History and Architecture of St Agnes' Church
St Agnes’ church on Stoney Rock Lane was built between 1887 and 1889 and was designed by John Kelly and Edward Birchall of Leeds, with alterations and additions by Lord Grimthorpe.
A mission church was built in Shakespeare Street in 1877 to serve the increasing population in the parish of St Stephen. By 1881 the population was about 4,000, many working for the James Holroyd's Leeds Fireclay Company at the Burmantofts Works. In 1885 the Rev Willard Stansfield described the population as: '…entirely of the artisan class. We can boast of no palatial edifices or detached villas ... the area of our district is by no means large, yet we have within our boundary, on the SW the Fever Hospital, on the NW the Leeds Cemetery, on the NE the Smallpox Hospital, and on the SE ... hideous chimneys which belch forth over the place dense and sometimes choking filthy smoke, while as a tower for the whole we have on the north the Acme of Nuisance,
better known as the Public Destructor'.
Land was bought for the new church by the Leeds Church Extension Society in 1886 and in 1887 Lord Grimthorpe suggested alterations and additions to the plans; he gave £500 towards the cost. During 1888 £20 towards the cost of the font was raised in pennies and halfpennies by the Sunday School scholars. The foundation stone for the church was laid by Mrs Boyd Carpenter, wife of the Bishop of Ripon, on 9 July 1887. St Agnes’ was consecrated by the Bishop of Ripon on May 20th 1889.
St Stephen’s church was demolished during slum clearances in the 1930s, at which time St Agnes’ became the parish church. Some features from St Stephen’s church were later incorporated into St Agnes’ (see below).
St Agnes’ Church is built from coursed stone in a Gothic Revival style very popular with Victorian Architects.
The nave and the chancel are all housed under one very steeply pitched Welsh slate roof. One of the most obvious features of the church from outside is the very slim south-east bell tower. Nicklaus Pevsner described it as a “Silly
turret on the south side” but it is one of the features that adds real character to the church.
The beautiful large east window has Geometric tracery reminiscent of the middle of the Medieval period. The window
is dedicated to the memory of Willard Stansfield (1853-1927), the first vicar. The west window stained glass is from the Church of St Stephen (built 1851 but demolished in the 1930s), and has early medieval-style figures.
The reredos, behind the altar, was made of Burmantofts faience (tin-glazed pottery) and coloured tiles. At the time Burmantofts faience was extremely popular with up-and-coming architects and as the works were up the road there was an obvious connection with the church and congregation. A terracotta memorial below the west window in the same style commemorates James Holroyd, (1839-1890), founder of the Burmantofts Faience Works, erected 'BY HIS EMPLOYEES'.
Other interesting features include the font in the south-west corner given by the Sunday School scholars. It has an octagonal stem and bowl of green and brown polished marble that is full of fossils. The brass eagle lectern was given to the church in memory of Benjamin and Hannah Whalley in 1931. The wooden war memorial at the east end of the south aisle is from St Stephen's church. On the wall of the chancel is a memorial to the Revd William Hartley Stansfield (1853-1927), who was the first vicar of St Agnes’ Church.
The church is the only historic building in an area that used to be all back to back houses. These were replaced
by high rise flats in the 1960s/70s. The area is mostly residential with very few businesses, although it is just around the corner from Jimmy’s. The housing formerly served the Burton’s factory, although there are not any historical
links with the church.
Burmantofts Pottery
Burmantofts Pottery, as it is usually known, was only actually called Burmantofts for a very short period of the ninety-nine year that the company was producing ceramics. Originally established by William Wilcock and John Lassey, it was set up in the Burmantofts district of Leeds, Yorkshire in 1845. The two men intended to mine coal on the site they had bought, which they did for thirteen years, but they found clay there and in 1858 started to use it for making bricks and pipes. John Lassey died that year, but his wife carried on in his stead and the company was known as Wilcock &
Co.
In 1863 Margaret Lassey sold her share to John Holroyd, who passed the management of the company seven years later to his son Ernest. Ernest, in turn, gave way to his brother James in 1879. By this time both William Wilcock and John Holroyd had died. James started the production of 'architectural faience', and during the next decade the company started producing vases, jardinières and suchlike. The new ranges sold well and in 1888 the company opened its own showroom in London and changed its name to The Burmantofts Company. The new name was short lived though - the following year Burmantofts merged with five other Yorkshire companies to form the Leeds Fireclay Company. Some twentieth century Burmantofts pieces are marked 'Lefico' from the first two letters of each of these words. The year after that James Holroyd died and was succeeded by his son, James junior.
