A dark gritstone church of 1838 in the wooded valley of Cragg Vale, on the long climb south from Mytholmroyd. Its vicar from 1821 to 1859, Thomas Crowther, campaigned against child labour in the valley's mills. A plaque inside remembers him. The churchyard is full of the names of local mill families.
St John the Baptist in the Wilderness
A gritstone church of 1838 in the woods of Cragg Vale, once the parish of a radical vicar
Most visitors miss this
If you’ve ever driven the long, winding climb of the B6138—the longest continuous gradient in England—you might have glimpsed its dark stone tower peering through the trees.