Halifax Parish Church
Encyclopedia
Halifax Minster in Halifax
, West Yorkshire
, England
is dedicated to St John the Baptist
. It is only one of two Minsters in West Yorkshire.
until 23 November 2009, was completed by about 1438. It comprises a nave, chancel and full-length aisles, and is thought to be the third church on this site, but it includes stonework from earlier periods. There are a few carved chevron stones, which date from before 1150, and several 12th century tomb-covers in the porch. Windows of the Early English style in the north wall are replacements of originals dating from the 14th century. A portion of this north wall is much earlier, and may have originally been part of the Norman church; it has sometimes been claimed this was the south wall of an older church.
After the completion of the present nave and chancel, several additions were made. The tower was erected between 1449 and 1482; and the Rokeby and Holdsworth Chapels - originally chantry chapels - were completed by about 1535.
Jacobean box pews are a prominent feature of the Minster, and most of those in the nave date from 1633-5. They bear some similarity to those at Bolton Percy, and the names of the carpenters involved are known. A pew in the centre aisle bears the remains of a memorial brass to John Waterhouse, who died in 1539/40. The carved arms of Richard Sunderland of High Sunderland, who died in 1634, are attached to another pew. Several ancient pew nameplates may be seen attached to a board on the inner north wall of the tower, the oldest dates to 1615 and reads “This stall made at the cost of Robert Fisher of Halifax.”
A small portion of Medieval stained-glass survives in the upper westernmost clerestory window, which was removed from other windows in the mid 19th century. The Puritans who were prominent in the town in the 17th century, thought stained glass with its ‘images’ was an abomination. During the Commonwealth (1649–1660) many plain-glass leaded windows of a unique design were installed, paid for by Mrs Dorothy Waterhouse. Many of these were later replaced by Victorian stained glass, but those that survived in 1958 were carefully rebuilt. At that date there were three of these on each side of the chancel, but now there are five on the south side and only one on the north. The large west window in the tower is a late 19th century reconstruction of a Commonwealth window dating from 1657, but contains no original work. The great east window of the church depicts the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, and was completed in 1854. It is the work of George Hedgeland
(1825–98), who exhibited stained glass at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The remaining glass in the Parish Church dates also from the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
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In 1878 and 1879 a great internal restoration
of the church took place, under the leadership of Vicar Francis Pigou (1875–88). This involved the removal of obtrusive galleries, and plaster from the internal walls.
A more recent reordering scheme took place in 1983, when pews at the east end of the nave were removed, and a dais installed for the nave altar. At the Millennium after an Appeal, Victorian pews were removed from the west end of the church, to provide an open and attractive reception area, with adjacent fitted kitchen.
Outside the Minster - have a look at the gargoyles. The one nearest to you to the left of the porch represents the man who played the bagpipes on the gibbet before the condemned man laid down his head for the last time. Also, have a look at the tombstone of John Logan. This is to the right as you leave the south door, at the foot of the wall beneath the westernmost window of the south aisle, and below the sundial. After reading the inscription you may well feel that it should end ... “Respect the soldier’s wives.”
.jpg)
On Saturday the (31 March 2007) the stand of the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) Regulation colours, taken out of service in 2002, in Osnabrück
, Germany
, at the Regiments Tercentenary parade, were laid up in the Parish church. The Colour party, with 2 escorts of 40 troops, Had marched through Halifax from the Town hall, preceded by the Regimental Drums and the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band. There was a short ceremony in the Minster grounds where the Troops were inspected by the then Mayor
of Halifax, Councillor Colin Stout, and the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
Dr Ingrid Roscoe.
. The organ has been elarged several times in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was completely rebuilt in 1928 by Harrison & Harrison
of Durham. Only a small amount of the Snetzler work remains in the present instrument. Simon Lindley of Leeds Parish Church describes this instrument as “the Rolls Royce of organs.”
A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
, West Yorkshire
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...
is dedicated to St John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. It is only one of two Minsters in West Yorkshire.
A brief history
There has certainly been a church at Halifax for about 900 years. The Minster, formerly a Parish ChurchParish 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....
until 23 November 2009, was completed by about 1438. It comprises a nave, chancel and full-length aisles, and is thought to be the third church on this site, but it includes stonework from earlier periods. There are a few carved chevron stones, which date from before 1150, and several 12th century tomb-covers in the porch. Windows of the Early English style in the north wall are replacements of originals dating from the 14th century. A portion of this north wall is much earlier, and may have originally been part of the Norman church; it has sometimes been claimed this was the south wall of an older church.
