A Brief History of St Andrew’s Church, Kildwick 

The story of Kildwick and its parish church is deeply rooted in the landscape of Craven. In early Saxon times this area was heavily wooded, known as Kirk Wood, and remained largely forested for centuries. One remarkable survival from this period is the ancient oak chest still kept in the church vestry, hewn from a single tree and likely dating from the earliest days of Christian worship on the site.

By the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, Kildwick was already recognised as an established settlement with a church, surrounded by scattered farming communities. Over the medieval period, the parish grew to become one of the largest in the region, covering what are now many separate towns and villages, including Silsden, Steeton, Bradley, Cowling, Sutton-in-Airedale, and others. For centuries, St Andrew’s served as the mother church for this wide area.

Much of Kildwick’s medieval history is bound up with the Augustinian Canons of Embsay, later Bolton Priory, who were granted the manor and lands at Kildwick in perpetual alms. The church and village remained under monastic care until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540, when the manor passed into private ownership, changing hands among notable local families such as the Currers, Richardsons, and later the Wilsons of Eshton Hall.

Despite these changes, the parish church continued as the spiritual heart of the community. Parish records from the seventeenth century paint a vivid picture of rural life, including payments for controlling wild animals and birds of prey, reminders of how remote and untamed the area once was.

By the nineteenth century, population growth and industrial change led to the creation of new parishes, gradually reducing Kildwick to its present boundaries of Kildwick, Farnhill, and parts of Crosshills. Even so, St Andrew’s retained its historic significance as the original centre from which many surrounding churches emerged.

Today, St Andrew’s Church stands as a witness to more than a thousand years of Christian worship, rooted in the landscape, shaped by generations of parishioners, and continuing its calling at the heart of the community.