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Leeds Parish Church |
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| Parish Church of St Peter-at-Leeds | |
| Dedication | St Peter |
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| Denomination | Church of England |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Leeds City |
| Deanery | Allerton |
| Archdeaconry | Leeds |
| Diocese | Ripon and Leeds |
| Province | York |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | The Revd Canon Tony Bundock |
| Vicar | The Revd Joanna Yates |
| Curate | The Revd Richard Coutts |
| Minister | Mrs Ann Nicholl, Lay Minister |
| Assistant | Mr Iain Howell, Senior Verger & Registrar |
| Other | |
| Organist/Director of Music | Dr Simon Lindley |
| Organist | Mr David Houlder |
| Website | www.leedsparishchurch.org.uk |
Leeds Parish Church, or the Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a large and architecturally-significant Church of England parish church. The City of Leeds does not have a Church of England cathedral, but there is a Roman Catholic cathedral (Leeds Cathedral).
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History
An early 7th century church on this site was burned down in 633AD. A church at Ledes is mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book. The church was rebuilt after a fire in the 14th century, and again in the 19th century. Walter Farquhar Hook as Vicar of Leeds was responsible for the construction of the present building consecrated on 2 September 1841 with Florence Nightingale and Dr Edward Bouverie Pusey in the Congregation. The architect was Robert Dennis Chantrell and the first Organist of the new Church Dr Samuel Sebastian Wesley. Among very many famous artefacts and memorials still in the present building is the celebrated Anglian Cross on the Altar Flat and a brass commemorating Captain Oates of Scott's ill-fated Antarctic Expedition, who had strong Leeds connections. Magnificent Flemish stained glass enhances the Apse of Chantrell's interior - he designed the windows to fit the glass - and of more recent date is Sally Scott's magnificent Angel Screen at the North, Tower Porch, entrance - a munificent gift from the family of the late Lord Marshall of Leeds installed in 1997. The superb Organ is one of the finest instruments to be found in any English Parish Church.
The church today
The church is in the Anglican Diocese of Ripon and Leeds (cathedral at Ripon), in the Parish of Leeds City along with the splendid Georgian Church of Holy Trinity, Leeds|Holy Trinity Church in Boar Lane and the Congregations worshipping at St Mary's Lincoln Green and at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in Centenary House. The Parish Church is at the Easternmost extremity of the modern-day City Centre, within a spacious precinct bordering on two of the city's oldest thoroughfares - Kirkgate [now part of the Inner City Loop Road] to the North and The Calls to the South. Another very ancient pathway, High Court Ings, connects the Western Precinct with High Court. The Rector of Leeds [the third holder of the title since the establishment of the Parish of Leeds City in 1990] is the Reverend Canon Tony Bundock. Additional to the famous choral foundation and other youth work from the Parish Church, work with young people undertaken by the Parish of Leeds City also includes St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Burmantofts - where the Chaplain is the Lay Minister to St Mary's and Holy Trinity, Mrs Ann Nicholl - and The Market Place drop-in centre.1
The church's website gives details of regular and special services and the musical events that take place in the church. The building is open to visitors for at least five hours each day, and a Coffee Shop serves refreshments and light meals.
Leeds Parish Church is a Grade I listed building, and a member of the Greater Churches Group.
List of the Vicars of Leeds
This list is incomplete
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Music
This is the only Church of England parish church in England without a resident Choir School to have a full programme of weekday choral services additional to the usual Sunday liturgies.2 Organists from 1842 include Samuel Sebastian Wesley 1842-1849, Dr [later Sir] Edward Bairstow 1906-1913, Dr Melville Cook 1937-1956 and Dr Donald Hunt [OBE 1996] 1957-1975. The present Organist and Master of the Music, in office since 1975, is Dr Simon Lindley and the Sub Organist and Director of the Girls' Choir is Mr David Houlder, formerly at Liverpool Cathedral. Dr Lindley is also the Leeds City Organist at Leeds Town Hall. The Boy Choristers attend Church each weekday except Thursday from a number of different schools in the City and even further afield, and the adult Choir includes students from the University of Leeds and Leeds College of Music as well as former Boy Choristers. A flourishing adult choir, Saint Peter's Singers of Leeds was founded in 1977 and meets weekly for rehearsals as do the Church's Girl Choristers, a group founded in 1997.
List of the Organists
- 1842 Dr Samuel Sebastian Wesley
- 1849 Robert Senior Burton
- 1880 Dr William Creser
- 1891 Alfred Benton
- 1906 Dr Edward Bairstow
- 1913 Willoughby Williams
- 1920 Dr Albert Charles Tysoe
- 1937 Dr Alfred Melville Cook
- 1957 Dr Donald Frederick Hunt
- 1975 Dr Simon Geoffrey Lindley
References
- ^ "The Market Place". Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ "Leeds Parish Church: History". Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
External links
- Leeds Parish Church website
- Looking at buildings: from the Pevsner Architectural Guides
- "Thoresby's account of the Old Church and Leeds St Peters Church rebuilt, both transcribed from Annals of Yorkshire, 1862". GENUKI. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
- Images of England — details from listed building database (465926)
