[1] The name of the hamlet literally derives from Rye and Croft, a field where malting took place.

[3] The hamlet wasn't mentioned in the Domesday Book, but was believed to have been settled around the 14th century when lands in and around Ryecroft were given to the monks of Rievaulx Abbey.

[7] One of the earliest Primitive Methodist chapels in the Bradford area was built in the hamlet in the early 18th century.

[8][9] In November 1853, a Primitive Methodist chapel was opened up on the main road, just to the south of the settlement.

[13][14] In the 2011 census, the hamlet was included in the details for Harden parish,[15] although an estimate in 2005 stated that 40 people were living in the settlement.