St. Mary’s Church is a beautiful historic site set in a wooded area overlooking Pateley Bridge. Now in ruins, it was the parish church of Pateley Bridge until 1827.

There was first mention of a parochial chapel here in 1320, although it is possible there was one earlier. The original building suggests a simple almost square form with small two-light windows except for the east window, which has four lights divided by a transom. Part of the church was reconstructed in the 17th century, and the tower was added in 1691.

In 1724 a faculty was granted for a gallery; in fact, there were three galleries and the square blocks of stone standing above the floor level most probably carried pillars to support them.

The church began to fall into decay at the start of the 19th century and it was closed in 1826 when it became too small for the congregation, too expensive to repair and too inconvenient to reach.

There are 231 memorials in the churchyard, some dating back to the 17th century. Two are listed, including one to Mr Purse, an octagonal shaft on an octagonal plinth (2m approx. to SE of chancel) and one to Thomas Green (approx. 2m to W of tower), with an interesting skull and crossbones design.

Access to the church and churchyard is via a small gate off Old Church Lane, at the top of Pateley Bridge High Street. The church tower is often open as part of ‘Heritage Open Days’ in September.

More information: Moody, Joanna. St. Mary the Virgin: Church Green: Pateley Bridge. Nidderdale Museum Society, 2015, p/b, 32 pages, 21 x 15 cm, £2.00, ISBN 978-0-9928508-1-4. Copies are available at the Nidderdale Museum, Pateley Bridge.