About Us
St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley is a parish church in the Church of England in Armley, West Yorkshire. Worship at St. Bartholomew's is firmly rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England with a solemn mass being celebrated weekly.
HISTORY : The present church was built starting in 1872 to designs by the architects Henry Walker and Joseph Althron of Leeds. and is now a Grade II* listed building. It was consecrated on 24 August 1877, but the tower, porches and vestry were only completed c.1900. The tower was not dedicated until 1904. The church is constructed of Horsforth sandstone. It cost £20,000. The church was restored in 2000 with the aid of a Heritage Lottery grant. The church replaced a small chapel, the foundations of which, along with the Gott vault are in the churchyard to the north of the present church.
FEATURES : The church itself is a particularly fine example of a Perpendicular Gothic Victorian church. The interior is spacious and is faced with limestone from Ancaster. The nave comprises of six bays with quatrefoil columns of Greenmoor stone; attached columns rise to tie-beam trusses with angels holding shields. Mosaic panels in pre-Raphaelite style depicting The Annunciation and life of Christ adorn the sanctuary, with lower-level mosaics depicting angels symbolising Prayer and Peace and three Saints. The latter mosaics date from the 1920s.
The church features finely-carved choir and clergy stalls.
The Caen stone reredos, erected in 1877, has alabaster carvings, representing the Magi, crucifixion and Old Testament figures. It is thought that the carving of the reredos was the work of John Wormald Appleyard.
The pulpit is of alabaster and marble, with open cusped arches featuring sculptured heads between them and was carved originally by Mawer and Ingle for the former St. Bartholomew's Church. It was copied from that at the shrine of Sebaldus in St. Sebaldus Church, Nuremberg. It was moved along with the font and old tomb memorials to the new building after the consecration.
At the west end of the church are particularly impressive stained glass windows depicting the parables of Jesus and archangels. Below them is a large mosaic of Christ's Baptism watched by saints and martyrs. The font is octagonal and is of red and black marble.
There is a sculptured memorial by Joseph Gott at the west end of the north aisle to Benjamin Gott of Armley House who died in 1839. Benjamin Gott was a local industrial businessman with woollen mills in Leeds. It was through his benevolence that the old chapel, built in 1630, was much enlarged in 1825. In the south aisle there is 'Faith comforting the Mourner' which commemorates the two sons of Benjamin and Elizabeth Gott who died in Paris and Athens.
ORGAN: The church is perhaps best known for its organ, built by the German builder Edmund Schulze. The organ chamber is supported by a stone double arcade. The fine carved case by Walker and Athron has five angels playing musical instruments. It was originally installed in the grounds of Meanwood Towers in 1869 by T.S. Kennedy and was a gift to his wife. In 1877 it was inaugurated in St. Peter's Church, Harrogate. Following a dispute with the vicar, the organ was moved to St. Bartholomew's in 1879. It was rebuilt in 1905 by James Jepson Binns . Other restoration work took place in 1956 by Hill, Norman and Beard; in 1974 by John T. Jackson and Son; and in 2004 by Harrison & Harrison.
Join us for Sunday Mass at 10:00 am or Thursday said Mass at 10:00 am followed by a coffee morning at 10:30 am.
At the present time, the church is in interregnum.
For images in and around the church and plans of the old chapel and graveyard view here; -