St Peter's Church in

Birstall, West Yorkshire Birstall is a Market town, market and mill town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Birstall and Birkenshaw ward, which had a population of 16,298 at the 2011 census. Historic counties of England ...

, England, is an active

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

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 archdeaconry of Leeds and the Diocese of Leeds.

History

The church has Norman origins, being founded in 1100 by Radulphus de Paganell. The tower is the only part surviving from that era; its first two stages were built in the 12th century. The tower was raised in the 15th century and a major refurbishment was carried out between 1863 and 1870 by W. H. Crossland of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. The church was grade II* listed on 29 March 1963. Between 1997 and 2000 a screen was built to separate the first bay of the nave and aisles to create meeting rooms.

Architectural style

Exterior

The tower has three stages: the first two are of Norman origin with diagonal

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es and stout corner

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s which were added in the 15th century, while the second stage has narrow windows and a round clock on the western and the south face has a sundial dating from 1660. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

has diagonal buttresses and incorporates a chapel on its north side and a vestry and organ chamber on its south.

Interior

The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

has four bays with arcades with octagonal piers. The tower has a stepped round arch dating from around 1100. The outer aisles have seven-bay arcades on quatrefoil piers. The chancel has three bays. The nave and inner aisles have plastered walls while the outer aisles and chancel have exposed stone walls. The south aisle has a flagstone floor, the chancel a tiled floor while the aisle chapel has a mosaic floor.

Fixtures

An early-20th-century painting of Christ in Glory by

Edward Reginald Frampton Edward Reginald Frampton (1870 – 4 November 1923) was a British painter who specialized in murals, specifically war memorials at churches. He painted in a flat, stately style, and was influenced by French Symbolism. He also worked in staine ...

is on the east wall. The octagonal font has a panelled bowl and stem which dates from the 15th century. It had been discarded in 1771 but reinstated in 1841. The pulpit is made of stone construction and has a wrought-iron balustrade. The pews date from around 1870 and have roundels to the top. The

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 ...

depicts the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

Listed tombs

There are two Grade-II-listed tombs in the churchyard. John Nelson was an associate of

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

and a pioneer of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

in West Yorkshire.

Ellen Nussey Ellen Nussey (20 April 1817 – 26 November 1897) was born in Birstall Smithies in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She was a lifelong friend, of writer Charlotte Brontë and, through more than 500 letters received from her, was a major ...

, buried with her father John, was a lifelong friend and correspondent of

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

References

External links

St. Peter's Church, Birstall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birstall, St Peter

St Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

Anglican Diocese of Leeds Church of England church buildings in West Yorkshire Grade II* listed churches in West Yorkshire William Henry Crossland buildings