A Guided Tour
Christ Church Staincliffe was built at a time of almost unparalleled confidence and expansion. West Yorkshire was one of the richest and fastest growing areas in a country that believed it ruled the waves. Our Victorian forebears, like no other generation beforehand, built buildings, including thousands of churches, ostensibly to the glory of God, and not a little to the glory of those who paid for them. Much has changed since then, within the life of this church, the community and in the world at large. Local fortunes have waxed and waned. There have been two world wars. The fields that, within living memory surrounded the church are now streets of houses. What was once a parish of mill owners, workers and farmers is becoming increasingly ethnically diverse. And yet through all of this, Christ Church has stood, huge and immovable; a visible parable in stone of He whom it glorifies; Who, despite the tides and changes of the world around, remains forever constant.
HISTORY |  |
Christ Church was the first of a number of parishes in the town to be carved out of the ancient parish of All Saints Batley. Staincliffe was originally a small hamlet lying between Heckmonwike and Batley. As the milling industry, which gave the town some of its finest buidlings expanded, so too did the town’s population, so that houses were built on the hills reaching up to Staincliffe.
This rise in population necessitated the need for new places of worship, especially if the Church of England was to counter the advances of the non-conformists, which had been traditionally very strong in the area. To meet these needs, a committee, meeting in 1865 under the auspices of the Vicar of Batley, the Revd Andrew Cassells, decided that two new parishes should be formed. Thus, on April 13, 1866, the foundation stone of the new church of Christ Church Staincliffe was laid, on land given by Mr J. B. Greenwood, who also contributed £1000 to the building fund. The church was consecrated by the Bishop of Ripon, in whose diocese it then was, on Tuesday 12 November, 1867. The other parish, St Thomas Batley, followed a year later in 1868.
|  Above: The Architect's plan of the church
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The church, which cost £4,620, was designed by the Leeds architect, William Henry Crossland, whose work may also be seen in such famous buildings as Rochdale Town Hall and French chateau-like Royal Holloway and Bedford College in Surrey, as well as the nearby churches at Birstall and Ossett. Crossland’s inspiration lay in the late thirteenth, early fourteenth century decorated or middle pointed style of architecture, and one can certainly detect hints of churches dating from that era, such as Tintern Abbey. Yet, this church is no mere pastiche of a bygone age; throughout the building Crossland also added his own touch of originality.
 | The ExteriorThe Church is set at a lower level than the road, in a pleasant church yard, which is a mixture between tended garden and more natural woodland. In spring the area to the south of the church is awash with the colour of Bluebells. The first impression on seeing the church is how sturdy the building appears to be. There was no room here for flimsy and fanciful details. This is clearly a church that was built to last. Even so, the exterior is not quite as it should have been. The square lumps of stone indicate that there should have been considerably more carved ornament. Funds must have been restricted, and so whilst the decision was made to finish the carving inside, that on the outside of the church was never completed. The result is austere, to say the least.
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THE TOWER
The massive west tower remains to this day incomplete. On the four pinnacles there are, as elsewhere, the blocks of stone which were meant to be carved at a later date. Moreover, the massive buttressing at the corners of the tower clearly shows that it was also intended to carry a spire. As it now stands, the tower is 96 feet high and 24 feet square. The intended spire would have been another 88 feet high. An engraving by the architect shows the tower and the intended spire. Click here to see panoramic views from the top of the tower.
The four faced clock by Potts of Leeds strikes the hour on a large bell, dating from 1830. This bell came from Worcester Cathedral where it had been the tenor bell of the peal. How it managed to end up in Staincliffe is not known. The clock was, like so much else in the church, given by the Fox family and was set in motion at 12 noon on September 9th 1873. An unusual feature of the tower is the pair of two narrow square headed side windows, one on each of the north and south sides, as well as the large four light west window.
THE SOUTH PORCH
This is the main entrance into the church (the corresponding porch on the north side having been converted into lavatories in 1990). Although present in the original designs, the porches were actually built in 1871, some time after the rest of the church had been consecrated.
The InteriorTHE NAVE
On entering the building, the visitor is struck once again by the sense of space. The nave is 68 feet long. The piers of the five bay nave arcades, like those of the tower and chancel arches, sport finely carved leaf capitals, each one different. Above each arch is a small clerestory window. The roofs of the main body of the church are of a simple yet sturdy hammer beam construction. In 2000 the two western bays of the nave were cleared of pews in order that the west end of the church may be used for arts and other social events. New kitchen facilities were installed under the Tower, in 2010 at which time opportunity was taken to incorporate a gallery above. At the side of the chancel arch is the principal shrine of Our Lady in the church. This image of Our Lady was commissioned for the church, and carved and painted in a medieval style by Alan Lamb, and it was blessed on October 17, 2009. The two standard candlesticks are processional torches that originally came from the Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield, and were latterly given to the Christ Church in 2009, when the statue was installed. The fourteen gothic style Stations of the Cross are of French origin and date from the mid 19th Century. Each one has been given by a member of the congregation. They were installed in 2010. |  |
The original plan of the church above shows that the north and south aisles were originally full of pews, right up to the front. This was not uncommon at the time. Fifty years later, however, they had been converted into chapels for weekday Masses. The altars in these chapels are now dedicated to the Name of Jesus and Our Lady.
