Thanks for dropping in on our website; it’s good to welcome you. It would also be good to see you at one of the many events and services we hold here at Saint Alkelda. We’re a friendly bunch who believe that getting to know God is exciting and should involve having fun. We certainly don’t know all the answers but we’re happy to talk about and explore all the difficult issues.
Here at Saint Alkelda we try to help each other to develop our potential, achieve our aspirations and meet our needs. We also visit the sick, take care of the elderly and welcome all who come through our doors whoever you are, whatever your lifestyle, whatever your background, wherever you come from you are always welcome in Saint Alkelda.
We engage with the community
Our church members are very active with charities and groups around Giggleswick and Settle. You will see people in church on a Sunday and then in the week helping re-cycle paper to raise funds to keep the swimming pool open, welcoming people at the Folly, a local historic building. Go into the Tourist Information Centre, one of the local charity shops, or if you have meals on wheels delivered it is very possible you’ll be met by a smile from someone who worships at Saint Alkelda. We get everywhere.
We worship God
We have regular Sunday services in the morning and evening. They are of different styles using the Book of Common Prayer, Common Worship, our own worship booklets for themed services and also an informal freer style.
We believe we offer a variety of ways to engage with God that will meet the needs of many people.
We have are Home Groups to help people explore issues in more depth. They meet at different times of the day and week.
We have a robed choir that enhances our worship with a highly skilled organist and choir master.
We share God’s message
Many of our congregation help in our local schools and a dedicated group organises and delivers the ‘Open the Book’ scheme. By reading and acting out some of the well known Bible stores the children are able to make some choices for their lives
Members of the church also lead workshops after school time leading up to the major festivals such as Harvest, Christmas and Easter. A weekly After School Cub is about to start.
We have concern for others
* We are a Fair Trade registered church
* We support ‘Operation Christmas Child Shoe box’ appeal by sending Christmas gifts abroad.
* We respond to urgent needs for cash from charities.
* We give a proportion of our income each year to local, national and international charities.
* We collect stamps to send to a charity.
* Many of our members help out in charity shops and the meals on wheels service
We care about the environment
We make sure we re-cycle all we can and although we have an ancient building we do our best to conserve energy. Our vast church yard is managed to support wild life and we support the local efforts in conserving the beautiful flora and fauna in our countryside.
We have fun
Our Social Team organise many event for us to enjoy each other’s company and have a good laugh. Quiz evenings, family games nights and outings are all good fun, most involve food!
We have an unusual name
The church is one of only two (the other being at Middleham in Wensleydale) dedicated to St Alkelda. Tradition has it that Alkelda was a Saxon lady martyred for her Christian faith by pagan Danish women.
Two stained glass windows in the church commemorate St Alkelda. Her name and her existence as a historical personage have given rise to much speculation. There are a number of wells and springs in and around Giggleswick, including the famous Ebbing and Flowing well on Buckhaw Brow. It is maintained by some that because of the local wells and springs, Giggleswick and its church were places of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages. A cast lead figurine (c. Iron Age) was found in Bank Well, suggesting a site sacred from pagan times.
Rivers, wells and springs were sacred places for the Celtic peoples. It was the custom of the early Christian Church to "baptise unto Christ" any site formerly used for pagan practices.
An Old English name for spring or well is keld and the name Alkelda is very much like haeligkeld - Old English for holy well. Certainly, Alkelda as the patron saint of Giggleswick did not appear in a written record until the later Middle Ages. The Benedictine monks of Finchale Priory, Durham, who were meticulous historians and who held the patronage of Giggleswick from the early 13th century up to the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century, never associated the church with the name of any saint, but yet Alkelda is herself a powerful symbol of a Christian presence since Anglo-Saxon times.
We have an interesting past
From earliest times until the the 19th century when the parishes of Stainforth, Settle, Rathmell and Langcliffe were formed, the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Giggleswick covered an area of nearly 30 square miles, from Stainforth in the north to Rathmell in the south. The history of the glorious mellow church in the centre of Giggleswick village spans over 1000 years. The present building dates mostly from the 15th century, but carved stones discovered during the restoration of 1890-2 indicated that a building existed on the site before the Norman Conquest. Certainly, both the exterior and interior of the church and its tranquil, beautiful setting convey to regular worshippers and visitors alike an atmosphere of prayer and worship rooted in many centuries of dedicated practice.
If the stones could speak they would tell of the violent days of the Scottish raids when, during the 14th century, the church was burnt down, and of the Wars of the Roses - the body of Sir Richard Tempest (c1425-88) knighted at the battle of Wakefield in 1460, lies buried with the head of his favourite charger, in a vault of the church.
During the mid 1530s in the turbulent reign of Henry VIII, a notice calling the men of Craven to arms in defence of the "old religion", was nailed to the church door.
This ill fated uprising, known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, resulted in the execution of Stephen Hammerton, one of the local gentry and an instigator of the rebellion. Renovations done in the 19th century uncovered sections of a fire-blackened wall, which give credence to the tradition that during the Civil War, the church was used as a billet for Cromwell's troops. After the troubled years of the 17th century, the church and its large parish settled down to a period of peace and tranquillity which continues undisturbed even in these days of momentous change.
We have a beautiful building to enjoy
Amongst a wealth of fascinating items in the church, there is:
a superbly carved 17th century oak pulpit and lectern - the remaining 2 parts of a 3 decker pulpit-, a communion rail of the same period, and a quaint Poor box carved with the words Remember the Pore.
An elegant early 18th century candelabrum suspended above the nave, comes into its own on major festivals when all its candles are lit.
A striking feature of the interior is the magnificent, late 19th century stained glass east window, which must be one of the finest of any in Dales churches.In the 1970s, members of the Mothers' Union and friends of the church, gathered to embroider kneelers for the altar rail, choir stalls and Memorial chapel. These beautiful kneelers, admired by the many visitors, were designed by Guy Barton.We look to the future with confidence
We have ambitious plans to open up the West end of the church to create usable space for the local community. When completed we will be able to offer an area for use by the local schools, meetings, workshops and recreation. We’re excited by what God is doing through us, why not come along and see for yourself?