St Mary the Virgin, Middleton
Encyclopedia
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Middleton is a church in Middleton, West Yorkshire
, England
. It is an active Anglican parish church
and part of the Armley deanery in the archdeaconry of Leeds and the diocese of Ripon and Leeds. The church and its lych gate are Grade II listed buildings.
was endowed by Gilbert Leygh in Middleton; this was closed at the time of the Reformation
. Middleton was part of the parish of Rothwell
. In 1845, R.H. Brandling of Middleton Lodge gave land on Town Street on which to build a church and parsonage. The Brandlings were the owners of the Middleton collieries and built the Middleton Railway
. The Incorporated Society for promoting the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels made a grant of £350 towards the cost of building the church, on condition that all the seats were declared free and public subscriptions raised over £1,000. There is a tradition that Middleton miners gave either a week's wages or a week's work towards the cost of the building.
The church was built in the Early English style to designs by R. D. Chantrell
, who also designed Leeds Parish Church
, in 1846. The church was consecrated on 22 September 1846 by Bishop Longley of Ripon, with the sermon preached by Dr. W.F. Hook
, Vicar of Leeds.
The Middleton Estate and Colliery Company was granted a licence to mine a seam of coal under the church in 1917 resulting in subsidence and damage to the tall spire which was taken down in 1939.
The church is built in coursed sandstone
ashlar
with slate
roofs in the Early English Gothic Revival style. The aisles have two light lancet window
s between buttress
es and the chancel
single light lancets. There is a three stage south west tower with an embattled parapet
, angle buttresses and a porch with a Gothic arch and planked door with ornate hinges. There are three light belfry windows; the outer windows are blocked.
Interior
The east window depicts Christ and the west window is on the theme of the Evangelists. Windows in the chancel contain stained glass by William Wailes
of Newcastle made between 1848 and 1852. There are two late Victorian windows made by Barnett of Newcastle and the rest of the church is glazed in clear leaded lights. The vestry was formed in 1882 by partitioning the north west corner by solid oak screens.
The tower holds a single bell made by C & G Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
in 1846 and hung for swing chiming. The clock by Potts of Leeds
dates from 1862.
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is an active Anglican parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
and part of the Armley deanery in the archdeaconry of Leeds and the diocese of Ripon and Leeds. The church and its lych gate are Grade II listed buildings.
History
In 1494, a chantry chapel dedicated to St Mary the VirginSt Mary the Virgin
-Churches:* St Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury* St Mary the Virgin, Blackburn Hamlet* St Mary the Virgin, Brighton* St Mary the Virgin, Barnes* St Mary the Virgin, Bathwick* St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham, Dorset* St Mary the Virgin, Henbury...
was endowed by Gilbert Leygh in Middleton; this was closed at the time of the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. Middleton was part of the parish of Rothwell
Rothwell
Rothwell is the name of several places in the United Kingdom:*Rothwell, Lincolnshire*Rothwell, Northamptonshire*Rothwell, West YorkshireRothwell is also the name of one place in Australia:*Rothwell, QueenslandIn names:...
. In 1845, R.H. Brandling of Middleton Lodge gave land on Town Street on which to build a church and parsonage. The Brandlings were the owners of the Middleton collieries and built the Middleton Railway
Middleton Railway
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd...
. The Incorporated Society for promoting the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels made a grant of £350 towards the cost of building the church, on condition that all the seats were declared free and public subscriptions raised over £1,000. There is a tradition that Middleton miners gave either a week's wages or a week's work towards the cost of the building.
The church was built in the Early English style to designs by R. D. Chantrell
Robert Dennis Chantrell
Robert Dennis Chantrell was an English church architect, best-known today for designing Leeds Parish Church.- Early career :Chantrell was born in Newington, Southwark, London...
, who also designed Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church
Leeds Parish Church, or the Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a large Church of England parish church of major architectural and liturgical significance. It has been designated a grade I listed building by English Heritage...
, in 1846. The church was consecrated on 22 September 1846 by Bishop Longley of Ripon, with the sermon preached by Dr. W.F. Hook
Walter Farquhar Hook
Walter Farquhar Hook , was an eminent Victorian churchman.-Background:He was the Vicar of Leeds responsible for the construction of the current Leeds Parish Church and for many ecclesiastical and social improvements to the city in the mid-nineteenth century...
, Vicar of Leeds.
The Middleton Estate and Colliery Company was granted a licence to mine a seam of coal under the church in 1917 resulting in subsidence and damage to the tall spire which was taken down in 1939.
Structure
ExteriorThe church is built in coursed sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
with slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roofs in the Early English Gothic Revival style. The aisles have two light lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s between buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es and the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
single light lancets. There is a three stage south west tower with an embattled parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
, angle buttresses and a porch with a Gothic arch and planked door with ornate hinges. There are three light belfry windows; the outer windows are blocked.
Interior
The east window depicts Christ and the west window is on the theme of the Evangelists. Windows in the chancel contain stained glass by William Wailes
William Wailes
William Wailes, , was the proprietor of one of England’s largest and most prolific stained glass workshops.- Biographical :Wailes was born and grew up in Newcastle on Tyne, England’s centre of domestic glass and bottle manufacturing. His first business was as a grocer and tea merchant...
of Newcastle made between 1848 and 1852. There are two late Victorian windows made by Barnett of Newcastle and the rest of the church is glazed in clear leaded lights. The vestry was formed in 1882 by partitioning the north west corner by solid oak screens.
The tower holds a single bell made by C & G Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
in 1846 and hung for swing chiming. The clock by Potts of Leeds
Potts of Leeds
Potts of Leeds was a major British manufacturer of public clocks, based in Leeds, Yorkshire, UK.- Introduction :William Potts was born in December 1809 and was apprenticed to Samuel Thompson, a Darlington clockmaker. In 1833, at the age of 24, William moved to Pudsey near Leeds, to set up his own...
dates from 1862.