After the completion of the present nave and chancel, several additions were made. The tower was erected between 1449 and 1482; and the Rokeby and Holdsworth Chapels - originally chantry chapels - were completed by about 1535.
Jacobean box pews are a prominent feature of the Minster, and most of those in the nave date from 1633-5. They bear some similarity to those at Bolton Percy, and the names of the carpenters involved are known. A pew in the centre aisle bears the remains of a memorial brass to John Waterhouse, who died in 1539/40. The carved arms of Richard Sunderland of High Sunderland, who died in 1634, are attached to another pew. Several ancient pew nameplates may be seen attached to a board on the inner north wall of the tower, the oldest dates to 1615 and reads “This stall made at the cost of Robert Fisher of Halifax.”
A small portion of Medieval stained-glass survives in the upper westernmost clerestory window, which was removed from other windows in the mid 19th century. The Puritans who were prominent in the town in the 17th century, thought stained glass with its ‘images’ was an abomination. During the Commonwealth (1649–1660) many plain-glass leaded windows of a unique design were installed, paid for by Mrs Dorothy Waterhouse. Many of these were later replaced by Victorian stained glass, but those that survived in 1958 were carefully rebuilt. At that date there were three of these on each side of the chancel, but now there are five on the south side and only one on the north. The large west window in the tower is a late 19th century reconstruction of a Commonwealth window dating from 1657, but contains no original work. The great east window of the church depicts the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, and was completed in 1854. It is the work of George Hedgeland
George Hedgeland
George Caleb Hedgeland was a British designer of stained glass windows in the 19th century. He was the son of the architect John Pike Hedgeland and worked from a studio in London in the 1850s. His work, which was displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851, was characterised by the use of bold designs...
(1825–98), who exhibited stained glass at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The remaining glass in the Parish Church dates also from the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Features
- The Font Cover is a fine feature surviving from the Medieval period, and is acknowledged to be one of the finest in England. The stone font bowl may also date from the fifteenth century, or earlier. Before 1879 traces of paint could be seem on both font and cover, and it was once most ornately gilded. The cover was originally intended to prevent people from stealing the baptismal water kept in the font, which was supposed to have curative powers.
- The wooden sedilia date in the sanctuary dates from 15th century, and was restored in 1879. It contains three fine misericords, and was possibly brought here from some nearby abbey - such as Kirkstall - after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.
- Six other 15th century misericords - including a “green man” are located under the chancel’s return stalls; whilst not so fine as those of the sedilia, they are most interesting.
- Very fine late 17th century altar rails, with a fine double-spiral carving. The altar was first railed-in by 1665, but “banisters in the choir” are mentioned in 1671, and “twisted banisters” in 1698.
- A wonderful series of painted ceiling panels - representing the heraldry of the vicars and famous families of Halifax Parish. These were originally painted by John Aked and James Hoyle, and were put in place between about 1695 and 1703, but were repainted in the 1820s, and cleaned after World War II.
- Two Royal Coats of Arms of Queen Anne, dating from 1705. They were carved by the same John Aked, and details as to their cost survives.
- “Old Tristram” stands watch near the entrance. A life-size figure holding the Parish Alms box, he was carved in wood by John Aked about 1701. It is believed the carving represents a real person, who is said to have begged in the church precincts. There are very few figures of this type in the whole of Britain.
- The Bishop Ferrar Memorial dating from 1847 is a feature of the western wall of the south aisle. From Halifax Parish, Bishop Ferrar of St David’s was earlier the last prior of Nostell Priory. He was burnt at the stake at Carmarthen in 1555. The sculpture is by Branwell Brontë’s great friend Joseph Bentley Leyland.
- A painted bust of Dr. John Favour, vicar 1593-1624 is adjacent to the Ferrar Monument. He was a celebrated Physician and Lawyer too; and was the founder of Heath School, Halifax.
- The Wellington Chapel. Halifax was the home of the Duke of Wellington's RegimentDuke of Wellington's RegimentThe Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...
, which is now the 3rd battalion of the Yorkshire RegimentYorkshire RegimentThe Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...
. In 1951 the church’s south choir aisle was adopted by the Regiment as its chapel. Among the Regimental Colours previously displayed were those carried at WaterlooBattle of WaterlooThe Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
and those borne during the Crimean WarCrimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
and Abyssinian campaignBattle of MagdalaThe Battle of Magdala was fought in April 1868 between British and Abyssinian forces at Magdala, from the Red Sea coast, which at that time was the capital city of Abyssinia...
. These Colours have now been placed in a protective stand of drawers that will remain in the church.
- A pulpit on wheels! This was given in 1879 in memory of Archdeacon Charles Musgrave (vicar 1827-75), by members of his family.
