Whitechapel Church, is an unusual church building located approximately half a mile north of

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and so ...

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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was built in 1820 on a site associated with over nine centuries of worship. It has supported

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 ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

Methodist 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 ...

and

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 ...

worship during its history. Links with this site of worship have been made to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, the Brontës, the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

, a grave slab of one of the knights being in the entrance to the church,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

influences, and in recent times the graveyard contains war graves from the world wars. Legend also has it that

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

is connected with this site of worship.

History of the site

A suggestion, which at present cannot be substantiated, is that Whitechapel church stands on a pack-horse route which followed the line of an old

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

from

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

. This theory originates from the discovery of a large hoard of Roman coins near the present site of

Whitcliffe Mount School Whitcliffe Mount School is a mixed secondary school located in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England. History It was established as Cleckheaton Secondary School in 1908 in temporary premises on Brooke Street. The school moved to its current loc ...

. Although no

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

evidence was found, it is thought there could have been a Roman station there. It is also possible there was a wooden

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

place of worship on the site although there is no evidence for this. Cleckheaton is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, 1086, but there is no record of a church on this site at this time. There has been a place of worship on this site since the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

times. The evidence for this is th
font
dated as not later than 1120. The carvings upon it include a

Sheela Na Gig A sheela na gig is a figurative carving of a naked woman displaying an exaggerated Human vulva, vulva. These carvings, from the Middle Ages, are Grotesque (architecture), architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on Architecture ...

. It is quite wonderful, considering the font's history, that babies are still baptized in it today. The site was initially developed as Heaton Chapel, a

Chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

to the Parish Church of Birstall. This was a huge parish extending from

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

. Whitechapel covered the hamlets of Scholes and Oakenshaw, and the townships of Wyke and Cleckheaton, 'that no man may die without baptism'. This was for the convenience of the local people, due to the distance to travel to Birstall. A Chapel of Ease had the right of

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

and Sunday services, but it was still necessary to travel to Birstall for

marriages Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

and funerals until 1706, when Whitechapel was granted the right of burial. A number of gravestones dating from this period can be found in the grounds. The churchyard today has over 1000 graves; most of these were documented by a Mr. A. Blackburn of Bradford in 1928. Volunteers are currently in the process of updating this document. It was not until 1837 that marriages could be performed at this church. Prior to 1534, the site was a Roman Catholic church and the

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was celebrated here. There would be no seats in the church, the worshippers kneeling on rush matting on stone floors. The church porch would often be used for business. In 1534, following the

Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the E ...

, the parish of Birstall including the chapels of ease at Whitechapel and

Tong Tong may refer to: Chinese *Tang dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese *Tong (organization), a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities *''tong'', pronunciation of several Chinese char ...

became

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, ...

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

was much more tolerant of religious persuasions, and both Catholic and Protestant worship was allowed. In 1611,

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

ordered an authorised version of the

bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and prayer book in English.

The Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

is still in use at Whitechapel once a month for a mid week Communion service and

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

. From 1644 to 1660, during the time of the puritans, the church was used as a Non Conformist chapel. It is thought that during this time the font, with its lewd engravings, was removed to the churchyard. Following the

restoration of the Monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

in 1660, it became illegal to worship God in any manner other than that provided by the Anglican Church. This meant that the Non Conformists had to find secret places to worship, and moved away from Whitechapel. It was following this that the church appears to have been left to its own devices. No vicar is recorded in parish records from 1651 to 1707. The church fell into disrepair, and indeed it is recorded that sheep grazed in the churchyard and their lambs sheltered in the ruins. Around 1707, the church was rebuilt, a stone above the entrance testifying to this. At this time the Norman font was discovered in the churchyard in a damaged condition. Dr. Richard Richardson,

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

at this time commissioned a new font, bearing his coat of arms. However, an unknown person must have thought it important to restore the original Norman font. It was repaired, turned upside down and used as the base for the new Richardson font. There are no records of

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 ( ...

for this new building, however it is said that when the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

arrived to consecrate it, he saw a

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus b ...

in the church grounds and said "this is already consecrated ground", got on his horse and rode away. It is recorded that every parish should have a yew tree in its grounds for the purpose of providing bows to the people. Legend has it that Robin Hood himself, cut his bows from this tree. In recent times the dead stump of this tree was moved near the

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

door and dated by

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...

to the 14thC No trace of this remains now, however a new yew tree was planted for the

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

. It was from around 1707 that it became known as Ye Olde Whitechapel in the North. This was possibly due to it being whitewashed on the outside. No other buildings are recorded around it at this time. Worship appears to have continued on a regular basis throughout the 18th century. A stone in the North wall records that The Olde Whitechapel was repaired in 1782, the walls and roof being increased in height. From 1757 to 1771 the incumbent was Jonas Eastwood, an earnest and successful worker in the Methodist cause. He also frequently officiated at Birstall. Methodists appear to have been prominent at Whitechapel during this period. The Rev. John Crosse, 1775–1805, also had strong Methodist convictions and it is reported that

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 ...

preached at Whitechapel in 1788.Whitechapel, Cleckheaton. Rev. D. Oxby Parker. 1934

The present church

By 1820 the church was not big enough for its congregation, and was rebuilt. This is the building which we see today. It had

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s and a fine 3 decker

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 ...

on the south side. These were all cleared 65 years later, when the church was modernised to face east. All that remains of the pulpit is the sounding board, now built into the south east vestry. On 7 January 1839 a great storm caused the bell and part of the belfry to crash through the roof, destroying the organ. The Leeds Mercury recorded it as the fiercest gale in living memory. This bell is mounted and displayed within the church, below the current pulpit. From 1837 to 1886 the Rev. Robert Fetzer Taylor was a much revered incumbent. During his time, a church school was built in Scholes, and Whitechapel became a parish in its own right. In memory of his wife, the Rev. Taylor had the Norman font reinstated on a new plinth and the Richardson font was removed to the churchyard. This now stands in the porch to the church. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

many young men of the parish lost their lives, including two sons of the then vicar, Rev. T.D. Hyde. A beautiful stained glass window was installed in their memory, and a porch was built as a war memorial to all those who lost their lives during the war.

worship continued. From 1932 to 1934, the church was renovated internally, electricity and a new heating system were installed. Also an electric blower for the organ was installed. During this period, church services were held at the nearb
Moorend School
In 1980, on the retirement of Canon C.H. Corkett, another long serving incumbent, the parish was combined wit
St. Lukes, Cleckheaton
In 2002, the parish of St. Luke and Whitechapel renewed its association with Scholes with a combined appointment, and for the first time in its history, Whitechapel welcomed a woman priest-in-charge, the Rev. Maggie McLean. An assistant priest was subsequently appointed to preside at Whitechapel, the Rev. Rachel Cave. In 2009 the Rev. Maggie Mclean moved to the church of Christ the King, Mirfield.

References

External links

Official websiteArticle about the church on the A Church Near You website
{{Deanery of Dewsbury and Birstall churches Cleckheaton, Whitechapel church Churches completed in 1820 19th-century Church of England church buildings Cleckheaton