Diocese of Leeds

The Diocese of Leeds comprises the whole of West Yorkshire, with the exception of the parish of Todmorden, together with parishes in the East Riding, North Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Below you will find 'Taking Stock' reports on the Churches and Chapels of the diocese in alphabetical order. If you can't find what you're looking, please use the search box in the top right-hand corner of this page.

Sicklinghall - Immaculate Conception

Gothic Revival church built for the recusant Middleton family from designs by Charles Hansom, with later additions attributed to E.W.Pugin. With the adjacent presbytery and monastery, the church forms a prominent central feature of the Sicklinghall conservation area.

Silsden- Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Built as a Methodist chapel, this is a fairly typical product of Nonconformist chapel design of the 1870s, when the Classical style was increasingly discarded in favour of the Gothic, retaining a centralised plan whilst adopting more of the appearance of Church of England churches. Good townscape value.

Skipton - St Stephen

A good example of an early Gothic Revival Catholic church in the archaeologically correct Early English style much used by A. W. N. Pugin and his followers. Fine collection of fittings, including a reredos designed by Pugin.

Slaithwaite - Holy Family

A modest building of little architectural interest.

Sowerby Bridge - Sacred Heart and St Patrick

A church of some architectural character and interest, although relatively plain beyond the architectural display of the façade and tower.

Tadcaster - St Joseph

A church of some character and recognisable as the work of George Goldie of York, who concentrated architectural decoration on the distinctive west facade. Changes to both the interior and exterior (especially the rendering of the west front) have removed much of the original High Victorian character but the single internal space remains dominated by the fine continuous open roof. There are no fittings of historical interest, but some well executed 20th century figurative stained glass.

Threshfield - St Margaret Clitherow

A clever design for a small rural church in a sensitive countryside location. Its bold modern forms are expressed with traditional materials and with an imaginative use of space, compact but not cramped.

University Chapel - Leeds

Late Gothic Revival church built as a convent chapel, its unremarkable exterior belying an interior of some quality. The church has particularly good stained glass by Harry Clarke of Dublin.

Uppermill - Sacred Heart and St William

A former Nonconformist chapel, the building is of some architectural interest for its well-preserved exterior and galleried interior and makes a positive contribution to the Uppermill conservation area.

Wakefield - English Martyrs

A neat solution that makes the most of this awkward site to create two large spaces for worship and social use in one building. The style, materials and construction are typical for their date, but the original concept has been altered by the 2000 re-ordering.

Wakefield - St Austin

Notable pre-Emancipation church designed by Joseph Ireland, now a substantially later 19th century building but with a fine classical sanctuary. The exterior fits well into the street scene, with the domed Lady Chapel marking it out as a church. The large wooden medieval statue of St Anne is a remarkable survival.

Wetherby - St Joseph

A fine modern church of 1986, with furnishings designed by the architect Vincente Stienlet and the sculptor Fenwick Lawson. Centralised worship space, the design and furnishing replete with symbolism. The church is grafted onto an earlier church by Edward Simpson (now the parish hall) and is sensitively designed to fit within the centre of the Wetherby Conservation Area.

Taking Stock

Dioceses

Introduction