- The recently rediscovered tombstone of Anne Lister of Shibden Hall (1791–1840), a noted local diarist, who died in the Caucasus region of Georgia. The stone is damaged and is currently in the Rokeby Chapel.
- On the west wall near the tower is a list of former rectors and vicars. The most famous were Hubert Walter who later became Archbishop of Canterbury, and William RokebyWilliam RokebyWilliam Rokeby was a leading statesman and cleric in early sixteenth-century Ireland, who held the offices of Bishop of Meath, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland...
who became Archbishop of Dublin.
In 1878 and 1879 a great internal restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
of the church took place, under the leadership of Vicar Francis Pigou (1875–88). This involved the removal of obtrusive galleries, and plaster from the internal walls.
A more recent reordering scheme took place in 1983, when pews at the east end of the nave were removed, and a dais installed for the nave altar. At the Millennium after an Appeal, Victorian pews were removed from the west end of the church, to provide an open and attractive reception area, with adjacent fitted kitchen.
Outside the Minster - have a look at the gargoyles. The one nearest to you to the left of the porch represents the man who played the bagpipes on the gibbet before the condemned man laid down his head for the last time. Also, have a look at the tombstone of John Logan. This is to the right as you leave the south door, at the foot of the wall beneath the westernmost window of the south aisle, and below the sundial. After reading the inscription you may well feel that it should end ... “Respect the soldier’s wives.”
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, at the Regiments Tercentenary parade, were laid up in the Parish church. The Colour party, with 2 escorts of 40 troops, Had marched through Halifax from the Town hall, preceded by the Regimental Drums and the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band. There was a short ceremony in the Minster grounds where the Troops were inspected by the then Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Halifax, Councillor Colin Stout, and the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
The office of Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire was created on 1 April 1974.*Kenneth Hargreaves 1 April 1974 – 1978 *William Bulmer 1978–1985*John Taylor, Baron Ingrow 1985–1992...
Dr Ingrid Roscoe.
Organ
The church houses an organ, built in 1763 and installed in 1766, built by John SnetzlerJohn Snetzler
John Snetzler was an organ builder of Swiss origin who worked mostly in England.He was born in Schaffhausen, in 1710 and died in Schaffhausen, 28 September 1785...
. The organ has been elarged several times in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was completely rebuilt in 1928 by Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison Ltd are a British company that make and restore pipe organs, based in Durham and established in 1861. They are well known for their work on instruments such as King's College Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Festival Hall....
of Durham. Only a small amount of the Snetzler work remains in the present instrument. Simon Lindley of Leeds Parish Church describes this instrument as “the Rolls Royce of organs.”
A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
List of organists
| Date |
Name |
Previous / Later position |
|---|---|---|
| 1766 | William Herschel William Herschel Sir Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was a German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and composer. Born in Hanover, Wilhelm first followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, but emigrated to Britain at age 19... |
|
| 1766–1819 | Thomas Stopford | previously organist at Hey Chapel |
| 1819–1834 | John Houldsworth | |
| 1835–1838 | Robert Sharp | |
| 1838–1862 | Joseph Henry Frobisher | |
| 1862–1868 | H. E. Moore | |
| 1868–1882 | Dr John Varley-Roberts | previously organist at St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley St Bartholomew’s Church, Armley is a parish church in the Church of England located in Armley, West Yorkshire-History:The first chapel at Armley was built in 1630 but not consecrated by Richard Sterne the Archbishop of York until 1674... |
| 1882–1883 | Fred Bentley | |
| 1883–1884 | T. T. Liddle | |
| 1884–1897 | W. H. Garland | |
| 1897 | George Milligan | |
| 1897–1911 | F. de G. English | |
| 1911–1915 | Joseph Soar | afterwards organist of St David's Cathedral St David's Cathedral St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589... |
| 1915–1924 | F. de G. English | |
| 1924–1929 | Dr Thomas E. Pearson | previously organist at St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley |
| 1929–1937 | Dr Reginald Tustin Baker | afterwards organist of Sheffield Cathedral Sheffield Cathedral Sheffield Cathedral is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914... |
| 1937–1939 | Kenneth F. Malcolmson | afterwards organist of Newcastle Cathedral Newcastle Cathedral St Nicholas's Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Its full title is The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas Newcastle upon Tyne... |
| 1939–1941 | Vernon Rhodes | |
| 1941–1963 | Shackleton Pollard | |
| 1963–1965 | Robert Smith | |
| 1965–1968 | Neil Wade | |
| 1968–1970 | Cyril Baker | |
| 1971–present | Philip C. Tordoff | |