About Us

The Church of St John the Evangelist was consecrated by the Bishop of Knaresborough on 2nd June 1911. The land for the site and the stone for the building were given by the Earl of Harewood.

There has been a settlement at Rigton since early times. Despite being described by one writer as “the largest and most populous of the surrounding villages” and boasting two shops, a post office, a blacksmith's forge, a school and a public house, Rigton had no building specifically for Anglican worship until 1911. An ancient chapel was reputed to stand on Chapel Hill (now Rigton Hill) but no documentary evidence of its existence has been found. However, fragments of a sculptured cross and some human remains have been found in the vicinity. A Methodist Chapel was built in 1816 and replaced in 1932. This is now closed.