The Church today
The first record of Badsworth and its Church is to be found in the Doomsday Book of 1086. We are told that the Manor of Badsworth belonged to Ilbert de Lacy of Pontefract and was held by two unnamed brothers and "a Church is there and a priest"
The parish was originally in the diocese of York ;the modern parish is in the diocese of Wakefield. Currently, the parish includes Badsworth, Thorpe Audlin and part of
The Church you see today is probably the third on the site, and the bulk of the present structure dates from about 1350 - 1400, although there are one or two pieces of the earlier Church still visible. The Church in the 1940s 
Like most medieval Churches in this country, its main axis is aligned roughly East - West with the tower at the West end and the altar at the East. A most precise measurement shows the axis to point to 23 degrees North of East which would suggest that a mid-summer sunrise alignment was used when the building site was laid out.
Until comparatively recently, the Rectors of the parish lived in the Old Rectory on Main Street which was rebuilt, at his own expense, by Rev. William Entwistle during his rectorship 1716-1732.
The Old Rectory today
Rev William Rawstone
Rector of the Parish for 52 years
Died 1790
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Inside the Church today
Entering the Church through the main porch and walking to the central isle, turn to walk towards the Altar and admire the Chancel with its beautiful East Window.
The Altar rail and woodwork surrounding it were given by the Heywood-Jones family in memory of Richard who died in 1900. He was killed by lightning whilst he was at camp with the local militia in
Badsworth Grange, which stands on
His brother and sister-in-law lived in
The Chancel roof dates from about 1400. Look up and you will notice the six carvings on the roof bosses and, in particular, The "Badsworth Beastie" opposite the lion's head.
In Medieval symbolism, the lion represents God. Can you put a meaning to the two figureheads? The East window itself was fitted in the 19th Century during the Rectorship of the Rev. William Jepson Newman (1836-1850). Much restoration was done during his time.
At the top of the window are the shields, held by the angels, with the symbols of the crucifixion.
The scrolls below them have extracts from the four gospels and inside are the symbols of the four evangelists:
A man for St. Matthew, "of whom Christ was born"
A lion for St. Mark, "he is not here, he is risen"
The bull for St. Luke, "there they crucified him"
The eagle for
These four symbols are known as the Apocalyptic beasts.
The top row, from left to right:
The Annunciation of Mary
The Resurrection of Christ (with two guards asleep)
Shepherds in the fields
The Crucifixion
Ascension into Heaven
The second row:
The blessing of Simeon
Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene
The Three Kings
Receiving the body from the Cross
The Holy Spirit descends on the Apostles - Pentecost.
In 2001, the whole window was removed and restored; repairs being done to the supporting stonework. The glass is thought to be a mix of old and contemporary. There was an earlier East Window together with older windows on the North side. And it is said that glass from these windows was hidden somewhere in Badsworth
Fund Raisers - Warwick Sumpter and Jim Boulter during the restoration