In 1547 the people of Almondbury were faced with the possible dissolution of its Chantry Chapel. By "concent of the parishe", Arthur Kay of Woodsome and his son John "dyd shifte yt" stone by stone, down St. Helen's Gate, to be reconstructed as a school house. A royal charter (formally called The Letters Patent) was granted by James I on 24 November 1608 and the school became a grammar school. The school has had various names (Almondbury Grammar School, King James's Grammar School) and today is called King James's School. Former England fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom is a former resident of Almondbury.