St John the Baptist Church is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

located in

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

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 ...

. It is the largest church in the town.

History

Records of a church on this site date back to at least 1114 when records from

Nostell Priory Nostell Priory is a Palladian house in Nostell, West Yorkshire, in England, near Crofton and on the road to Doncaster from Wakefield. It dates from 1733 and was built for the Winn family on the site of a medieval priory. The Priory and its co ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

show that King Henry I granted the "Church at Cnaresburgh" to the canons at Nostell. The church was originally dedicated to

St Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

but was changed to its current name in the 16th century following reform after the

English reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

. The bells were hung in 1774 and the clock erected in 1884. On 5 February 1952 the church was designated a

grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Present day

The church is located off Church Lane close to the North bank of the

River Nidd The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. It rises in Nidderdale at Nidd Head Spring on the slopes of Great Whernside. In its first few miles it has been dammed three times, creating Angram Rese ...

. The church was the seat of the

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

Bishop of Knaresborough. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Knaresborough is part of the Archdeaconry of Richmond and Craven in the Diocese of Leeds.

Gallery

St John the Baptist, Knaresborough (4991316292).jpg , The tower Interior of St John the Baptist Church, Knaresborough (19th March 2013) 001.JPG , Nave Interior of St John the Baptist Church, Knaresborough (19th March 2013) 003.JPG , Chancel Stained glass window, Knaresborough Parish Church (29214167064).jpg , Stained glass window

References

External links

Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knaresborough, St John the Baptist Anglican Diocese of Leeds Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire Grade I listed churches in North Yorkshire

St John Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People Saints * John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John the Evangelis ...

History

Present day

See also

Gallery

References

External links