Diameter: 19.13" Bell 1 of 1
Founded by Charles & George Mears 1854
Dove Bell ID: 54340 Tower ID: 20311 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Leeds, Gipton: Church of the Epiphany
Diocese of Leeds
Church, 646371
http://www.epiphanyleeds.wordpress.comOverview
Grid reference: SE 335 353
The Anglican Church of the Epiphany is a Grade I listed building dominating its site at the junction of Amberton Road and Beech Lane in Gipton, Leeds. It is constructed of a reinforced concrete frame with brick cladding, chamfered concrete plinth, concrete floor bands and raised coped parapets. The roof over the nave and chancel is covered with plain tiles, whilst the roofs to the transepts and the ambulatory are covered with asphalt. The settlement of Gipton has a long history dating back to Domesday Book. It was absorbed into neighbouring Leeds when the city underwent rapid expansion in the Victorian period. During the 1930s Leeds City Council embarked on a programme of slum clearance from the city centre and Gipton was chosen as the site for one of the North of England's first garden suburbs, which was to include the building of houses, shops and schools. The first new council houses were completed in 1935, and the following year a temporary Mission Church known as the "tin hut" was opened. Plans for the Church of the Epiphany were prepared by Nugent Cachemaille-Day whose designs were strongly influenced by a new church in Coutances, Normandy. The Epiphany was built by Armitage Hodgson of Leeds, the foundation stone being laid on 12 July 1937 by Elsie Burroughs, sister of the late Bishop of Ripon, Rt. Revd. Edward Burroughs who died in 1934. The church was consecrated by the next Bishop of Ripon, Rt. Revd. Dr Geoffrey Lunt, on 14 May 1938 in the presence of the Princess Royal. The full title of the church is “The Bishop Burroughs (of Ripon) Memorial Church”, but it is never used.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Footprint of Church buildings: 680 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
During the 1930s Leeds City Council embarked on a programme of slum clearance from the city centre and Gipton was chosen as the site for one of the North of England's first garden suburbs, which was to include the building of houses, shops and schools. The first new council houses were completed in 1935, and the following year a temporary Mission Church known as the "tin hut" was opened.
In 1962 a single storey development to the west end of the church provided a church hall which was extended five years later.
In 2012 the concrete steps at the main entrance to the church were taken up and re-cast, a long concrete ramp was installed and new handrails were fitted, greatly improving the main entrance to the church. Work on the West window was also successfully completed in 2012 and the involvement of English Heritage continued with the project of repairing and refurbishing the windows in the North and South aisles completed in 2014.
Exterior Description
Early structural problems included roof panels coming loose because the fixing nails were too short and made of iron rather than copper; the wooden floor tiles rose. Problems with the acoustics were known as "the Epiphany echo". Furnishings donated by other churches included the limestone font from St Paulinus’.
In 1962 a single storey development to the west end of the church provided a church hall which was extended five years later. Current provision is of a large hall with stage, a small hall, a meeting room, kitchen and toilet facilities; access is available both directly and through the church. The church and additional halls provide significant available social space for the community in an area generally deprived of large buildings; they contribute significantly to the activities of schoolchildren, uniformed organisations, local clubs and societies; the church provides a weekly community cafe in the hall and is renowned for hosting and supporting the annual pantomime. The present population of the parish is around 9,500.
A garden area has been created at the north-west corner of the site, which has a car-park along the south side. The original parsonage house was on Amberton Road, but this was sold in 2008, a modern vicarage having been built in the 1980s to the south-west of the site, with access from Beech Lane.
Interior
Interior Description
The chancel is barely distinguishable from the nave, under one roof, with an apse of the same height and an ambulatory around. To the west of the nave are single storey porches to the north and south, and to the east square north and south transepts. The sanctuary is slightly raised on a circular plinth with simple curved altar rails and built-in furniture. To the east of the altar and raised by 16 steps is the Lady Chapel, also with a curved east end and originally intended to be dedicated to St Edmund; below is a vestry, meeting room, office, toilets and kitchen, with external access via further north and south porches. This east end arrangement is most impressive, composed of sweeping curves and stepped up in the manner of the French Romanesque church--low semicircle of the Lady Chapel, higher semicircle of the ambulatory, and yet higher pitched roof. The choir galleries are, most unusually, behind the altar, facing the nave on the same level as the Lady Chapel.
The interior, now painted white, is light and spacious with 18.5 m high circular concrete piers supporting flat ceilings, those of the aisles being slightly lower than the nave. . A small pulpit originally wound round one of the columns but was replaced by a larger one, later removed. The windows to the North and South are very slim, narrow and straight headed and are placed close together. The stained glass in the Lady Chapel is by Christopher Webb, depicting the Epiphany stars, with blue the dominant colour.
Bells
Churchyard
Grid reference: SE 335 353
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Quinquennial Inspections
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