Christ Church, High Harrogate is a 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....

 in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 located in Harrogate

Harrogate

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

. It was the first church building to be built in Harrogate and is today home to a thriving congregation and - along with the attached Parish Centre - an important focus of community activities.

History

The history of Christ Church starts in 1749 when a Chapel of St John was built as a chapel-of-ease to the mother church of St John the Baptist at Knaresborough. Although known as ‘St John's Chapel' it was dedicated on 17 June 1749 as Christ Church.

Christ Church became a parish in its own right in 1852. Later four other parishes were formed from its parish:

• St John's Church, Bilton 1858
• St. Peter's Church, Harrogate
  St. Peter's Church, Harrogate
  St. Peter's Church, Harrogate is a parish church in the Church of England located in Harrogate.-History:The church was formed out of the parish of Christ Church, High Harrogate....
  
   1870
• St Luke's Church 1898
• St Andrew's Starbeck in 1911

The parish quickly outgrew the building and a new church was built on the Stray adjoining the old chapel.The architect was John Oates of Huddersfield. The church was dedicated on 1 October 1831 by the Bishop of Chester

Bishop of Chester

The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...

, Dr John Bird Sumner

John Bird Sumner

John Bird Sumner was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.-Life:Sumner was the elder brother of Bishop Charles Richard Sumner. He was born at Kenilworth, Warwickshire and educated at Eton College and Cambridge University. In 1802 he became a master at Eton and was...

 (later Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

). In 1836 it moved into the Diocese of Ripon.

The church was extended between 1860 and 1862 with a new chancel, sanctuary and transepts, to designs by the architects Lockwood and Mawson of Bradford.

In 1988 a Church Centre was built at the north-west corner of the church, with a hall, meeting rooms, kitchen, and offices.

List of Vicars

Perpetual Curates (1755 - 1831)

• 1755 - 1759 William Leigh Williamson
• 1759 - 1765 Nevile Stow
• 1765 - 1769 John Hinde
• 1769 - 1825 Robert Mitton
• 1825 John Lloyd Lugger
• 1825 - 1831 Thomas Kennion (and see Vicars below)

Vicars (1831 - present)

• 1831 - 1845 Thomas Kennion
• 1845 - 1858 Thomas Sheepshanks
• 1858 - 1870 Horatio James (Canon of Ripon)
• 1870 - 1887 William Winter Gibbon (Canon of Ripon)
• 1887 - 1903 Richard Wentworth Fawkes
• 1904 - 1926 Douglas Sherwood Guy (Canon of Ripon)
• 1927 - 1935 Paul Fulchrand Delacour de Labilliere
  Paul de Labilliere
  Paul Fulcrand Delacour Labilliere was the second Bishop of Knaresborough from 1934 to 1938; and, subsequently, Dean of Westminster. Born on 22 January 1879 into a legal family he was educated at Harrow and Merton College, Oxford. After taking Holy Orders he became Chaplain to the Bishop of...
  
   (subsequently Bishop of Knaresborough
  Bishop of Knaresborough
  The Bishop of Knaresborough is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, in the Province of York, England...
  
   and Dean of Westminster)
• 1935 - 1937 Claude Cyprian Thornton (Canon of Ripon)
• 1937 - 1943 Martin Kiddle
• 1943 - 1954 William Frederick Vernon
• 1954 - 1970 Thomas Arthur Bendelow
• 1970 - 1994 Richard Thomas Wright McDermid (Chaplain to HM the Queen, Canon of Ripon)
• 1995 - 2007 John Edward Colston (Canon of Ripon)
• 2008 - present Nicholas James Henshall

This list is taken directly from the board at the west end of the church and all spellings are as on the board.

Organ

In 1908 a brand new organ by Norman & Beard was installed. It was rebuilt by John T. Jackson in 1980 with a new detached console. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Organist and Director of Music

• Matthew Arnold ca. 1867
• John Septimus Dickinson ???? - 1870
• Ernest Farrar
  Ernest Farrar
  Ernest Bristow Farrar was an English composer, pianist and organist-Life:Ernest Farrar was born in Lewisham, London. The son of a clergyman, he was educated at Leeds Grammar School, where he began organ studies and in May 1905 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music...
  
  ARCO 1912 - 1916
• Warner Yeomans ca. 1920
• Douglas Robinson 1946 - 1974?
• Ralph Franklin FTCL FGSM ca. 1980s

Derek Bolton 1980's

• Dr John Beilby BMus PhD FLCM LRAM LTCL 2005 - 2008
• Jonathan Eyre BMus (Hons) ARCO ATCL 2008 - 2009
• Christine Alp GRSM LRAM LGSM 2009 - present