St Peter's Church, also known as Huddersfield Parish Church, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

, West Yorkshire, England. There has been a church on the site since the 11th century, but the current building dates from 1836. It is situated on the Kirkgate near

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

in the centre of the town. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

.Nostalgia: With gallery - A glimpse inside Huddersfield Parish Church St Peter’s history
from '' Huddersfield Daily Examiner'', 19 September 2012, retrieved 6 March 2015

History

In legend, the first church on the site was built in the eleventh century by Walter de Lacy, the second son of

Ilbert de Lacy de Lacy (Laci, Lacie, Lascy, Lacey, Lassey) is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorde ...

. Walter decided to build the church after he survived being thrown from his horse and landing in a swamp. The church was rebuilt in the sixteenth century. From 1759 to 1771, Henry Venn was vicar at the church. By the early 19th century the town of Huddersfield was growing rapidly as a result of the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and the parish church was too small to cope. In order to address this, Holy Trinity Church was opened in 1819 as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

within the parish of St Peter's, before becoming a parish church in its own right in 1857. By the 1830s the 16th-century parish church needed urgent repairs, and it was therefore decided to rebuild it again, so the

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

constructed the current church. The architect for the church was

James Pigott Pritchett James Pigott Pritchett (14 October 1789 – 23 May 1868) was an English architect. He lived in London and York and his practice stretched from Lincolnshire to the Scottish borders. Personal life Pritchett was born on 14 October 1789 to Charl ...

and construction was carried out from 1834 to 1836. To keep costs down during construction the bricks used were from the previous church on the site, this meant that repairs were needed overcome the deficient materials. In 1851, two

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...

were added at the eastern and northern ends of the church. In 1852, windows designed by

Thomas Willement Thomas Willement (18 July 1786 – 10 March 1871) was an English stained glass artist, called "the father of Victorian stained glass", active from 1811 to 1865. Biography Willement was born at St Marylebone, London. Like many early 19th centu ...

were installed in the church. In 1866, it was realised that the stonework of the church needed repairing. In 1873, new pews and a pulpit were installed. In 1879, a choir vestry was added.

Arthur Eaglefield Hull Arthur Eaglefield Hull (10 March 1876 – 4 November 1928) was an English music critic, writer, composer and organist.

was the organist from 1904 to 1920. In 1908 an organ was installed by local builder

Conacher and Co Conacher and Co was a firm of British organ builders based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. History The firm originated with Peter Conacher (1823–1894), who was born in Scotland and who studied as an apprentice organ builder in Leip ...

. It was restored in 1984 by Philip Wood of Huddersfield. From 1921 to 1923, the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

was reordered. A

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

and the east window, designed by

Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishment of churches, and the des ...

, as part of a war memorial was also installed in the church. In the 1940s, the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

was redesigned with a screen by

Robert Thompson Robert or Bob Thompson may refer to: Entertainment * Bobby Thompson (comedian) (1911–1988), English comedian * Bob Thompson (musician) (1924–2013), American orchestra leader, arranger, composer * Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter) (1924–2004 ...

being added. In the 1980s, a new

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and

dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

were also installed. Around 2012, the roof, ceiling and tower were repaired. Other essential repairs were also made, helped by a grant from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. On 17 June 1965 the church was the wedding place of Olympic athletes, swimmer

Anita Lonsbrough Anita Lonsbrough, (born 10 August 1941 in York), later known by her married name Anita Porter, is a former swimmer from Great Britain who won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Swimming career At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwea ...

and track cyclist

Hugh Porter Hugh William Porter MBE (born Wolverhampton, England, 27 January 1940) is one of Britain's greatest former professional cyclists, winning four world titles in the individual pursuit - more than any other rider - as well as a Commonwealth Games ...

. On 17 February 2017, the church was the location of the funeral of

Gorden Kaye Gordon Irving Kaye(7 April 194123 January 2017), known professionally as Gorden Kaye, was an English actor, best known for playing womanising café owner René Artois in the television comedy series Allo 'Allo!''. Early life Kaye was born o ...

, the Huddersfield-born television actor and star of '' 'Allo 'Allo!''.

Parish

On weekdays, the church is open from 9:00am until 4:00pm and on Saturdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm. On Sundays, there is a

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

communion service at 8:00am, a parish communion service at 10:00am and

evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

at 3:00pm.Huddersfield - St Peter
from

A Church Near You The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, retrieved 7 March 2015

Gallery

File:Huddersfield Parish Church 009.jpg, The church in 1904 File:Huddersfield Parish Church 007.jpg, Interior in 1906

References

External links

Huddersfield Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huddersfield, Saint Peters Church Saint Peters Church Grade II* listed churches in West Yorkshire Church of England church buildings in West Yorkshire Churches completed in 1836 19th-century Church of England church buildings Anglican Diocese of Leeds Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in West Yorkshire Anglo-Catholic church buildings in West Yorkshire

History

Parish

Gallery

See also

References

External links