High Hoyland Parish Church is on the road between Darton and Clayton West. The present church dates from the 12th century replacing a 10th century wooden church. The stone in the present tower comes from Woolley Edge Quarry and was given by Sir Thomas Wentworth in 1662. The mason was John MOORE and the carpenter Thomas HAWKSWORTH. The church was rebuilt in the late 18th century by the Wentworths of Bretton Hall and again restored in 1907-8. The 1090 font was presented to St. Aiden's church, Skelmanthorpe, by Sir Walter Spencer Stanhope after it had been used as a pig trough at Bilham Grange. The Bells are at St. Wilfred's church, Harrogate. The clock dates from Queen Anne, 1702-14. The mounting block in the wall marks the place where suicides were passed over to be buried without a service. The Saxon crosses from the church wall are now at Cannon Hall Museum. The churchyard is divided into natural boundaries, the numbers running left to right. Numbers beginning with 'T' refer to the map made by South Yorkshire Record Office where the map can be inspected. Names in capital letters are those of the stonemasons who made the grave fixtures.

The Church is now closed as a place of worship, though the building is still extant and owned by Bretton College.

Using the Alphabetical Index Page
Look down the alphabetical list of names on the left hand side of the page until you find one which interests you. Look, or if necessary scroll across to the right. The numbers refer to the particular group of records located in a page relating to the lettered 'areas' identified by Miss Dearnley. Clicking on the numbers will take you to an area page, and you can use the number to help find the entry you are looking for.

Notes:
The page headed 'Enclosures' includes two areas fenced off for the use of the NORTON Family, and an area enclosed for an unknown reason.

Miss Dearnley has deposited her original notebooks at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 'Claremont' 23, Clarendon Road, Leeds LS2 9NZ. It is necessary to make an appointment to view material at the YAS premises, and a small charge is made to non-members.

Alan Reardon has produced a very useful series of High Hoyland Graveyard pages which can be used in conjunction with Miss Dearnley's listings. He is painstakingly reproducing the missing maps which will enable visitors to locate the graves, and includes much other information of interest to High Hoyland reserachers.

GENUKI High Hoyland Parish Pages