St. Mary's Church, Kettlewell
 

Saint Mary’s Church, Kettlewell, 5 April 2009

The present church building was consecrated on 8th September 1885, St Mary's Day.

Previously there was an eighteenth century building which was found unsafe and apart from the tower, demolished in 1882.

Before that there was a Norman building which was probably rendered unfit by the great flood of 1686.

The Lychgate

The Lychgate was erected in November 1921 by George and Mabel Holdsworth in thanksgiving for their marriage. They had extended Scargill House in which to raise their family.

The Tower

The Tower is all that remains of the eighteenth century building. It houses three bells, and its clock was provided by Mrs Arthur Hodgson in memory of her husband in 1927.

The Bells

The Bells in the tower are as shown in the table below. Note that they celebrated their 150th anniversary in 2009.

For up to date information from Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, visit http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?DoveID=KETTLEWELL .

The Font

The Font is all that remains of the original Norman Church.
It has a boar's head carving, the badge of the Nevilles, on one corner and the fleur-de-lys, the badge of Mary, on the other three.

The Framed Document

The Framed Document on the screen at the back of the church refers to an award of half of St Mary's income in 1380 to the monks of Coverham, to save their priory from closure.

The Holdsworth Windows

The Holdsworth Windows

The Holdsworth Windows can be seen immediately to the left of the entrance and opposite. They commemorate the lives of John and Michael Holdsworth of Scargill House.

The larger window is dedicated to the memory of Major John Holdsworth M.C. [9 March 1920 - 2 March 1945] who died in Belgium in 1945 while serving with the King's Royal Rifle Corps. It shows John with St George slaying the dragon representing the old enemy death and sin. They are flanked by St Francis feeding the birds, and St Hubert, a German saint who, it was reputed, saved a stag from the hounds.

The window opposite shows Lieut. Michael Holdsworth [10 February 1921 - 24 February 1942] in the Fleet Air Arm, flanked by St Michael and St Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors.
The image looks nothing like him; and the plaque underneath has his age incorrect, as he was just a fortnight past his 21st birthday when he lost his life.

The Altar Window

The Altar Window shows the figure of Christ appearing to soldiers resting in the trenches before the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
The window was given in memory of Godfrey Cutliffe Hyne who at the age of eighteen was mortally wounded in the battle and lies buried in the churchyard.
His sister Nan, Miss Nancy Mildred Cutliffe Hyne, died on 26 December 1999, in her 97th year, and now lies with him.

The Altar

The Altar is made of English Oak and was consecrated by the Bishop of Bradford on 8th September 1985.
It is the work of Colin Almack, a pupil of Thompson, the "Mouseman".
Mr. Almack's symbol, a beaver, can be found at the base of the left hand side of the Altar.
Thompson's mouse surmounts the brass commemorative plaque beside the Cockerill window opposite.

From the Photograph Album