 | THE JESUS CHAPEL
The Chapel of the Christ Child or Children’s Chapel, is situated at the east end of the south aisle. It contains a very special relic: the wooden altar, which probably dates from the 18th century, was used for the celebration of the Eucharist at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War. It was brought back to Staincliffe when the church was beautified in 1917. Around the church, there are several memorial tablets to young men of the parish who died in the 1914-1917 war. The statue of St Joseph that stands on a wooden bracket, was given by John Colbeck and was carved by the same artist who made that of Our Lady of Walsingham, in the Lady Chapel opposite. |
The glass in the window above was given by the first vicar, The Revd James Twamley in 1873 as a memorial to his wife, Emma who had died after a long illness in 1872. Like the glass in the south window next to it, the window is unsigned. The chapel was partially renovated in 1997 in memory of Brian Wilson, who, for many years, had been a Church Warden.
 | THE LADY CHAPEL
The Lady Chapel at Christ Church is unusual, in that it is wholly enclosed by parclose screens in the north aisle of the nave. The chapel was reordered by Sir Charles Nicholson as part of a general scheme of beautification, and which included the erection of a new High Altar. This chapel was dedicated on November 9, 1919 as the parish War Memorial. The names of 68 men, who from this church and parish laid down their lives in the Great War, are carved into the panelling on the north side. The painting in the panelling behind the Altar depicts the Annunciation and it is the work of the renowned Batley School of Art. The white lamp that hangs before the altar signifies that the Blessed Sacrament of the Body of Christ is reserved here in the tabernacle, for devotion. To the side, concealed by a purple curtain, is an Aumbry cupboard which is now used to store the Holy Oils, which are blessed by the Bishop in Holy Week. |
A brass plaque on the fine carved wooden Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham informs the visitor that it was given in memory of Margaret Poole 1938-80. The parish makes an annual pilgrimage to Walsingham.
THE CHANCEL
The wide chancel arch is also finely carved on both sides. The chancel, which is 33 feet long, consists of three bays, with an organ chamber and sacristy to the north. The east end was re-ordered in 1916-7 in time for the church’s Golden Jubilee. The gothic cast iron grilles in the floor are an appropriately fine feature in a church that was built as a result of the gains of Victorian Industry. They form part of the original under-floor heating system which was serviced from the very shallow brick undercroft that extends throughout the church. Similar heating grills can be seen at All Saints North Street in York amongst other places.
THE CHANCEL
The wide chancel arch is also finely carved on both sides. The chancel, which is 33 feet long, consists of three bays, with an organ chamber and sacristy to the north. The east end was re-ordered in 1916-7 in time for the church’s Golden Jubilee. The gothic cast iron grilles in the floor are an appropriately fine feature in a church that was built as a result of the gains of Victorian Industry. They form part of the original under-floor heating system which was serviced from the very shallow brick undercroft that extends throughout the church. Similar heating grills can be seen at All Saints North Street in York amongst other places.
THE SANCTUARY AND HIGH ALTAR
The oak panelling in the Sanctuary along with the High Altar and its fine Reredos were executed to the designs of Sir Charles Nicholson, and were installed in 1916-17 during the short but remarkable incumbency of Fr Haynes, as part of a scheme to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the church. It was he who dramatically shifted the tradition of the church, seemingly overnight, from being that of protestant and Evangelical to sacramental Catholic. The altar incorporates intricately carved riddle posts and a painted relief carving of the crucifixion. A coloured design for the scheme, by Nicholson, survives in the sacristy. The front of the Altar is also finely carved, incorporating so-called linenfold panelling, although this can not usually be seen since it is hidden behind one of the frontals. The altar is rather unusual in that it wholly incorporates and encases the old (and very low) Communion Table, complete with its top, underneath the present one, with the result that it is extremely heavy! The credence table and altar rails are also by Nicholson. The original altar rails were re-sited at the entrance of the chancel, to form a low screen. | 
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 Detail of the East Window
| The five light East Window contains by far the best glass in the church. It was installed in 1873 and was given by the Fox Family in memory of Hannah Fox, who had died the year before. The panels reveal ten scenes from the life of Our Lord, with the Resurrection in the centre. High up above, in the roundel at the centre of the tracery, Christ the King is enthroned, surrounded by angels with censers. Although this window is unsigned, its colour and general style suggests
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 | Although many lovely things were added to the church by Nicholson, not everything he planned came into being. Most notably a design exists for a rood beam in the chancel arch. Evidently funds, once again, did not permit its execution.
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