St Stephen's Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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, ...

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. It is situated next to

Ermysted's Grammar School Ermysted's Grammar School is an 11-18 boys voluntary aided grammar school in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century and is the seventh oldest state school in Britain. The first official record of t ...

close to the town centre. It was built in 1836 and was founded by the

Tempest family The Tempest family was an English recusant family that originated in western Yorkshire (part of which is now eastern Lancashire) in the 12th century. Tempest baronets of Stella and Stanley, County Durham A branch of the Tempest family of Holmsid ...

and originally administered by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. It is a Grade II listed building.British listed buildings
retrieved 16 December 2013

Foundation

During the Reformation, the

held Masses in their family home Broughton Hall. A priest would regularly travel there to provide for the local Catholics from 1648.''How the Recusants survived in Skipton'' i
St Stephen's Parish
retrieved 4 February 2014 In January 1694, a Jesuit, Fr Thomas Burnett SJ came to the house and resided there until he died in 1727. From then on, Broughton served as a residence for Jesuit priests to administer to the local Catholic population.

Construction

In 1836, seven years after

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

the foundation stone for the church was laid by Charles Tempest. A dispute arose between the new parish priest Fr Michael Trappes and Charles Tempest on whether the church would be a parish church, which would be under the priest's supervision, or a family chapel, owned by the Tempests. It meant that the church was not opened five years after it was completed. Finally, the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, John Briggs solved the dispute by permitting the Tempests to nominate a priest and pay for the running costs of the church.''Re-building Catholic life in Skipton'' i
St Stephen's Parish
retrieved 4 February 2014 The church was opened on 15 September 1842 and the Mass was presided over by Thomas Tempest, Charles' brother, who became a priest in 1826.

Extensions

In 1850, the increasing Catholic population meant that the church had to be enlarged and a school built. By 29 September 1853, the extension was completed with a new

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

was added along with transepts to accommodate a new side chapel. A presbytery was also built so that the parish could have a resident priest and a Fr George Bridges SJ arrived into the parish. In 1854, St Stephen's School opened and from 1861 it was staffed by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

. From 1866, the

Faithful Companions of Jesus The Faithful Companions of Jesus Sisters (FCJ Sisters, French: ''Fidèles compagnes de Jésus'') is a Christian religious institute of the Roman Catholic Church directly subject to the Pope. It was founded in Amiens in France in 1820 by Marie M ...

took over the running of the school. In 1970, they left the parish and were replaced by the

Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (known in the United States as the RSHM and in other parts of the world as RSCM) are a global Roman Catholic community of about 900 apostolic religious women. Today the diversity of ministries include educ ...

who remained there until 2003.''Developing parish life in St Stephen's'' i
St Stephen's Parish
retrieved 4 February 2014 The Jesuits served the parish until 1914 when was then handed over to the Diocese of Leeds who continue to serve the parish.

Parish

The parish has five Sunday Masses every week with three at the church on Saturday at 5:00pm, Sunday 9:30am and 6:00pm. There is one Mass said at Broughton Hall at 8:30am every Sunday and one at St Margaret Clitherow Church, Threshfield near Grassington at 11:00am every Sunday. St Stephen's Primary School next to the church states that it 'works hand in hand with St. Stephen's Church in enabling everyone to grow spiritually.'St Stephen's School
retrieved 4 February 2014

Gallery

File:Former St Stephen's Church, Skipton by Dr Neil Clifton Geograph 4191087.jpg, Entrance of driveway to church File:St Stephen's Church Skipton 04.JPG, View across cemetery File:St Stephen's Church Skipton 14.JPG, Front entrance File:St Stephen's Church Skipton 07.JPG, Interior File:St Stephen's Church Skipton 12.JPG, Church organ

References

External links

St Stephen's Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephen's Church, Skipton Grade II listed churches in North Yorkshire Roman Catholic churches in North Yorkshire Roman Catholic churches completed in 1836 Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England 1836 establishments in England Gothic Revival architecture in North Yorkshire

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom