Giggleswick's churches

The parish church in Giggleswick is dedicated to St Alkelda, an obscure Anglo-Saxon saint, possibly a Saxon princess, apparently associated with Middleham in Wensleydale. The mainly 15th century church, restored in the late 19th century, is not unattractive: a long, low Grade 1 listed building with a squat tower and quite spacious inside. It has some colourful stained glass; the window shown below is the east window in the chancel, behind the altar.

The other church in the village - or rather the Chapel - belongs to the school and was built in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, a gift to the school from Walter Morrison of Malham and designed by the architect T G Jackson. With its copper dome, it has a strangely exotic look to it. Perched on a rocky outcrop above the school and the village, for years its dome was visible for miles, shining with pale green verdigris. It has recently been cleaned and now looks a coppery brown and isn't so obvious. I didn't go in, as one has to make elaborate arrangements to collect a key from the school, but I gather it is finished inside to a high standard. It is unusual in that it was all, inside and out, structure and furniture, planned as a coherent whole by the same designer.