St Chad's Church, Far Headingley

Church in West Yorkshire, England

53°49′41″N 1°35′10″W / 53.8281°N 1.5860°W / 53.8281; -1.5860OS grid referenceSE 27335 36897LocationOtley Road, Far Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS165JTCountryEnglandDenominationChurch of EnglandChurchmanshipCentral/Liberal^[1]HistoryStatusActiveDedicationSt ChadConsecrated1868ArchitectureFunctional statusParish churchHeritage designationGrade II* listedArchitect(s)Edmund Beckett Denison and W H CrosslandArchitectural typeGothic RevivalCompleted1868, modified 1911Construction cost£10,000SpecificationsSpire height186 feet (57 m)AdministrationProvinceProvince of YorkDiocese Diocese of LeedsClergyRectorThe Revd Tony WhatmoughVicar(s)The Revd Hannah LievesleyLaityReader(s)Gill Griggs, Abbie Palmer, and Bryan TurnbullOrganist(s)Richard WilsonChurchwarden(s)Helen Cruickshank and Alison Gallant

St Chad's Church, Far Headingley is the parish church of Far Headingley in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The church is Grade II* listed in Gothic Revival style.^[2] The dedication is to Chad of Mercia, who was bishop of York and died in AD 672. It is set back from the busy Otley Road, with a cricket field and the parish war memorial (Grade II listed) nearer the road.

History

The church was built in 1868, on land given by the Beckett family of Kirkstall Grange who paid £10,000 towards it. The architects were Edmund Beckett Denison and W. H. Crossland.^[3] The spire is 186 feet (57 m) high.^[4]

In 1909-11 St Chad's Church was modified, removing the octagonal apse and replacing it with a rectangular chancel and adding a Lady chapel and an organ chamber to the sides.^[3] The organ by Harrison & Harrison of Durham was built to fit into the new space. It was rebuilt in 1988 with electric power and refurbished in 2011 when the interior of the church was reordered.^[5] The Creation window above the altar was designed and made by M. E. Aldrich Rope in 1922.^[2]^[3]

In 2002 the Lady Chapel was renamed the Chapel of St Oswald, when St Oswald's church in Meanwood closed. A glass partition was installed.^[6]

St Chad's won an "Eco-congregation" award,^[7] and in November 2007 the church won the Church Times national award for biodiversity in recognition of its wildlife-friendly churchyard.^[8]

St Chad's Home for Girls

St Chad's Home for Girls was opened by the Church of England Central Home for Waifs and Strays in January 1889 at Glebe House, Hollin Lane, Far Headingley. A new home in Far Headingley for the girls was opened in December 1894 and a church service at St Chad's was conducted by the Bishop of Richmond to celebrate the event.^[9]

Use in television

The church has been used on multiple occasions by Yorkshire Television as a filming location including for Fat Friends and At Home with the Braithwaites.

West side and graveyard
Lady chapel
Porch and main door
Creation window

References

^ "Parish Profile: St Chad's, Far Headingley, Leeds" (PDF). pathways.churchofengland.org. The Church of England. 24 February 2019. Archived from the original (pdf) on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
^ ^a ^b Historic England. "Church of St Chad (1375301)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Wrathmell, Susan; Minnis, John (2005). Leeds. Pevsner architectural guides. Yale U.P. pp. 260–262. ISBN 0-300-10736-6.
^ Arthur Mee (1941) The King's England: Yorkshire - West Riding (Hodder & Stoughton, London) p. 179
^ "The Organ at St. Chad's". stchads.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
^ "The Lady Chapel / Chapel of St. Oswald". stchads.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
^ "Ecocongregation". Retrieved 18 January 2008.
^ "The greenest of them all". Church Times. 23 November 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
^ Higginbotham, P. "St Chad's Home for Girls, Far Headingley". Higginbotham. Retrieved 4 May 2024.