St Andrew
Kildwick, Yorkshire
With a history reaching to the dawn of Christianity in Craven, this magnificent building tells a thousand year story with mediaeval piety and Tudor jerry building.
It is the parish church for the town and as such is involved in many major events in the town. There was no trace of a church in the Domesday Survey but it is thought that Robert de Romille, founded the church when he built the first Skipton Castle.
Holy Trinity church is situated at the top of Skipton High Street, perfectly placed to witness the life of this town. We are there for the community, and for visitors, from the moment they are born and right through life. As the town's parish church we are involved in a number of civic events through the year.
The church has a wide programme of services, groups and events, along with a shop and café, and is situated in a beautiful building which has a number of interesting features.
In his ‘History of the Antiquities of Craven’ (published in 1805) Dr Whitaker mentions ‘in the year 1120, this church, with the chapel at Carleton and village of Embsay, formed the original endowment of the priory of Embsay, by William de Meschines and Cecilia his wife’. Cecilia was the daughter of Robert de Romille.
The original church would have been a small building. It was not until the 14th century that enlargement occurred, when a tower was added together with aisles to the north and south which were also extended westwards to join the original building to the walls of the tower. In the late 15th century the church was further enlarged with the addition of the choir and aisles.
In 1483, on accession to the throne, Richard III, formerly Lord of Castle and Honour of Skipton, ordered the payment of £20 towards repair of the parish church.
The church was badly damaged by Parliamentary forces in the Civil War. It was repaired by Lady Anne Clifford even before she started repairing her ancestral home, Skipton Castle.
Her records show that ‘In the Summer of 1655 whilst there she was at Appleby Castle, at her own charge she caus’d the steeple of Skipton Church to be built up againe, which was pulled down in the time of the late Warrs, and leaded it over and then repaired some part of the church and new Glaz’d the Windows, in every of which she put quaries, stained with a yellow Colour, viz, A P, and under them the year 1655…’.
