St Bartholomew's Church, Armley is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Armley Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the Industrial Revolution and had several mills, one of which now houses the Leeds Industrial ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. The church is one of two Church of England churches in Armley; the other being Christ Church. Worship at St Bartholomew's is firmly rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England with a solemn mass being celebrated weekly.

History

The first chapel at Armley was built in 1630 but not consecrated by Richard Sterne,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

, until 1674. In 1737 it was extended to the north, the roof was raised and a small balcony was added at the west end. In 1825 the chapel was much enlarged through the benevolence of

Benjamin Gott Benjamin Gott (24 June 1762 – 14 February 1840) was one of the leading figures in the Industrial Revolution, in the field of Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once ...

, a local industrial businessman with woollen mills in Leeds. A new church was built starting in 1872 to designs by the architects Henry Walker and Joseph Althron of Leeds, and is now a Grade II* listed building. It was consecrated in 1877 but the tower was not dedicated until 1904. The church is constructed of Horsforth sandstone. The old chapel was demolished in 1909.

List of vicars

*George Metcalfe, 1766–91 *Richard Fawcett, 1791–1815 *Thomas Barber, 1815–22 *Charles Clapham, 1822–48 *David Hartley *Frederick George Hume Smith, 1877–1906 * James Buchanan Seaton 1906–09 (later

Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a diocesan bishop in 1888, but it was dissolved in 2014. The Bishop of Wakefield is ...

, 1928–38) * Ralph Creed Meredith 1914–17 (later Vicar of

St John the Baptist Church, Windsor St John the Baptist Church is a parish church in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The church was rebuilt in Gothic Revival style in 1822. It is the civic church of Windsor, and many Mayors of ...

, 1940–58, and Chaplain to

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

and

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, 1946–52) * Lovell Clarke 1923–33 (previously Vicar of

All Saints' Church, Nottingham All Saints' Church, Nottingham, is an Anglican church in Nottingham, England. The church is Grade II listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as it is a building of special architectural or historic interest. Background It ...

and subsequently

Archdeacon of Leeds The Archdeacon of Leeds, previously Archdeacon of Ripon, is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Leeds. As such they are responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the four deaneries (Allerton, Armley, Hea ...

) * William Johnston 1949–56 (later

Archdeacon of Bradford The Archdeacon of Bradford is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Leeds, Diocese of Leeds. The archdeaconry was originally created within the now-defunct Diocese of Bradford by Order in Council on 25 February 1921. As A ...

and then

Bishop of Dunwich The Bishop of Dunwich is an episcopal title which was first used by an Anglo-Saxons bishop between the 7th and 9th centuries and is currently used by the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The title takes its name a ...

) *Norman Ernest (Norry) McCurry 1963–73 *Owen Conway, 1973–81 *Nicholas Plant, 1982–92 *Timothy Lipscomb, 1992–2005 *Ian Wright, 2006–14 *Michael Wood, 2016–2022

Features

The

Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...

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

erected in 1877 has

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

carvings, representing the

Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

and

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

figures.

John Wormald Appleyard John Wormald Appleyard (10 September 1831 – 14 January 1894) (active 1851–1893) was a British sculptor and monumental mason based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. He was sixteen years old when his apprenticeship as a stone carver was curt ...

was present at the

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on 24 August 1877, listed alongside the architects Henry Walker and Joseph Athron who designed the building and reredos. Since no other stone carver is credited for this work, it is reasonable to suppose that it could be the work of Appleyard. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

is of alabaster and marble, designed by architect Thomas Armfield after the pulpit at the shrine of

Sebaldus Sebaldus (or Sebald) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to Germania, Germany in the 9th or 10th century. He settled down as a hermit in the , of which city he is the patron saint. Legends Almost all details of the life of Sebaldus are uncertain, b ...

St. Sebaldus Church, Nuremberg St. Sebaldus Church (''St. Sebald'', ''Sebalduskirche'') is a Medieval era, medieval church (building), church in Nuremberg, Germany. Along with Frauenkirche, Nuremberg, Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) and St. Lorenz, Nuremberg, St. Lorenz, it i ...

. It was carved originally by

Mawer and Ingle Mawer and Ingle was a company of architectural sculptors, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, between 1860 and 1871. It comprised cousins Charles Mawer (born 1839) and William Ingle (1828–1870), and Catherine Mawer (1804–1877) who was m ...

for the former St Bartholomew's Church, on the occasion of its 1861 restoration, then moved along with the font and the old tomb memorials to the new building after the consecration. There is a sculpture by Joseph Gott at the west end of the north aisle, a memorial to

of Armley House who died in 1839. In the south aisle there is ''Faith comforting the Mourner'', commemorating the two sons of Benjamin and Elizabeth Gott who died in Paris and Athens. Benjamin Gott's son

William Gott Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart Gott, (13 August 1897 – 7 August 1942), nicknamed "Strafer", was a senior British Army officer who fought during both the First and the Second World Wars, reaching the rank of lieutenant-general while ...

was interred in the family vault in the former St Bartholomew's Church.

Organ

The church is perhaps best known for its organ. It was built by the German builder Edmund Schulze. It was originally installed in Meanwood Towers in 1869. In 1877 it was inaugurated in St. Peter's Church, Harrogate. Following a dispute with the vicar, the organ was installed in St. Bartholomew's in 1879. It was rebuilt in 1905 by

James Jepson Binns James Jepson Binns (c. 1855–11 March 1928) was a pipe organ builder based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Organs Pipe organs at the following locations were either built or rebuilt by James Jepson Binns or his JJ Binns company. A number of ...

and other restoration work took place in 1956 by

Hill, Norman and Beard William Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Limited (commonly known as Hill, Norman and Beard) were a major pipe organ manufacturer originally based in Norfolk. History They were founded in 1916 by the merger of Norman and Beard and William Hill & So ...

, 1974 by John T. Jackson and Son and 2004 by

Harrison & Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company based in Durham that makes and restores pipe organs. It was established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and t ...

. The organ has been awarded a Grade II* listing by the

British Institute of Organ Studies The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

for organs which are good representatives of the work of their builder, in substantially original condition. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Organists

*1862–1868: John Varley Roberts''Dictionary of Organs and Organists''. Frederick W. Thornsby (afterwards organist of Halifax Parish Church) *1878–1921: Thomas Cawthra *1921–1924: Thomas E Pearson (afterwards organist of Halifax Parish Church) *1924–1937: Herbert Bardgett (afterwards chorusmaster of Nottingham Harmonic Society) *1937–1938: John B Dalby (afterwards organist of

St Machar's Cathedral St Machar's Cathedral is a Church of Scotland church (building), church in Aberdeen, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen. Technically, St Machar's is no longer a cathedral but rather a Kirk ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

) *1938–1939: Donald H Martin *1939–1940: Eric Whiteside *1940–1953: W Iles Pulford *1953–1955: Alan A Tranah *1955–1962: John J F Watkins *1962–1966: John Snow *1966–1973: Anthony Norcliffe (later organist of

St Chad's Church, Far Headingley St Chad's Church, Far Headingley is the parish church of Far Headingley in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The church is Grade II* listed in Gothic Revival style. The dedication is to Chad of Mercia, who was bishop of York and died in AD 672. I ...

and Mill Hill Chapel) *1973–1986: Arnold Mahon *1986–present: Graham Barber

References