Churches of the British Isles

Rufforth Methodist Church is on the eastern side of Wetherby Road, midway between the junctions with Victoria Farm Close and Gable Park. The chapel was built in 1843. Little is known of its history, but in more recent years it has come to the rescue of the village in its efforts to save the local post office at a time when hundreds across the country were being closed down. The chapel supplied a store room which was converted and opened as a part-time post office.

All Saints Church, Rufforth, is at the north-east corner of Wetherby Road and Pear Tree Farm in the middle of the village. The first church here was either late Saxon or early Norman, but nothing of its history can be uncovered. The present church was built in 1894-1895, designed in the decorated Gothic style by the architects Domaine and Brierley of York, with accommodation for 120. Externally, the building is of Killinghall stone with Whitby stone dressings.

Internally, suitable stone from the old church has been used, and the two Norman doorways were preserved and refitted inside the new building. The interior underside of the roof is of oak, barrel vaulted with carved bosses and carved figures. The church was refurbished in 1998. In 2007 the bells were increased to six, forcing the clock to be stopped while the work was carried out. The new bells were salvaged from a redundant Methodist church in the Midlands.

Hessay Methodist Church stands on the northern side of Main Street at the very western end of the village. Hessay appears to be very poorly documented, with almost nothing to be found either on the Methodist church or the nearby parish church of St John the Baptist (below). The village itself has a population a little below two hundred and, until 1996, it was in the Harrogate district of the North Riding of Yorkshire, and lies about eight kilometres away from York.

The Church of St John the Baptist, Hessay, occupies an open plot on the western side of New Road, midway between the village to the south and the railway line to the north. Within the parish of Moor Monkton in 1821, the village was given to St Mary's Abbey in York by Osbern de Archis, probably in the twelfth or thirteenth century. It remained in their possession until the Dissolution under Henry VIII. The building has a foundation stone which says simply '1898'.

All photos on this page kindly contributed by Colin Hinson. Additional information by Michael Hackney via Colin Hinson.