St. John's was consecrated in 1889, replacing a church sited half a mile north of Bishop Thornton, which was closed in 1825. I am not sure what arrangements were made in the intervening period.
The church features stained glass from the older building, one of the windows depicting Ripon Minster with pre-1664 spires.
The older church can be reached via the bridleway that runs north past the present building, taking advantage of a paved pathway the runs to the church's gate. When it was declared unsafe, the old church was demolished, but the tower and a small chapel were left standing. This was used for funeral services and internments in the churchyard until 1953, when the chapel was set on fire by vandals and subsequently demolished. Local people formed a charity to preserve the tower and, as the following photographs show, this was very worth while.
