Leeds Minster
Leeds Minster | ||
---|---|---|
Minster and Parish Church of St Peter-at-Leeds | ||
NSM(s) Jane de Gay, Paddy Benson | | |
Laity | ||
Reader(s) | Kay Brown, Sarah Maybury | |
Organist/Director of music | Alexander Woodrow | |
Organist(s) | Shaun Turnbull |
Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the
History
The building
A church at Ledes is mentioned in the
It was originally intended only to remodel the church in order to provide space for a larger congregation. In November 1837 a scheme was approved under which the tower would have been moved from the crossing to the north side, the chancel widened to the same breadth as the nave, and the north aisle roof raised. When work began, however, it was discovered that much of the structure was in a perilous condition, and it was decided to replace the church completely.
The east end was altered between 1870 and 1880.[1]
The parish church became Leeds Minster in a ceremony on Sunday 2 September 2012, on the 171st anniversary of the consecration of the building.[5][6] Leeds is one of three minster churches in the county of West Yorkshire, the other two being Dewsbury Minster and Halifax Minster; there are two cathedrals in the county, Bradford Cathedral and Wakefield Cathedral, and Ripon Cathedral, in North Yorkshire, is in the Anglican Diocese of Leeds.
The parish
The rambling parish of Leeds covered an area of 21,000 acres. It included in it the out-townships of
Following the English Reformation, the right to appoint the parish's priest passed between different owners until 1588, when a group of parishioners bought it, putting it in the hands of Leeds's people.[7]
A proposal in 1650 to divide the parish came to nothing, but in 1826 St Mark's Church in
Architecture
Cruciform in plan, the minster is built in ashlar stone with slate roofs,[1] in an imitation of the English Gothic style of the late 14th century, a period of transition from the Decorated to the Perpendicular. The church is 180 feet (55 m) long and 86 feet (26 m) wide, its tower rising to 139 feet (42 m).[2] The chancel and nave each have four bays of equal length with clerestories and tall aisles.[4] The tower is situated at the centre of north aisle. Below the tower on the north side is the main entrance. The tower has four unequal stages with panelled sides and corner buttresses terminating in crocketed turrets with openwork battlements and crocketted pinnacles. The clock was made by Potts of Leeds.[1]
Furnishings, fittings, glass and treasures
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Leeds_Parish_Church_%2810th_May_2010%29_012.jpg/220px-Leeds_Parish_Church_%2810th_May_2010%29_012.jpg)
The windows exhibit Perpendicular
A peal of 13 bells was cast by Mears in 1842. These bells were then recast into the current peal by John Taylor of Loughborough in 1932. The tenor bell weighs 40 long cwt 1 qr 27 lb (4,535 lb or 2,057 kg).[9]
The organ, parts of which date from 1841 and earlier, is essentially a Harrison and Harrison of 1914 vintage, but incorporating significant amounts of pipework by Edmund Schulze. It was restored in 1927 and 1949 by Harrison and Harrison; in 1965 by Wood, Wordsworth and in 1997 by Andrew Carter. The restoration of the blowing plant and refurbishment of the blower house were undertaken in 1997 by Allfab Engineering of Methley.
Among many artefacts and memorials in the
Outside in the churchyard, facing out onto
Minster
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The Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds is in the Diocese of Leeds (which has its cathedrals at Ripon, Wakefield and Bradford), in the Parish of Leeds City along with the Georgian Church of Holy Trinity, Boar Lane and the congregation of St Mary's Lincoln Green worshipping weekly in the Hall of St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Cromwell Street, Burmantofts. The minster is at the easternmost extremity of the city centre, within a precinct bordering two of the city's oldest thoroughfares – Kirkgate (now part of the Inner City Loop Road) to the north, and The Calls to the south. Another ancient pathway, High Court Ings, connects the western precinct with High Court.
The Reverend Canon Paul Maybury is the Incumbent, licensed in December 2022.
Work with young people undertaken by the parish includes The Market Place drop-in centre.[13]
During choir terms there are at least three choral services each week sung by an adult chamber choir of skilled volunteers and choral scholars drawn from Leeds and York Universities as well as Leeds Conservatoire. There is a weekly organ recital from September to July inclusive on Fridays at 1 pm, featuring the resident organists and guest recitalists.
Leeds Minster is a member of the
The church is illuminated at night by floodlights donated by
The building is open to visitors, Tuesday to Saturday 11 am to 2 pm and during worship on Sunday.
