The History of St John the Baptist Church, Knaresborough

A talk by our chairman – Brian Forshaw – There may have been a church here in the late Saxon period but the first written record we have comes from 1114 when Henry I granted the church at ‘Cnaresburgh’ to the canons of Nostell Priory. In 1318 Scottish raiders destroyed much of Knaresborough, including the church. It was still in a poor state a decade later in 1328 when Edward III spent part of his honeymoon with Queen Philippa at Knaresborough Castle. The king promised his new bride that he would give money to rebuild the church. It’s 800 years since the first recorded occasion when the sovereign distributed Maundy alms. That was in Knaresborough in 1210 when King John distributed garments, forks, food, and other gifts to the poor of the town. On Easter Saturday, 3 April 2010, Knaresborough marked the 800th anniversary of the first Maundy ceremony. The bells were first hung in 1774 and the present clock was installed in 1884. The face carries St.Paul’s phrase, “redeeming the time”

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