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From earliest times until the the 19th century when the parishes of Stainforth, Settle, Rathmell and Langcliffe were formed, the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Giggleswick covered an area of nearly 30 square miles, from Stainforth in the north to Rathmell in the south. The history of the glorious mellow church in the centre of Giggleswick village spans over 1000 years. The present building dates mostly from the 15th century, but carved stones discovered during the restoration of 1890-2 indicated that a building existed on the site before the Norman Conquest. Certainly, both the exterior and interior of the church and its tranquil, beautiful setting convey to regular worshippers and visitors alike an atmosphere of prayer and worship rooted in many centuries of dedicated practice.
During the mid 1530s
in the turbulent reign of Henry VIII, a notice calling the men of Craven to arms in defence of the "old religion", was
nailed to the church door. This ill fated uprising, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, resulted in the execution of Stephen
Hammerton, one of the local gentry and an instigator of the rebellion. Renovations done in the 19th century uncovered
sections of a fire-blackened wall, which give credence to the tradition that during the Civil War, the church was used as a
billet for Cromwell's troops. After the troubled years of the 17th century, the church and its large parish settled down to
a period of peace and tranquillity which continues undisturbed even in these days of momentous change.
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SOME HISTORICAL DETAIL
If the stones could speak they would tell of the violent days of the Scottish raids when, during the 14th century, the
church was burnt down, and of the Wars of the Roses - the body of Sir Richard Tempest (c1425-88) knighted at the battle
of Wakefield in 1460, lies buried with the head of his favourite charger, in a vault of the church.
