It is believed that the name Kettlewell is Anglo Saxon and comes from Cetel Wella which means a bubbling spring or stream, and signs of their farming methods can still be seen in terraced fields to the south of the village. Traces of Briganties and Roman occupation have also been found.

Kettlewell was mentioned in the Doomsday book, and has had a long and varied history.

There was once a busy and important Thursday Market mainly selling corn and took place in the square opposite the Kings Head Inn.

Every year three fairs were held in the village, one of which was a hiring fair where men and women came from Westmoorland to be hired.

In 1410 King Henry gave license to Ralph Earl of Westmoorland to enclose 300 acres of land for hunting and a deer park. This was called Scale Park and is on the Park Rash Road over to Coverdale.

One of the most marked features of Kettlewell are the dry stone walls. These were mainly built in the latter part of the seventeenth and early part of the eighteenth century, and were built by the land owners and freeholders of the village.

Cotton and lead mining played an important part in the history of the village. Lead mining bought prosperity to the village in the 17th century but closed in the late 19th century. One of the most profitable was Old Providence which was worked by the Kettlewell Mining Co. In 1838 Kettlewell boasted a cotton mill, three blacksmiths, two joiners, five inns, two shoemakers, a surgeon and a tailor.

Opposite today's Village Store stood the corn mill and in the early part of the 19th century this was turned into a cotton mill but was demolished in 1876. Remains of the milldam are still visible today.