Holy Rosary Catholic Church -Chapeltown - Leeds
Special thanks to JohnnyG1955 for sharing the below info
www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyg1955/sets/72157604152348131/...
The parish of the Holy Rosary is the seventh oldest mission in the City of Leeds, with the first Church and School of the Holy Rosary built in Barrack Street in 1886 as a Chapel-of-Ease to St Anne’s Cathedral.
As the area from Sheepscar up to Moortown was developed, the population of the parish increased until in 1927 the first steps were taken to build a new church. Rev Canon Mitchell invited architects to submit plans for a new church with Marten & Burnett chosen as the architects for the building. A site was bought on Chapeltown Road in 1930 and then in 1935 test holes were dug in what was then the garden of Ashbourne House on Chapeltown Road. The foundation stone was laid on May 3rd 1936 by Canon Hawkswell. The church was completed at a cost of over £13,000, with Ashbourne House becoming the Presbytery of the new church.
The first mass was celebrated on September 30th 1937 by The Bishop of Leeds, Bishop Henry John Poskitt with Bishop Shine of Middlesbrough. Father Ward was the first priest in the parish.
Among the priests at the first mass in the new church in 1937 was a young priest who had been ordained in Ireland for the Leeds Diocese the previous year. In 1951, this priest, Canon P. O’Meara, became the first Parish Priest of the Holy Rosary, a position he held until his death in 1985. There is a commemorative plaque to Canon O’Meara in the church.
The first priest to be ordained from the Holy Rosary Parish was Father Gerald Creasey who was ordained in 1961.
In 1987 Father James Leavy instigated renovations to the church including: the relocation of the altar, removal of the communion rails, the font being moved to the chancel steps and the shortening of the nave creating a community room between the narthex and the main body of the church. The front of the original organ was retained above the community room and a new altar of Yorkshire Stone was created in the side chapel.
In 1989 the Presbytery, occupying what had been Ashbourne House, was split in two. The part nearest the church became the new presbytery and the House of Light took over the other half. At this time the presbytery was refurbished. The hall underneath the church was leased out to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance at this time.
The parish feast day is on October 7th, the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
William Marshall, the last abbot of Kirkstall Abbey to die in office, came from what is now the Holy Rosary parish. He built the tower of Kirkstall Abbey in 1527, just twelve years before his successor, John Ripley, the 27th and last Abbot, had the sad duty of surrendering the Abbey to King Henry VIII. That the remains of the tower are still visible after 430 years is proof of the solidity of its construction, and a memorial to one who might be considered an early parishioner.
For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:
www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx
Another that could be seen as an early parishioner is William Scott of Scott Hall. Scott Hall was situated in Potternewton, just about where Scott Hall Place is now. This had been the home of the Scott family who had originated from Scotland. When the last of the family line died, the hall was demolished and the land was quarried, with the stone used for many Leeds buildings. When the quarry was worked out it was filled in and is now the playing fields on Scott Hall Road. When the A61 was built in the 1930s, it was named Scott Hall as a reminder of the former land use.
William Scott left a “parcel of land” on the corner of Vicar Lane and Kirkgate to the Parish Priest of Leeds Parish Church in 1470, on which a modest mansion was built. The site existed for almost 400 years and was known as Vicar’s Croft, until it was bought in 1857 by the Leeds Corporation and is now the home of the Leeds Markets.
An aerial view of the Church its surroundings can be found at:
www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20021127_4...
Sources:
Silver Jubilee brochure for Holy Rosary Church, Leeds 1937-1962, can be downloaded from here.
www.movinghere.org.uk/search/catalogue.asp?catphase=short...
Gilleghan J (1990) Worship North and East of Leeds, Kingsway Press
The Diocese of Leeds
Leeds in The Catholic Encyclopedia in 1913:
en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Leeds
The Diocese of Leeds on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Leeds
For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:
www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx
Holy Rosary Catholic Church -Chapeltown - Leeds
Special thanks to JohnnyG1955 for sharing the below info
www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyg1955/sets/72157604152348131/...
