Church Of St Alkelda, Giggleswick
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The Church of St Alkelda, Giggleswick (historically St Alkald), is an
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in the village of
Giggleswick Giggleswick, a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, lies on the B6480 road, less than north-west of the town of Settle and divided from it by the River Ribble. It is the site of Giggleswick School. Until 1974 it was part ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
, England. St Alkelda's was the mother church for the extended parish of Giggleswick, until the church in Settle was built in 1838, and later became a separate parish. The dedication of the church is to a little-known
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
princess (
Alkelda Saint Alkelda (, "healing spring"; died on 28 March c. 800), also spelt Alcelda or Alchhild, was ostensibly an Anglo-Saxon princess of whom almost nothing is known and whose existence has been questioned. Alternative origins Legend has it tha ...
) with connections to a religious site in
Middleham Middleham ( ; meaning "middle ''ham''", i.e. "middle village") is a market town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream fr ...
, North Yorkshire, with much speculation as to how the dedication arrived at the church in Giggleswick. The church is still in use as a place of worship.


History

A church is believed to have existed on the site of St Alkelda's since Saxon times, however, the church that stands today is largely from the 14th and 15th centuries, with alterations and renovations in the late 19th and early 21st centuries. A previous church is believed to have been destroyed by marauding scots . The first documented reference to a church in Giggleswick was in 1160, when "Laurentius, persona de Guckilswic", mentioned the site in a letter written to
William de Percy William I (Willame) de Percy (d. 1096/9), 1st English feudal barony, feudal baron of Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, Topcliffe in North Yorkshire, known as (Old French, meaning 'with whiskers'), was a Normans, Norman nobleman who arrived in England i ...
. The church is one of only two that are dedicated to St Alkelda in England, the other, is in
Middleham Middleham ( ; meaning "middle ''ham''", i.e. "middle village") is a market town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream fr ...
, also in North Yorkshire. Alkelda was a Saxon princess who was said to have been strangled by two Danish women during the Viking invasions. The name Alkelda, is said to derive from either ''Alchhild'' or ''Halig Keld'', the latter name has been associated with holy springs. Such a spring existed in Giggleswick, being the source of the now drained Giggleswick Tarn. It is possible that the name Alkelda stems from this spring. Another possibility is that the church had an early association with the church of the same name at Middleham. Alkelda is believed to have been buried at Middleham, and that the church at Giggleswick became a daughter house of worship to the church there, after the
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
n kings took over lands in the Craven area . Records show that the church at Giggleswick was given by Henry de Puteaco in 1200, to the monks at Finchale, near
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
. It was still in the possession of Finchale thirty years before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, where a document indicates that the church belonged to the "prior and convent of Durham". In 1507, a record indicates the granting of half an acre of land to build "a gramar scole icfor boys". Staff and pupils from the adjacent
Giggleswick School Giggleswick School is a public school (English private boarding and day school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England. Early school In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior and Co ...
attended services at the church, even paying for gas to be installed for later afternoon services when their numbers threatened to overwhelm the local population. The renovation of 1880 was paid for with money raised from the current and former pupils at the school. This continued until 1901, when the school opened up its own chapel. Architecturally, the style of the church ranges between Early English and
Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', ⟠...
, being described as "..a spacious and handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower." Most of the glass in the church dates from the 15th century when it was renovated, but a newer piece was installed in the 2010s. Whilst looking through the parish room, two churchwardens discovered a stained glass window depicting St Alkelda being strangled by a sash held by two priestly hands, whilst she was suspended over water. This was later dated to between 1920 and 1930, but no other provenance came to light. The window was later installed in the church. The organ, built by
Abbott and Smith Abbott and Smith were a firm of organ builders based in Leeds, England from 1869 to 1964. History Isaac Abbott established the firm in Leeds in 1869. He had worked for William Hill & Sons, William Hill in London for 20 years. Another Hill emplo ...
, was installed in 1892 and extensively renovated in 2005 by a company based in
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
. The church is linked to the only other Anglican Church dedicated to St Alkelda in Yorkshire, the
Church of St Mary and St Alkelda, Middleham The Church of St Mary and St Alkelda is a Church of England parish church in Middleham, Richmondshire, North Yorkshire. The church is a grade I listed building, and it dates from the 13th century. History The church was made a collegiate church i ...
, via the St Alkelda's Way. In 2020, the church gained permission to install solar panels on its roof to help it save energy and reduce its carbon footprint. No objections were raised by official bodies such as
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
, as the panels are on a roof that cannot be viewed from ground level.


Churchyard

St Alkelda's was the only official burial place for the parish until the early 19th century. Various estimates have concluded that thousands may have been buried there over the intermediate centuries. The TV chat-show host,
Russell Harty Frederic Russell Harty (5 September 1934 – 8 June 1988) was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat show host. Early life Harty was born in Blackburn, Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremon ...
, was buried in the churchyard in 1988.


Parish and benefice

The first reference to clergy is as far back as 1160, when the parish was in the
Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ar ...
. In 1836, the parish was transferred into the
Diocese of Ripon The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...
, before moved again into the
Diocese of Bradford The Diocese of Bradford is a former Church of England diocese within the Province of York. The diocese covered the area of the City of Bradford, Craven district, the former Sedbergh Rural District now in Cumbria and the parts of the Lancashi ...
, in 1919. In 2014, it was moved into the newer Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales. This, in turn, became the Diocese of Leeds in April 2016. Despite
Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an in ...
being the main market town in the area, St Alkelda's was always the mother church, until the Church of Holy Ascension was built in Settle in 1838. The ancient parish that St Alkelda's was responsible for, consisted of over and included; Giggleswick,
Langcliffe Langcliffe is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, in England. It lies to the north of Settle, North Yorkshire, Settle and east of Giggleswick. The River Ribble runs along the west of the village. Langcliffe lies with ...
, Rathmell with Wigglesworth, Settle, and Stainforth. Giggleswick was the ecclesiastical parish town until 1851, when Langcliffe was created as its own parish, with the same happening to Settle in 1898. St Alkelda's now serves the smaller ecclesiastical Parish of Giggleswick (parish code 460172), and had a weekly attendance of 40 in 2018.


Clergy

Records are from Genuki and Whitaker's ''The history and antiquities of the deanery of Craven, in the county of York''. * †Died in office * ‡Resigned office * ♦
Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
between incumbent and previous when dates are incorrect, period appears too long or records are incomplete.


Notes


References


Sources

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External links


St Alkelda's Way webpageBenefice of Settle (requires subscription) Scanned mapping from 1848–1857, which shows the church as St Alkald
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giggleswick, St Alkelda Grade I listed churches in North Yorkshire Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire Churches in Craven, Yorkshire
Alkelda Saint Alkelda (, "healing spring"; died on 28 March c. 800), also spelt Alcelda or Alchhild, was ostensibly an Anglo-Saxon princess of whom almost nothing is known and whose existence has been questioned. Alternative origins Legend has it tha ...