Halifax Minsteris theminster churchofHalifax,Calderdale,West Yorkshire,England. The church is dedicated toSt John the Baptist.Theparish churchof the town, it was granted minster status in 2009. Halifax Minster is one of three churches in the county of West Yorkshire to be given this honorific title; the other two areDewsbury MinsterandLeeds Minster.
| Halifax Minster | |
|---|---|
| Minster and Parish Church of St John the Baptist | |
 | |
 | |
| 53°43′24″N1°51′13″W/ 53.72320°N 1.85371°W | |
| OS grid reference | SE 0975 2521 |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | halifaxminster.org.uk |
| History | |
| Status | Active |
| Dedication | St John the Baptist |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed building[1] |
| Architectural type | Perpendicular Gothic |
| Administration | |
| Province | York |
| Diocese | Leeds |
| Episcopal area | Huddersfield |
| Archdeaconry | Halifax |
| Deanery | Halifax |
| Parish | Halifax |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar(s) | Canon Hilary Barber |
| Priest(s) | David Carpenter |
| Curate(s) | Sam Crook |
| Laity | |
| Reader(s) | Trish Boyd |
| Director of music | Charles Murray |
| Organ scholar | Edwin Field |
| Churchwarden(s) | Mick Walker Sheila Stoppard |
| Flower guild | Margaret Stears |
| Parish administrator | Annie Bolton |
| Servers' guild | Sheila Stoppard |
Halifax Minster, which stands on the site of an earlierNormanchurch, was built during the 15th century, although the Rokeby and Holdsworth Chapels were not completed until around 1530. The organ was built byJohn Snetzlerin 1763 and installed in 1766. Other notable features of the church include a medieval font cover,Jacobeanbox pews,and the tombstone of 19th-century diaristAnne Lister.
History
editThe first church on this spot, thought to date from around 1120, was owned and operated by theCluniacmonks ofLewes Priory.Some portions of the stonework of this church have been incorporated into the present building – most notably the carved chevron stones in the north wall of the nave and elsewhere.[2]It has been suggested that one section of the north wall was actually the south wall of the Norman church.[3][4]Several early medieval grave covers also survive.[2]
The present church was built in the fifteenth century, apparently fulfilling a need for "more spacious accommodation for the growing population of the parish".[5]The nave and chancel were completed around 1450.[6]At some time between 1455 and 1480, the eastern wall was made higher to accommodate aclerestory.[5][7]Work on the church tower began in the 1440s; it took over three decades to complete, as it was still under construction in 1482.[5]The Rokeby and Holdsworth Chapels, built at the expense of former vicarsWilliam Rokebyand Robert Holdsworth, were completed around 1530.[8]William Rokeby's heart and bowels are buried beneath his chapel, as stipulated in his will.[9]
Jacobeanbox pewsare a prominent feature of the Minster, and most of those in the nave date from 1633 to 1634. 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."[10]
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. ThePuritans,who were prominent in the town in the 17th century, thought stained glass with its "images" was an abomination. During theCommonwealth(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.[11]
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 ofJesus,and was completed in 1856. It is the work ofGeorge Hedgeland(1825–98), and is based on a design which won first prize for stained glass at theGreat Exhibitionof 1851.[12]The remaining glass in the church dates also from the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
In 1878 and 1879 a great internalrestorationof the church took place, initiated by VicarFrancis Pigou(1875–88), and carried out under the direction ofGeorge Gilbert Scottand his sonJohn Oldrid Scott.This work involved the removal of galleries, the altering of floor levels, and the removal of plaster from the internal walls.[1][13]
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 a more open reception area, with adjacent fitted kitchen.
On 31 March 2007, the stand of the 1st Battalion,Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)Regulation Colours were laid up in the church. The Colour party, with 2 escorts of 40 troops, 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 Colin Stout, the then-Mayor of Halifax, andIngrid Roscoe,Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.
The church was grantedminsterstatus on 23 November 2009.[14][15]
Features
edit
- The font cover is a 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 15th century, or earlier. Before 1879 traces of paint could be seen on both font and cover, and it was once 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.[16]
- The woodensediliain the sanctuary date from the 15th century, and were restored in 1879. They contain threemisericords,and were possibly brought from some nearby abbey – such asKirkstall– after Henry VIII'sDissolution of the Monasteries.[17]
- Six other 15th-century misericords, including aGreen Man,are located under the chancel's return stalls.[17]
- A set of late 17th-century altar rails, with a fine double-spiral carving. The altar was first railed-in by 1665; these rails were replaced by the present "twisted banisters" in 1698.[18]
- A series of painted ceiling panels, representing the heraldry of the vicars and famous families of Halifax Parish. These were originally painted by James Hoyle, and were put in place between about 1696 and 1703,[19]but were repainted in 1815–16, and cleaned in 1948.[11]
- Two Royal Coats of Arms of Queen Anne, dating from 1705. They were carved by John Aked.[20]
- The alms-box is held by a life-sized wooden effigy known as "Old Tristram", carved by John Aked about 1701. The carving is believed to represent a real person who once begged in the church precincts.[20][21]
- The Bishop Ferrar Memorial dating from 1847 is a feature of the western wall of the south aisle. From Halifax parish, BishopRobert Ferrarof St David's was earlier the last prior ofNostell Priory.He was burnt at the stake atCarmarthenin 1555. The sculpture is by Joseph Bentley Leyland.[22]
- A painted bust ofJohn Favour(vicar 1593–1624) is adjacent to the Ferrar Monument.[11]Favour was a celebrated physician and lawyer, and the founder ofHeath Grammar School,Halifax.