The parish of the Holy Rosary is the seventh oldest mission in the City of Leeds, with the first Church and School of the Holy Rosary built in Barrack Street in 1886 as a Chapel-of-Ease to St Anne’s Cathedral.
As the area from Sheepscar up to Moortown was developed, the population of the parish increased until in 1927 the first steps were taken to build a new church. Rev Canon Mitchell invited architects to submit plans for a new church with Marten & Burnett chosen as the architects for the building. A site was bought on Chapeltown Road in 1930 and then in 1935 test holes were dug in what was then the garden of Ashbourne House on Chapeltown Road. The foundation stone was laid on May 3rd 1936 by Canon Hawkswell. The church was completed at a cost of over £13,000, with Ashbourne House becoming the Presbytery of the new church.
The first mass was celebrated on September 30th 1937 by The Bishop of Leeds, Bishop Henry John Poskitt with Bishop Shine of Middlesbrough. Father Ward was the first priest in the parish.
Among the priests at the first mass in the new church in 1937 was a young priest who had been ordained in Ireland for the Leeds Diocese the previous year. In 1951, this priest, Canon P. O’Meara, became the first Parish Priest of the Holy Rosary, a position he held until his death in 1985. There is a commemorative plaque to Canon O’Meara in the church.
The first priest to be ordained from the Holy Rosary Parish was Father Gerald Creasey who was ordained in 1961.
In 1987 Father James Leavy instigated renovations to the church including: the relocation of the altar, removal of the communion rails, the font being moved to the chancel steps and the shortening of the nave creating a community room between the narthex and the main body of the church. The front of the original organ was retained above the community room and a new altar of Yorkshire Stone was created in the side chapel.
In 1989 the Presbytery, occupying what had been Ashbourne House, was split in two. The part nearest the church became the new presbytery and the House of Light took over the other half. At this time the presbytery was refurbished. The hall underneath the church was leased out to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance at this time.
The parish feast day is on October 7th, the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
William Marshall, the last abbot of Kirkstall Abbey to die in office, came from what is now the Holy Rosary parish. He built the tower of Kirkstall Abbey in 1527, just twelve years before his successor, John Ripley, the 27th and last Abbot, had the sad duty of surrendering the Abbey to King Henry VIII. That the remains of the tower are still visible after 430 years is proof of the solidity of its construction, and a memorial to one who might be considered an early parishioner.
For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:
www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx
Another that could be seen as an early parishioner is William Scott of Scott Hall. Scott Hall was situated in Potternewton, just about where Scott Hall Place is now. This had been the home of the Scott family who had originated from Scotland. When the last of the family line died, the hall was demolished and the land was quarried, with the stone used for many Leeds buildings. When the quarry was worked out it was filled in and is now the playing fields on Scott Hall Road. When the A61 was built in the 1930s, it was named Scott Hall as a reminder of the former land use.
William Scott left a “parcel of land” on the corner of Vicar Lane and Kirkgate to the Parish Priest of Leeds Parish Church in 1470, on which a modest mansion was built. The site existed for almost 400 years and was known as Vicar’s Croft, until it was bought in 1857 by the Leeds Corporation and is now the home of the Leeds Markets.
An aerial view of the Church its surroundings can be found at:
www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=20021127_4...
Sources:
Silver Jubilee brochure for Holy Rosary Church, Leeds 1937-1962, can be downloaded from here.
www.movinghere.org.uk/search/catalogue.asp?catphase=short...
Gilleghan J (1990) Worship North and East of Leeds, Kingsway Press
The Diocese of Leeds
Leeds in The Catholic Encyclopedia in 1913:
en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Leeds
The Diocese of Leeds on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Leeds
For more about the history of Kirkstall Abbey see:
www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/Kirkstall_Abbey/History.aspx