The Baptistery & the font

The baptismal font was relocated to the West End of the Nave during the re-ordering of 2011 and the baptistery converted to a creche for use by children with their carers during church services.

The baptistery was located under the Tower at the West End of the church.

The Mosaic paving, steps and rails, together with the oak panelling date from 1896 and were the gift of Revd. J. Fielding Hoyle, Vicar from 1891-96.

The West Window is in geometric – curvilinear style. It is a memorial to Mrs. Annie Cooke, donated by her children in 1914. There are four lights and, from left to right, the first two depict the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Baptism of Jesus. The remaining two deal with Pentecost and the Sacrament of Baptism.

The Font is of fine sandstone and has a circular basin standing on low clustered columns. The bowl is encircled with a belt of uniformly carved eight-petalled flowers.

The Bell Tower

Originally the church had only three bells, which were cast in 1867. A further four were added in 1872 and a treble in 1876. All were cast by John William Taylor senior and recast in 1933 by his son, Edmund Denison Taylor, at his own expense. The weight of the tenor was originally 20 cwt., but after recasting is now 18 cwt. 2qr. 18 lb. in E.

St Chad’s Spire and Bells

The following is from an article published in ‘The Ringing World’ on 30 April 1971.

Situated three miles on the north-west side of the city of Leeds on the main Leeds – Otley road, Far Headingley is a well-populated suburb, the church managing to retain a rural atmosphere, with the church cricket club ground in front of the church.

Provided for the parish by the first Lord Grimthorpe, the church was consecrated on 11 January 1868. Between 1909 and 1911 the church was extended and a new chancel built together with a Lady Chapel. This put the 175ft tower and steeple into a much better perspective. The style of the church is 14th century Gothic and is especially dominant within. The tower and steeple are beautifully designed, the spire being octagonal and triple-banded in a double elongated lozenge pattern – a rare feature. By coincidence it is similar in design to the spires of Salisbury and Lichfield Cathedrals.

Originally the church had only three bells, which were cast in 1867. A further four were added in 1872 and a treble in 1876. All were cast by John William Taylor sen. and were recast in 1933 by his son, Edmund Denison Taylor, at his own expense. The weight of the tenor was originally 20cwt., but after the recasting is now 18cwt 2qr. 18lb in E.* Hung in an oak frame, the bells are acknowledged by many to be one of the finest rings of eight in the country.

An interesting record in the tower is that of the first peal on the augmented eight, one of Kent Treble Bob Major, on 22 December 1877, conducted by Jasper W. Snowdon, who was the first president of the Yorkshire Association.

A former vicar of the church was Canon C. C. Marshall, who, in addition to being for over 35 years the president of the Yorkshire Association, was a very active ringer for over 40 years at St Chad’s. He was followed as president of the association by Canon C. O. Ellison, a former curate of the church.

The bells are rung twice every Sunday, and the practises on Thursdays are always well attended. During the academic year there are augmented by students from the University of Leeds, many of whom reside in the parish. Yorkshire rope-ends are of course, the order of the day.

Alfie and Ernest Johnson

* As a sub-note, the bells have been analysed tonally since this article was produced and deduced that actually the bells are tuned closer to the key of E flat rather than E, but they are a sharp E Flat.

Chancel, Choir and Nave

The choir stalls are finely carved of oak.  Above them on the north side are six windows, each depicting a saintly figure in the life of the early church in the north of England: Cuthbert, William of York and Paulinus are named. Three commemorate local worthies: Hugh Clarke d.1871, Anthony Titley d.1845 and William Beverley d.1867.

The windows in the Sanctuary on the north side portray St. Hilda of Whitby and Ann Margaretta Appleton of Stokesley who died in Headingley in 1871.

The East Window

The detail in this window is a constant source of surprise. Designed and made by Miss M.E. Aldrich Rope of Chelsea its theme is the Redemption of Creation. Viewing the bands of colour as layers in the story, the blue band is the creation of the earth. The green band deals with the creatures of the earth, the garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge and the red band with the sinful earth. The uppermost part introduces the idea of the Incarnation and above it all rises the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.

The window was removed for safe keeping during the early part of WW2.

The Lady Chapel / Chapel of St. Oswald

The reredos is a memorial to Dr. Cartwright Smyth (the first vicar 1868-1890). Only one of the three windows is stained glass, depicting St.George and St. Alban, and is in memory of Henry Frederick Snowden who was killed on the Somme in 1916 aged 32. On the square pillar is a fine brass dated 1911 which refers to the dedication of the church in 1868 and the part played by the Beckett Dennison family in the founding of the church. The cathedra, or bishop’s chair, dates from 1880.

The Chapel was renamed for St. Oswald when St. Oswald’s Church in Meanwood was closed in July 2002. The glazing to separate it from the main church was installed during the reordering of 2011, providing an intimate space for services attended by small congregations.

The Reredos

Designed by J.H. Gibbons, made by Messrs. Boulton and Son and given by John Cecil Atkinson in memory of his wife Mary.

God appears as King of Kings, an earthly king is kneeling in submission and the Virgin Mary is watching in adoration. Four panels depict the symbols which represent the four Evangelists: Mark the Lion, Luke the Ox, Matthew the Angel and John the Eagle. Seven angel trumpeters and two dragons as the outcast devil complete the picture.

The Organ at St. Chad’s

Built in 1911 by Harrison & Harrison of Durham, it is considered one of the finest examples of their work in the North of England. It was originally given as a memorial by the family of Revd. W Howard Stables and restored in the mid 1980s.

In the rebuild of 1988, the first stage of the Harrison Action was replaced by electric action. The pistons and stop actions were made electric. The Great Reeds were placed on a separate chest facing down the South Aisle, providing independent use of the 8 and 4ft Trombas on Great and Choir Organs.

The original Harrison mixture on the Great had already been altered and this was again modified giving a new 5rank mixture of ‘Harrison’ style and using base pipes from an old Harrison Organ.The rest of the organ has retained its original Harrison Voicing.

After the reordering of the church (2010 – 2011), the organ was restored by Wood of Huddersfield in 2012 which revitalised the organ. All the bellows and action motors were re-leathered. All slider solenoid actions were replaced. A new chest was made for the Great Reeds and the console was electrified with a new transmission system. An up to date capture/combination system with microprocessor was installed providing general pistons and a stepper system. This gave 96 settings of general and divisional pistons and 999 settings on the sequencer with additional (a) settings giving a total of 1998. The voicing remains unchanged.

The instrument remains one of the best in the area and because it was designed when the Church was extended, the organ chamber extends to the top of the building on the South Side so that the instrument speaks directly into the building with great clarity and attack.

St. Oswald’s Church

St. Oswald’s was built in 1890 as a mission church sponsored by St. Chad’s to provide the people living in that part of the parish with a place of worship nearer to their homes. A Men’s Club was built nearby in 1902 to give the local men somewhere to pass their leisure time.

In time, the church was enlarged and the old organ from St. Chad’s installed in about 1910, St. Chad’s now having the magnificent Harrison and Harrison organ still in use today.

The final service before the closure of St. Oswald’s took place on the 28th July 2002 at 6.30pm when the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds preached.

This was truly a sad-happy occasion but it was also a positive one. The people of St. Chad’s are delighted to welcome the members of St. Oswald’s to regular worship at their church and embrace the strengths and contribution they will bring to the life of St.Chad’s. It was wonderful to see so many people at the service, especially some of the former vicars and curates of the Parish. Many old friendships and acquaintances were renewed.

If you would like to know about St. Oswald click on the links.