St Stephen's Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

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

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 situated next to

Ermysted's Grammar School Ermysted's Grammar School is an 11-18 boys' Voluntary aided school, voluntary aided grammar school in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century and is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kin ...

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

Tempest family The Tempest family was an English Recusancy, 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 ...

and originally administered by the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. 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 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 (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

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 for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

. 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. The institute was founded in 1849 in Bézie ...

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:Skipton, St Stephen Churches in Craven, Yorkshire 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 (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

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