St. Cuthbert’s Church was founded before 1100 with the village of Wilton being mentioned in the Doomsday Book. It is believed that the monks from Lindisfarne stopped in the vicinity on their journey with the body of St. Cuthbert which they were trying to keep safe from the marauding Vikings. Our church is included in the list and map of the monks’ journeys displayed in the cloisters at Durham Cathedral where the tomb of St Cuthbert can be found.

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when the Priory of Guisborough was disbanded and land and endowments confiscated by the Crown, the church was in a bad state of repair. In 1850 a part restoration of St. Cuthbert’s Church took place with the help of Sir J.H. Lowther and his wife of Wilton Castle. Wherever possible, the original stones, some of which were pre-Norman, were used in the restoration. In 1907/08 another restoration took place with the original stones being taken down, numbered and re-used in the reconstruction. Inside the church there are indentations on the original stones which, legend has, were made when Cromwellian soldiers sharpened their weapons. It was the custom, however, for archers to sharpen their arrow heads on the wall of their church in the belief that this made them more effective against their enemies.