The Minster archives are held at the Leeds office of
Present
On 2 September 2012 Leeds Parish Church became a minster;[15] it may be designated the pro-cathedral of the new Diocese of Leeds if the diocesan bishop so decides.[16]
Vicars of Leeds from 1220 and Rectors of Leeds from 1991
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This list is incomplete
- Vicars
- Hugo 1220
- Alanus de Shirburn 1242
- Johannes de Feversham 1250
- Galfridus de Sponden 1281
- Gilbertus Gaudibus 1316
- Alanus de Berewick 1320
- William Brunby
- William Mirfield 1392
- Johannes Snagtall 1391
- Robert Presselew 1408
- Robert Newton
- William Saxton 1418
- Johannes Herbert 1424
- Jacobus Baguley
- Thomas Clarell,[17] 1430
- William Evre B.D. 1470
- Johannes Frazer (Bishop of Ross) 1482
- Matrinus Collins 1499
- Robert Wranwash B.A. 1500
- William Evre 1508
- Johannes Thompson
- Johannes Thornton
- Christopher Bradley 1556
- Alexander Fawvett 1559
- Robert Cooke B.D. 1590
- Alexander Cooke B.D. 1615
- Henry Robinson B.C. 1632
- Peter Saxton M.A. 1646
- William Styles M.A. 1652
- Johannes Lake D.D. 1661
- Marmaduke Cooke D.D. 1663
- Johannes Milner B.D. 1677
- Johan. Killingbeck B. D. 1690
- Josephus Cookson M.A. 1715
- Samuel Kirshaw D.D. 1746
- Peter Haddon M.A. 1786
- Richard Fawcett M.A. 1815 – founder of The Choir of Leeds Parish Church
- Walter Farquhar Hook D.D. 1837 (formerly vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry, later Dean of Chichester Cathedral)
- James Atlay D. D. 1859 (later Bishop of Hereford)
- Canon James Russell Woodford D.D. 1868–1873 (later Bishop of Ely)
- John Gott 1873–1885 (later Chaplain to the Bishop of Ripon; Dean of Worcester Cathedral from 1885; afterwards Bishop of Truro)
- Francis John Jayne 1886–1888; afterwards Bishop of Chester
- Edward Stuart Talbot 1888–1895 (later Bishop of Rochester then Bishop of Southwark and, finally Bishop of Winchester
- Edgar Charles Sumner Gibson 1895–1905 (later Bishop of Gloucester)
- Samuel Bickersteth 1905–1916 then Canon and later Librarian of Canterbury Cathedral
- Bishop of Southwell, later Bishop of Hull and finally Bishop of Ely)
- Canon William Thompson Elliott 1926–1938 (later Canon of Westminster)
- Canon Wilfred Marcus Askwith 1938–1942 (later Bishop of Blackburn, then Bishop of Gloucester
- Canon Arthur Stretton Reeve MA 1943–1953 (later Bishop of Lichfield)
- Canon C B Sampson 1953–1961 (formerly vicar of Maidstone, later Canon Residentiary of Ripon Cathedral)
- Canon William Fenton Morley 1961–1971 (later Dean of Salisbury)
- Canon Ronald Graham Gregory Foley 1972–1982 (later Bishop of Reading and Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of York)
- Canon James John Richardson OBE 1982–1988 (subsequently Secretary of the Council of Christians and Jews, Rector of St Peter's Bournemouth and – in retirement – Canon Pastor of Sherborne Abbey.
Edward David Murfet, later Minor Canon at Ripon Cathedral was Priest-in-Charge prior to the establishment of the Parish of Leeds City in 1990
- Rectors of Leeds from 1991
- Canon Stephen John Oliver (born 1947) 1991–1997 (later Precentor of St Paul's Cathedral, then Bishop of Stepney until 2010)[citation needed]
- Canon Graham Charles Morell Smith 1997–2005 (later Dean of Norwich)[citation needed]
- Canon Anthony Francis Bundock 2005–2014. (later House for Duty Priest at Lacey Green, St John the Evangelist in the Princes Risborough Team Parish, Diocese of Oxford.[citation needed]
- The Reverend Canon Charles Dobbin MBE Rector of the Moor Allerton Team Ministry took office as Interim Priest at Leeds Minster in November 2014 and undertook that work until September 2015.
- The Reverend Canon Sam Corley was licensed as Rector-designate and Priest in Charge of the Parish of Leeds City on Tuesday 6 October 2015 at 7.30 pm. Canon Corley was installed as an Honorary Canon of Ripon Cathedral at Evensong in Ripon on Sunday 11 October.
- The Reverend Canon Paul Maybury was licensed as Incumbent in December 2022.
Music
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/St_Peter%2C_Leeds_Parish_Church_-_Window_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1333354.jpg/220px-St_Peter%2C_Leeds_Parish_Church_-_Window_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1333354.jpg)
Leeds Minster has a long choral history. The Boys' and Men's Choir sang services on an almost daily basis until 2015, with a separate Girls' Choir founded by Jonathan Lilley in 1997.
