Church Of St Hilda

The Church of St Hilda is a Grade II* listed church located in Danby Dale. The church features a 14th-century tower-porch, with the nave rebuilt in 1789 and the chancel added in 1848, possibly by the architect William Butterfield. It underwent restoration by Temple Moore in 1903. The building is constructed from sandstone, with the tower made of large square blocks, the nave using finely-coursed tooled blocks, and the chancel finished in ashlar. The roof is covered with graduated Lakeland slate and has ridged stone copings, finials, and gable crosses.

The church has an aisled nave with a south porch and tower, and a chancel that includes a short north vestry. The west end is flanked by two stout buttresses and features a large round-headed window with a triple keystone and impost blocks, an oculus above, and small square-headed aisle end windows. An external stair to the gallery was added in 1808, as noted on a plaque inside a window. The nave has a plinth, and tall keyed round-arched aisle windows. The south tower consists of one tall stage with diagonal buttresses, an eaves string with prominent waterspouts, and a battlemented parapet with corner pinnacles. There is a short extruded west vice with a tiny window, a hollow-chamfered segment-headed doorway, a single tiny light above, and paired bell openings with cusped heads.

The chancel is designed in the Early English style, featuring narrow lancets on the north and south sides and a three-light east window with a plate tracery head. The vestry is pent and has a continuous roof. The structure is asymmetrical, with both the vestry and east end having one straight and one diagonal stepped buttress.

Inside, the church is plastered and has a four-bay nave. It features a very tall double-chamfered pointed arcade on round piers, which was rebuilt by Temple Moore, leaving most of one capital intact to show the original construction. The nave roof is supported by a 19th-century king-post design, while the chancel roof is arch-braced. There is a panelled west gallery, Minton tiles in the chancel and raised sanctuary, and boards in the porch and inside the door listing the names of subscribers to the school and benefactors from the 17th to early 19th centuries. A medieval grave cover is located in the porch.