Church of St Alkelda

The Church of St Alkelda is a parish church largely dating to the late 14th and early 15th centuries, with a mid-15th century tower. It was extensively restored in 1890-92 by Paley and Austin. The church is constructed of squared stone with stone dressings, a stone slate and lead roof. It is built in the Perpendicular style and comprises a south porch, a three-stage west tower, a five-bay nave, north and south aisles, a one-bay north and south side chapel, and a one-bay chancel.

The gabled south porch has a double-chamfered surround, a basket arch, and a hoodmould with spiral stops, as well as diagonal buttresses. The doorway features a double-chamfered segmental pointed arch, a plank door, and strap hinges. The west entrance to the tower also features a basket arch and surrounding hoodmould; above this is a three-light window with trefoil heads and rectilinear tracery. The second stage of the tower has a string course and a single-light chamfered window with a trefoil head. A deeply chamfered, trefoil-headed, louvred window is found in the bell stage, alongside a gargoyle. The tower is topped with an embattled parapet and crocketted finials. Diagonal buttresses and a projecting stair turret on the south side are also present, as is a clock-face on the east side.

The nave has four two-light windows and hoodmoulds to the clerestory, and two similar windows closely spaced at the east end, added during the 1890-92 restoration, all under a parapet. The aisles feature three-light windows with hoodmoulds and a parapet. The taller former north chapel, which now houses the organ, has a three-light window, while the south chapel has two similar windows and a double-chamfered segmental pointed arched entrance. A sundial and gnomon are incorporated into the parapet above the entrance. The one-bay chancel is lower than the nave and contains a tall east window of six lights with trefoil heads and a hoodmould, with a gabled parapet dating from 1890-92.

Internally, the north and south arcades are supported by octagonal shafts and pointed arches, with the base of two pillars formed from reused Romanesque capitals. The roof is from 1890-92. An alms box dated 1684, inscribed "Remember the Pore," is set into a pillar in the south arcade. The font has an octagonal base and dates to the early 15th century. A former three-decker pulpit and a reading desk, both from 1680, are present. A brass candelabra from 1718 resides in the nave. A plaster tablet on the south wall commemorates Richard Frankland (1698), a non-conformist founder of Rathmell Academy. A marble memorial by Leyland and Bromley, Halifax, on the north wall commemorates George Birbeck (1776-1841), founder of Mechanics' Institutes. The chancel contains an oak communion rail with bobbin balusters dating from circa 1675.