Bishop Gastrell affirms that the episcopal chapel of Hambleton was consecrated in 1567. In 1650 the Parliamentary Commissioners reported:—“There is no allowance to the minister, but only £5 per an. payd by Richard Sherburne, esq., lord of the manor, and £40 per an. by order from the committee for plundered ministers. The inhabitants desire it may be made a parish, and the township of Rawcliffe, lying within a myle of it and four miles from their parish church, may be annexed to it.”
The present church was erected in 1749, and is a plain whitewashed building, without a tower or any attempt at architectural display. Attached to the south wall within are three tablets inscribed thus:—
“Beneath this marble are deposited the remains of Mary Ramsden, daughter and heiress of the rev. Christʳ. Westby Alderston, late vicar of St. Michael’s in this county, and wife of Rowland Ramsden of Halifax. She was born Aug. 17ᵗʰ, 1768 and died Nov. 6ᵗʰ, 1764.”
“Sacred to the memory of George Bickerstaffe of Hambleton, gent., died May 3ʳᵈ, 1766; Jenny Alderston, his granddaughter, died May 16ᵗʰ, 1770; and Agnes, wife of the rev. Christʳ. Westby Alderston, widow of Richᵈ. Harrison of Bankfield, and daughter of George Bickerstaffe, died March 14ᵗʰ, 1820.”
“Sacred to the memory of the rev. Thomas Butcher, B.A., for 39 years the respected incumbent of this chapel. Erected by the voluntary contributions of his parishioners.”
On the aisles of the church are three gravestones, bearing the following inscriptions:—
“In this aisle lie the remains of the rev. John Field, B.A. and minister of this place, who died 21st April, 1765; also his wife and children.”
“Here lies the body of Dorothy, wife of Richard Carter of Hambleton, who died 14th May, 1807.”
“William, son of James Norris of Liverpool, buried the 29th of June 1692—Though Boreas’ Blast and Neptune’s Waves have tost me to and fro, yet a spite on both by God’s decree I harbour here below: Here at anchor I doe ride with many of our fleet, yet once again I must set sail my Generall Christ to meet.”[205]