 to promote total abstinence from alcohol.

We finished our tour at the lovely village green in front of the Game Cock Inn, where we enjoyed a drink and cake, never having solved the mystery of the blocked window with a large stone on the gable end of the old Post Office

This April sunny day displayed the grandeur of this old church of St. Andrew and the surrounding ‘park’ of memorial stones.   Known as ’Lang Kirk’, the ancient weathered stonework of this extended church reveals features of skilled masons and carpenters from centuries past, the oldest part of the current building being 11th/12th century.  It stands on a hill overlooking the Aire valley where routes have long converged and the river bridged, the village of Kildwick clustered around.  The age-old history of this site of worship is easily understood, and inspired our interest.

Before even the Conquest and the Domesday survey, in a period of late Anglo-Saxons, evidence has been revealed of an early church, of wood and thatch, wattle and daub, but with a stone altar.  Sections of Pre-Norman stone crosses and of early pillars were re-used in restoration work, the crosses of Scandinavian design dated 9th/10th century, with skilled celtic patterns clearly visible.  From the time between 1135 and 1140 when Cecily de Romilly granted the church to the Priory at Embsay, progressing to Bolton Priory until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the ‘ownership’ of the church was with the following Lords of the Manor or the Crown, then the stewardship of joined parishes Kildwick, Cononley and Bradley.

Restorations and expansions took place during 1320, the mid-15th century, the 16^th century, resulting in the church being abnormally long, headed by its 14^th Century tower.

Evidence of all these generations exist in the church today – the magnificent 16^th century oak roof beams and trusses, the Eltofte 14^th century box pew, 17^th century pews and general woodwork throughout, beautifully and skillfully carved, the stained glass windows revealing the Coats of Arms of de Romilly, the Priors of Bolton Priory, and relevant prominent families such as Currer, Eltofte, Swire.

Externally, in a churchyard of beautiful spring flowers, are many very interesting gravestones, including commonwealth war graves, and an amazingly finely detailed stone replica organ marking the final resting place of John Laycock, an organ builder from Glusburn.

In 2021 St. Andrews was designated as a major parish church, a Grade II listed building, which makes a ‘considerable civic, cultural and economic contribution to their community.’  Our History Group absorbed the experience with considerable interest, and were grateful for the company of Graham Taylor who has much knowledge of the church, and is leader of the Farnhill and Kildwick History Group.

Phyllida