Knaresborough United Reform Church
Happy Good Friday to those who partake in these celebrations. For our family it is a chance to unwind, reflect, and eagerly await the apparition of the crosses on Sugar Loaf Hill. However to some it is a religious occasion and to others it is another day off. In all honesty we're spending this weekend juggling exchanging on our new house and trying to relax...
Regardless of how you wish to spend today, we have an Easter treat in store. It isn't chocolate, but it is a trio of churches, each with a different congregation. A rare opportunity arose where we visited three quite different churches within the same place so it seemed fitting to use them as our special across the three holy days.
Knaresborough United Reform Church has stood here since it was constructed in the late 1864, although it didn't have this name at the time. A church was founded for the spot in the late 17th century, but the chapel that stands today came in 1864/5 of course in the Gothic style complete with spire.
It has been adapted a few times over the last few centuries to meet several styles of worship and it was a congregational chapel until 1972 which is when the United Reformed Church took over. Non-conformity worship had come to the area in the mid-1600s and even Oli Cromwell and his Puritan army were unable to stop it when they took Knaresborough Castle in 1644 as Congregationalists were still meeting in 1645.
When the Five-Mile act of 1664 came into law when the Stuarts were restored to the throne in 1660, there was a bit of a problem. The act meant that dissenting ministers could not preach within five miles of a town or city that they were used to preaching in. So as a result there were a lack of meeting places for the church within Knaresborough for the Congregationalists. However, they stuck with their beliefs and waited it out until the Act of Toleration in 1689 which led to them being able to have a chapel within Knaresborough.
We imagine the thatched barn that was given to them for their meeting space wasn't exactly what they had in mind, but Lady Sarah Hewley seemed to have gone out on a limb to secure the space and make it comfortable for them. When she died she bequeathed the barn and a dwelling house to them along with a legacy which can still be used by Knaresborough Independents. It was this barn which was the original chapel, and the one we see today is the improved version.
Reverend William Howell arrived in 1778 and agreed to stay on for 5 years. As part of the agreement to secure him, a new chapel was decided. As it was, the new chapel was built where the barn had stood and Rev Howell ended up staying 57 years instead of 5 as it was his vision to see all 260 seats filled. This goal was met in 1812 as church records show that both morning and evening meetings were full to capacity.
1864 brought the decision that the church was unsuitable for the growing congregation. A fundraiser was held and a year later when the new chapel was constructed the church was opened and there it has stood ever since, with various different religious uses ever since.
We thought this one was a bit of a stand out church, as it is connected to the arch that leads to another church around the back! Holy Trinity Church is 1 minutes walk away, but we'll go into that next!
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