We are grateful to Alice Ullathorne for compiling this information
A mission church was built in Shakespeare Street in 1877 to serve the increasing population in the parish of St Stephen. By 1881 the population was about 4,000, many working for the James Holroyd's Leeds Fireclay Company at the Burmantofts Works. In 1885 the Rev Willard Stansfield described the population as: '…entirely of the artisan class. We can boast of no palatial edifices or detached villas ... the area of our district is by no means large, yet we have within our boundary, on the SW the Fever Hospital, on the NW the Leeds Cemetery, on the NE the Smallpox Hospital, and on the SE ... hideous chimneys which belch forth over the place dense and sometimes choking filthy smoke, while as a tower for the whole we have on the north the Acme of Nuisance,
better known as the Public Destructor'.
Land was bought for the new church by the Leeds Church Extension Society in 1886 and in 1887 Lord Grimthorpe suggested alterations and additions to the plans; he gave £500 towards the cost. During 1888 £20 towards the cost of the font was raised in pennies and halfpennies by the Sunday School scholars. The foundation stone for the church was laid by Mrs Boyd Carpenter, wife of the Bishop of Ripon, on 9 July 1887. St Agnes’ was consecrated by the Bishop of Ripon on May 20th 1889.
St Stephen’s church was demolished during slum clearances in the 1930s, at which time St Agnes’ became the parish church. Some features from St Stephen’s church were later incorporated into St Agnes’ (see below).
St Agnes’ Church is built from coursed stone in a Gothic Revival style very popular with Victorian Architects.
The nave and the chancel are all housed under one very steeply pitched Welsh slate roof. One of the most obvious features of the church from outside is the very slim south-east bell tower. Nicklaus Pevsner described it as a “Silly
turret on the south side” but it is one of the features that adds real character to the church.
The beautiful large east window has Geometric tracery reminiscent of the middle of the Medieval period. The window
is dedicated to the memory of Willard Stansfield (1853-1927), the first vicar. The west window stained glass is from the Church of St Stephen (built 1851 but demolished in the 1930s), and has early medieval-style figures.
The reredos, behind the altar, was made of Burmantofts faience (tin-glazed pottery) and coloured tiles. At the time Burmantofts faience was extremely popular with up-and-coming architects and as the works were up the road there was an obvious connection with the church and congregation. A terracotta memorial below the west window in the same style commemorates James Holroyd, (1839-1890), founder of the Burmantofts Faience Works, erected 'BY HIS EMPLOYEES'.
Other interesting features include the font in the south-west corner given by the Sunday School scholars. It has an octagonal stem and bowl of green and brown polished marble that is full of fossils. The brass eagle lectern was given to the church in memory of Benjamin and Hannah Whalley in 1931. The wooden war memorial at the east end of the south aisle is from St Stephen's church. On the wall of the chancel is a memorial to the Revd William Hartley Stansfield (1853-1927), who was the first vicar of St Agnes’ Church.
The church is the only historic building in an area that used to be all back to back houses. These were replaced
by high rise flats in the 1960s/70s. The area is mostly residential with very few businesses, although it is just around the corner from Jimmy’s. The housing formerly served the Burton’s factory, although there are not any historical
links with the church.
Burmantofts Pottery
Burmantofts Pottery, as it is usually known, was only actually called Burmantofts for a very short period of the ninety-nine year that the company was producing ceramics. Originally established by William Wilcock and John Lassey, it was set up in the Burmantofts district of Leeds, Yorkshire in 1845. The two men intended to mine coal on the site they had bought, which they did for thirteen years, but they found clay there and in 1858 started to use it for making bricks and pipes. John Lassey died that year, but his wife carried on in his stead and the company was known as Wilcock &
Co.
In 1863 Margaret Lassey sold her share to John Holroyd, who passed the management of the company seven years later to his son Ernest. Ernest, in turn, gave way to his brother James in 1879. By this time both William Wilcock and John Holroyd had died. James started the production of 'architectural faience', and during the next decade the company started producing vases, jardinières and suchlike. The new ranges sold well and in 1888 the company opened its own showroom in London and changed its name to The Burmantofts Company. The new name was short lived though - the following year Burmantofts merged with five other Yorkshire companies to form the Leeds Fireclay Company. Some twentieth century Burmantofts pieces are marked 'Lefico' from the first two letters of each of these words. The year after that James Holroyd died and was succeeded by his son, James junior.
We are grateful to Alice Ullathorne for compiling this information
