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
53.8180°N 1.5984°W / 53.8180; -1.5984
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	St Stephen's, Kirkstall
History
Dedication	St. Stephen
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Leeds
Parish	Kirkstall, Leeds

Location

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

History

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

Exterior

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

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

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

• 
  The church prior to 1914.
• 
  Interior prior to 1914.
• 
  St. Stephen's Church Hall.

See also

• List of places of worship in the City of Leeds

References

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