- The Wellington Chapel. Halifax was the home of theDuke of Wellington's Regiment,which is now the 1st battalion of theYorkshire Regiment.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 atWaterlooand those borne during theCrimean WarandAbyssinian campaign.[23]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 ofAnne ListerofShibden Hall(1791–1840), a noted local diarist. The stone is damaged and is currently in the Rokeby Chapel.[24]
- 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 Rokeby, who became Archbishop of Dublin.
Organ
editThe church houses an organ built byJohn Snetzler,installed in 1766. The organ has been enlarged several times in the 19th and 20th centuries, and was completely rebuilt in 1928 byHarrison & HarrisonofDurham.Only a small amount of the Snetzler work remains in the present instrument.[25][26][27]
List of organists
edit| Date |
Name |
Previous / Later position |
|---|---|---|
| 1766 | William Herschel | afterwards organist atOctagon Chapel, Bath |
| 1766–1819 | Thomas Stopford | previously organist at Hey Chapel |
| 1819–1834 | John Houldsworth | |
| 1835–1838 | Robert Sharp | |
| 1838–1862 | Joseph Henry Frobisher | |
| 1862–1868 | Henry Edwin Moore | previously deputy organist atLeeds Parish Church |
| 1868–1882 | John Varley Roberts | previously organist atSt Bartholomew's Church, Armley,afterwardsInformator ChoristarumatMagdalen College, Oxford |
| 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 ofSt David's Cathedral |
| 1915–1924 | F. de G. English | |
| 1924–1929 | Thomas E. Pearson | previously organist atSt Bartholomew's Church, Armley |
| 1929–1937 | Reginald Tustin Baker | afterwards organist ofSheffield Cathedral |
| 1937–1939 | Kenneth F. Malcolmson | afterwards organist ofNewcastle Cathedral |
| 1939–1941 | Vernon Rhodes | |
| 1941–1963 | Shackleton Pollard | |
| 1963–1965 | Robert Smith | |
| 1965–1968 | Neil Wade | |
| 1968–1970 | Cyril Baker | |
| 1971–2010 | Philip C. Tordoff | |
| 2010–2015 | Chris Brown | |
| 2015–present | Graham S. Gribbin |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abHistoric England."Church of St John the Baptist (1133928)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved1 June2020.
- ^abHargreaves, John A. (2010). "The Minster Church of St John the Baptist, Halifax: The Medieval Foundations".Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society 2010.pp. 28–9.
- ^"History".Halifax Parish Church.Archived fromthe originalon 28 August 2008.
- ^Bretton, Rowland (1967). "Halifax Parish Church".Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society 1967.p. 79.
- ^abcHargreaves 2010,p. 31.
- ^Bretton 1967,p. 75.
- ^Hanson, T. W. (1920).The Story of Old Halifax.F. King and Sons. p. 68.
- ^Bretton 1967,p. 77.
- ^O'Flanagan, J. R. (1870).The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland, Volume 1.London: Longmans, Green and Co. p. 157.
- ^Bretton 1967,pp. 82–3.
- ^abcBretton 1967,p. 82.
- ^Bretton 1967,p. 78.
- ^"Over 900 Years of History"(PDF).Halifax Minster.Retrieved9 July2021.
- ^"We're a Minster town!".Halifax Courier.23 November 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 26 November 2009.
- ^"Halifax Minster: the start of a new era".Halifax Courier.24 November 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 3 May 2012.
- ^Bretton 1967,pp. 81–2.
- ^abSavage, H. E. (1908). "Halifax Parish Church: The 17th Century Woodwork".Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society 1908.pp. 370–77.
- ^Savage 1908,pp. 384–7.
- ^Savage 1908,pp. 381–2.
- ^abBretton 1967,p. 81.
- ^Savage 1908,pp. 388–91.
- ^Bretton 1967,pp. 80–1.
- ^Bretton 1967,p. 84.
- ^Glover, David C. (5 June 2019)."The Mystery of Gentleman Jack's Tombstone".Northern Life.
- ^Houseman, J. W. (1928). "History of the Halifax Parish Church Organs".Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society 1928.pp. 80–109.
- ^"Halifax Minster Organs".Halifax Minister.Retrieved9 July2021.
- ^"The Organs of Halifax Minister"(PDF).Halifax Minster.Retrieved9 July2021.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Halifax Minster's organon the National Pipe Organ Register