Organists from 1842 include
Following the suspension of boy and girl choristers in 2015, the present Choir of Leeds Minster is an adult chamber choir of approximately two dozen voices, consisting of skilled volunteer singers alongside a complement of choral scholars (undergraduates from the Universities of Leeds and York and
The Minster Choir has been associated with the Royal School of Church Music since the early 1930s through links with RSCM's founder Sir Sydney Nicholson and with churchwarden Herbert Bacon Smith. Previous Organist Simon Lindley was one of the RSCM's longest-serving special commissioners and has directed RSCM courses on four continents.
Organ concerts
Friday lunchtime organ recitals are held weekly between September and July, featuring both the Minster's professional organists and a wide array of guest recitalists. Sunday evening concerts have taken place weekly in August since the restoration of the instrument was completed.
Organists
- 1842 Dr Samuel Sebastian Wesley (afterwards organist at Winchester Cathedral and Gloucester Cathedral)
- 1849 Robert Senior Burton (afterwards organist at St Peter's Church, Harrogate)
- 1880 Dr William Creser (afterwards organist of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal St James's Palace
- 1891 Alfred Benton (afterwards organist of Covington Roman Catholic Cathedral, Kentucky USA)
- 1906 Dr Wigan Parish Church, afterwards organist and master of the choristers of York Minster)
- 1913 Willoughby Williams (afterwards organist of St Peter's Episcopal Church, Oakland, California, USA)
- 1920 Dr Albert Charles Tysoe (afterwards organist of St Albans Cathedral)
- 1937 Dr (Alfred) Melville Cook (afterwards organist and master of the choristers of Hereford Cathedral and conductor of the Three Choirs Festival)
- 1957 Dr Donald Frederick Hunt OBE (afterwards master of the choristers and organist of Worcester Cathedral and conductor of the Three Choirs Festival)
- 1975 Dr Simon Geoffrey Lindley (from St Albans Cathedral) – President of the Royal College of Organists, 2000–2002 – Vice-President, from 2003; President of the Incorporated Association of Organists, 2003–2005.
- 2016 Paul Dewhurst from St Giles' Church Pontefract: from 1 November 2016
- 2020 Alexander Woodrow (from Solihull School and St Alphege's Parish Church, Solihull, formerly Organist and Director of Music at Bradford Cathedral)
Samuel Sebastian Wesley 200th Anniversary Celebrations
The 200th-anniversary celebrations for Samuel Sebastian Wesley, born 14 August 1810, began with Festal
Graveyard
The church had a
Rugby league
A rugby league team from Leeds Parish Church joined the Northern Rugby Football Union (now Rugby Football League) in 1896. Leeds Parish Church played for five seasons from 1896–97 to 1900–01 after which it withdrew.[citation needed]
See also
- Grade I listed churches in West Yorkshire
- Listed buildings in Leeds (City and Hunslet Ward - southern area)
References
- ^ a b c d e Historic England. "Parish Church of St Peter (1375046)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ a b "St Peter's Church, Leeds, UK | 263604". Emporis. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Introduction". The seven sermons preached at the consecration and re-opening of the parish church of Leeds, with an introduction. Leeds: T.W. Green. 1841. pp. iv–xi.
- ^ a b "An extract from "The Annals of Yorkshire", published in 1862". GENUKI. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "Leeds Parish church has become a minster". BBC News. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ "Special ceremony in honour of Leeds Parish Church's new minster title". Yorkshire Evening Post. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d David Thornton, Leeds: A Historical Dictionary of People, Places and Events (Huddersfield: Northern Heritage Publications, 2013), s.v. PARISH(ES).
- ^ David Thornton, Leeds: A Historical Dictionary of People, Places and Events (Huddersfield: Northern Heritage Publications, 2013), p. 333.
- ^ "Leeds, S Peter". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- ^ Linstrum, Derek (1969). Historic Architecture of Leeds. Oriel Press. p. 6.
- ^ Leeds Times, Saturday 18 November 1854 p5: The late Mr Mawer", and p.8: "Deaths".
- ^ Historic England. "North Boundary Wall and Steps, North West Gate and Piers, War Memorial and East Bar Stone (1375049)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "The Market Place". Retrieved 8 May 2008.
- ^ Benfield, Chris (26 November 2007). "New Book Explores Church's Hidden History". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- ^ "Leeds Parish Church to become Minster". BBC News. BBC. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- ^ "The Dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield Reorganisation Scheme 2013" (PDF). Dioceses Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ Data from the 'Collectio Rerum Ecclesiasticarum' from the year 1842, from the original book published by George Lawton in 1842, accessed 7 November 2020
- ^ "Hidden Nature, Hidden History: Penny Pocket Park". The Secret Library - Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog. Leeds Libraries.
Further reading
- Pullan, Margaret (2007). The Monuments of the Parish Church of St Peter-at-Leeds. Publications of the Thoresby Society. ISBN 978-1-905981-52-6.
External links
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