The April meeting of the Keighley and District Local History Society’s is next Wednesday evening (8th April 2026). In a change from the usual venue, we will be meeting at St. John’s Church in Ingrow. History Society committee member Steve Bown will be giving his talk ‘Buried at St. John’s’.
Steve says: “The first person to be buried at St. John’s was a Frederick Simpson of Papermill Bridge, who was buried in April 1843, just over a month after the church first opened its doors. Since then the churchyard has become the final resting place for mill owners and town mayors, doctors and soldiers, farmhands and factory workers. There are some tragic cases of suicides and poisonings, and a sobering number of infants buried in the grounds. I will be telling some of their stories – and if the weather is good we might go out and look at some of the gravestones and memorials.”
The meeting will be held in the church on South Street on Wednesday 8th March. Doors will open at 7.15pm, and the meeting starts at around 7.20pm, finishing around 8.30pm. Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting. There is no charge to attend this meeting but there will be a collection in aid of the church. History Society members also have the option of joining the meeting via Zoom.
It is recommended that people coming along to the meeting wear warm clothes and sensible shoes. There are footpaths around most of the churchyard but some gravestones are set back from the paths.
Anyone interested in joining the History Society can do so at this meeting. Membership for the year costs £15 per person or £20 for a couple. As well as getting you free access to all the monthly meetings, membership also gets you the society’s quarterly newsletter plus the chance to attend members-only events.
