St Mark's Church, Leicester is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

former

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, ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

History

The foundation stone was laid in 1870 by the Bishop of Peterborough. The church was the gift of William Perry-Herrick and built to the designs of the architect

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...

. The contractor for the foundations was Firn of Leicester, Osbourne of Leicester constructed the building. The clerk of works was James Nichols. The bells were supplied by Taylor of Loughborough, and the clock was from

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

of Clerkenwell, London. The church was consecrated on Saint Mark's Day, the 25th of April 1872 by the Bishop of Peterborough. The stained glass windows inserted at the time of the consecration in the chancel were by

Ward and Hughes Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows. History Ward and Hughes was preceded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created a large w ...

. Later additions include windows in the south east chapel by

Henry Holiday Henry Holiday (17 June 183915 April 1927) was an English Victorian painter of historical genre and landscapes, also a stained-glass designer, illustrator, and sculptor. He was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, many of whom he knew. ...

in 1893 and in the north east chapel by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lychg ...

in 1895. The west end was completed in 1903 by

Ernest Charles Shearman Ernest Charles Shearman (1859 – 17 April 1939) was a British architect. Early life Shearman was born in 1859, the son of Charles James Shearman, a physician. Career In 1878 Shearman was articled to Charles Barry, remaining his assistant until ...

. The apse contained a painting by James Eadie Reid dating from 1910 “The Triumph and Apotheosis of Labour”.

Redundancy and subsequent use

The church was made redundant by the Church of England in 1986 after which it remained vacant until being converted into a conference and wedding venue known as ''The Empire Banqueting Hall'' in 2005.

Incumbents

*Canon H.J. Burfield 1872 - 1883 (formerly vicar of St James’ Church, Bradford) *John N.B. Roodroffe 1883 - 1896 (formerly vicar of St Mark’s Church, Peterborough, afterwards vicar of King’s Cliffe) * Frederick Lewis Donaldson 1897 - 1918 (later Archdeacon of Westminster) *Albert Linwood Wright 1918 - 1946 *John Fielder 1946 - 1954 (afterwards vicar of Knighton) *Harold A. Raymond 1954 - 1957 *Charles J.E. Stephens 1957 - 1976 *Peter Farrell

Organ

The pipe organ was built by

William Hill & Sons William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century. The founder William Hill was born in Spilsby, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot (organ buil ...

in 1871. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

References

External links

The Empire Banqueting Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leicester, St Mark Church of England church buildings in Leicester Grade II* listed churches in Leicestershire Churches completed in 1872 Ewan Christian buildings