ST. BOTOLPH'S CHURCH

PARISH OF KNOTTINGLEY

The exact date of the establishment of St. Botolph's church is not clear. The earliest architectural feature dates the church from the Roman period but that does not mean that the church did not exist before that time.

Although the Domesday Book of 1086 makes no reference to a church in Knottingley it is clear that many of the churches that were mentioned are now known to have been Parish churches and maybe it was only those Parish churches that were of interest to the King at the time.  The Domesday Book was intended to detail the wealth and possessions of each settlement or landowner so that the revenues due to the King could be calculated.

At the time of the Domesday survey Knottingley was within the Parish of Pontefract whose church was referenced by the book.

The church was dedicated to the East Anglian missionary St. Botolph who was born in England around 610 AD and was active throughout the seventh century.  He continued to be worshiped right through to the fourteenth century and so the Knottingley dedication cannot be assumed to go back as far as that.

There is evidence to support the theory that a Saxon chapel did exist before the Norman church was built and that the Saxon dedication to St. Botolph was retained.

The earliest reference to a Church in Knottingley was a document dated between 1119-1121 which confirmed a grant by Robert de Lacy to the Prior and Monks of Pontefract, a number of items including the chapel of Knottingley

Between 1750 and 1756 the nave and chancel of the Church were rebuilt in the classical style with round topped plain glass windows and then in 1888 it was further remodeled by Victorian restorers who included stained glass windows and once again re-ordered the interior.  1873 saw the addition of the tower to the Church.

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