The origin of the place-name Kirkby was Danish 'village with a church', while Malzeard was Norman-French and suggests 'a poor clearing' (church leaflet). The site of a motte and bailey castle lies nearby.
McCall (1909), pp. 243-4, suggests that the date of the surviving doorway, and the first stone church, would fall between 1136, when Roger de Mowbray succeeded his father, and c. 1140 when the churches of 'Malessart' and Masham were given to Newburgh priory.