St Stephen's Church, Kirkstall

St. Stephen's Church is a Church of England church in Kirkstall, Leeds. The church has been Grade II listed since 5 August 1976.

St. Stephen's Church, Kirkstall
St. Stephen's Church, Kirkstall
Map
53°49′05″N 1°35′54″W / 53.8180°N 1.5984°W / 53.8180; -1.5984
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipBroad Church
WebsiteSt Stephen's, Kirkstall
History
DedicationSt. Stephen
Administration
ProvinceYork
DioceseLeeds
ParishKirkstall, Leeds

Location

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The church is located on Morris Lane in Kirkstall. The church sits on high ground overlooking Kirkstall Abbey.

History

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Construction started in 1828 and the church opened in 1829 having been built by architect Robert Dennis Chantrell,[1] architect of Leeds Parish Church. The church was restored and extended between 1863 and 1864 by architects Perkin and Backhouse of Leeds,[2][3] with further alterations made in 1874 by Henry Walker.[4]

Architectural style

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Exterior

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The church is built to a gothic revival style of hammer-dresses gritstone ashlar and has a slate roof. The nave has five lancet windows. The church has a west tower of three stages with a spire and clock.[5]

Interior

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There is a six-bay nave. The original chancel had two bays; this has been extended to three. There is a wooden reredos depicting saints and a carved square wooden pulpit. The east window is Christ in Glory flanked by St Stephen and St Paul.[6] Carvings dating from the 1864 renovation are by Burstall and Taylor of Leeds, who executed label stop heads, carved corbels and the font.[7]

Church hall

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The church has a separate church hall of mid-twentieth century construction with a barrelled roof. This is not listed.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Webster, C.: Robert Dennis Chantrell (1793-1872), pp.99-116.". Building a great Victorian city : Leeds architects and architecture, 1790-1914. Christopher Webster, Victorian Society. West Yorkshire Group. [England]: Northern Heritage Publications. 2011. ISBN 978-1-906600-64-8. OCLC 769432539.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ John Bull, Saturday 20 August 1864 p7 col1: On Wednesday in last week"
  3. ^ Not "Perkins and Bulmer" as Historic England has listed it.
  4. ^ "Church of St Stephen, Kirkstall". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Church of St Stephen, Kirkstall". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Church of St Stephen, Kirkstall". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  7. ^ Leeds Intelligencer, Saturday 13 August 1864 p5 col3: Reopening of St Stephen's Church, Kirkstall