St Peter's Church, Harrogate

St Peter's Church, Harrogate
St Peter's Church, Harrogate
St Peter's Church, Harrogate
53°59′36″N 01°32′26″W
OS grid reference	SE 30195 55345
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Evangelical
Website	www.stpetersharrogate.org.uk
History
Dedication	St Peter
Administration
Province	Province of York
Diocese	Diocese of Leeds
Parish	Harrogate
Clergy
Vicar(s)	The Revd Alan Garrow
Assistant priest(s)	The Revd Tim Hurren The Revd Sue Pearce
Laity
Organist/Director of music	John Longstaff

St Peter's Church, Harrogate is a parish church in the Church of England located in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.^[1]

History

The church was formed out of the parish of Christ Church, High Harrogate.

A subscription for the erection of the church was commenced and the foundation stone was laid in April, 1870. The church is of the decorated style of architecture, from a design by Mr. Hirst, of Bristol, and consists of a nave of five bays, 70 feet in length by 27 feet in breadth, with north and south aisles, each 15 feet 9 inches wide; the last bay at the eastern end of the aisle on each side projects outwards to double its former breadth, in the form of a transept, which is gabled outwardly; the chancel will be about 35 feet in length by 22 feet in breadth, terminating in a circular apse, the interior of which will be arcaded. A tower, bearing a spire, is situate at the west end of the south aisle. The living is a curacy or vicarage, the income of which is £100 a year, paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The first incumbent – the Rev. L. F. W. Foote – appointed in 1870.^[2]

The chancel, with a temporary nave, was consecrated on Sunday 10 September 1871 by Reverend Bishop Ryan, vicar of Bradford.^[3]

List of Vicars

• Lundy Edward William Foote 1870 – 1922
• John Manstead Cunningham 1922 – 1937
• Gascoigne Cecil Clare 1937 – 1947 (formerly vicar of St Edmund's, Roundhay, Leeds)
• Roger Holford Baines 1947 – 1967
• Andrew Neville Burn Sugden 1967 – 1987
• Anthony Michael Shepherd 1987 – 2015
• Alan Garrow 2016–present

Organ

The church has a pipe organ which has evolved over a long period of time from an original organ by Edmund Schulze in 1867. This was moved to St Bartholomew's Church, Armley and a smaller organ installed in 1869. There have been restorations by Brindley & Foster, Abbott & Smith, Binns, J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd, and Prested.

A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

List of organists

• Miss Knowles
• Alfred Robinson
• Mr. Paley
• John Septimus Dickinson 1870 – ???? (formerly organist of Christ Church, High Harrogate)
• John Shaw 1879 – 1890
• Robert Senior Burton 1890 – 1892 (formerly organist of Leeds Parish Church)
• Charles Legh Naylor 1892^[4] – 1902^[5]
• John Pullein 1903 ^[6] – 1917 (formerly assistant at Lincoln Cathedral, latterly organist of St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow)
• Charles Legh Naylor 1917 – 1935 (appointed again) ^[5]
• Jack Spencer 1935 – 1970 (previously organist of St Stephen's Church, Kirkstall, Leeds)
• J Harry Hodgson 1970 – 1976
• Adrian Selway 1976 – 1981
• Ian Linford 1980 – 1984
• Ralph S Franklin 1984 – 1987
• Hugh Shelton 1987 – 1988
• Nigel Holdsworth 1988 – 1993
• Philip Wilby 1993 – 1997
• Richard Hunt 1997 – 2003
• Oliver Longstaff 2003 – 2012
• John Longstaff 2012 – present

Bells

St Peter's has a fine ring of eight bells in the tower which were cast by John Taylor of Loughborough. They achieved a certain notoriety when they became the first tower in the United Kingdom to have an injunction made on the bells for an offence of noise pollution.

See also

• Listed buildings in Harrogate (Low Harrogate Ward)

References

1. Historic England. "Church of St Peter (1149467)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
2. "The History and Topography of Harrogate and the Forest of Knaresborough" by William Grainge, 1882
3. Tadcaster Post, and General Advertiser for Grimstone North Yorkshire, England 14 September 1871: "Harrogate – Opening of a new church at Harrogate", and Western Daily Press Bristol, England 9 October 1871: "Opening of Harrogate church". There was also a much longer and more detailed article in the Knaresborough Post, soon after the event.
4. Yorkshire Evening Post – Wednesday 17 August 1892
5. Who's Who in Music. Shaw Publishing. 1937. p.215
6. Dictionary of Organs and Organists, First Edition. 1912