St Peter's Church, Harrogate 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, ...

located in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. It is a Grade II listed building.

History

The church was formed out of the parish of

Christ Church, High Harrogate Christ Church, High Harrogate is a parish church in the Church of England located in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It was the first church building to be built in Harrogate and is today home to a thriving congregation and – along with ...

A subscription for the erection of the church was commenced and the foundation stone was laid in April, 1870. The church is of the decorated style of architecture, from a design by Mr. Hirst, of Bristol, and consists of a nave of five bays, 70 feet in length by 27 feet in breadth, with north and south aisles, each 15 feet 9 inches wide; the last bay at the eastern end of the aisle on each side projects outwards to double its former breadth, in the form of a transept, which is gabled outwardly; the chancel will be about 35 feet in length by 22 feet in breadth, terminating in a circular apse, the interior of which will be arcaded. A tower, bearing a spire, is situate at the west end of the south aisle. The living is a curacy or vicarage, the income of which is £100 a year, paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The first incumbent – the Rev. L. F. W. Foote – appointed in 1870.

The chancel, with a temporary nave, was consecrated on Sunday 10 September 1871 by Reverend Bishop Ryan, vicar of Bradford.

List of Vicars

* Lundy Edward William Foote 1870 – 1922 * John Manstead Cunningham 1922 – 1937 * Gascoigne Cecil Clare 1937 – 1947 (formerly vicar of St Edmund's, Roundhay, Leeds) * Roger Holford Baines 1947 – 1967 * Andrew Neville Burn Sugden 1967 – 1987 * Anthony Michael Shepherd 1987 – 2015 * Alan Garrow 2016–present

Organ

The church has a pipe organ which has evolved over a long period of time from an original organ by Edmund Schulze in 1867. This was moved to St Bartholomew's Church, Armley and a smaller organ installed in 1869. There have been restorations by

Brindley & Foster Brindley & Foster was a pipe organ builder based in Sheffield who flourished between 1854 and 1939. Background The business was established by Charles Brindley in 1854. He was joined by Albert Healey Foster in 1871 and the company acquired the ...

, Abbott & Smith, Binns, J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd, and Prested. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

List of organists

*Miss Knowles *Alfred Robinson *Mr. Paley *John Septimus Dickinson 1870 – ???? (formerly organist of

) *John Shaw 1879 – 1890 *Robert Senior Burton 1890 – 1892 (formerly organist of

Leeds Parish Church Leeds Minster, also known as the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church), is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architec ...

) *

Charles Legh Naylor Charles Legh Naylor (14 October 1869 – 22 November 1945) was a composer and organist based in Harrogate. Life He was the son of John Naylor and Mary Ann Chatwin. His father was organist of York Minster from 1883 to 1897. He was educated a ...

1892 – 1902Who's Who in Music. Shaw Publishing. 1937. p.215 *

John Pullein John Pullein FRCO (b. 1878) was an organist and composer based in England. Life He was born in Lincoln in 1878, the son of William Pullein and Hannah Rose. His father was a Professor of Music. His three younger brothers, William Rose Pullein, ...

1903 Dictionary of Organs and Organists, First Edition. 1912 – 1917 (formerly assistant at

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...

, latterly organist of

St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, commonly called St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. The current building was opened on 9 ...

) *

1917 – 1935 (appointed again) *Jack Spencer 1935 – 1970 (previously organist of St Stephen's Church, Kirkstall, Leeds) *J Harry Hodgson 1970 – 1976 *Adrian Selway 1976 – 1981 *Ian Linford 1980 – 1984 *Ralph S Franklin 1984 – 1987 *Hugh Shelton 1987 – 1988 *Nigel Holdsworth 1988 – 1993 *Philip Wilby 1993 – 1997 *Richard Hunt 1997 – 2003 *Oliver Longstaff 2003 – 2012 *John Longstaff 2012 – present

Bells

St Peter's has a fine ring of eight bells in the tower which were cast by

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

of Loughborough. They achieved a certain notoriety when they became the first tower in the United Kingdom to have an injunction made on the bells for an offence of noise pollution.

References