All Souls' Church, Halifax facts for kids
Quick facts for kids All Souls Church, Halifax |
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All Souls Church, Halifax
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| OS grid reference | SE 091 260 |
| Location | Haley Hill, Halifax, West Yorkshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Founder(s) | Edward Akroyd |
| Dedication | All Souls |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | redundant, limited opening to visitors |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 3 November 1954 |
| Architect(s) | Sir George Gilbert Scott |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival (13th–14th century) |
| Groundbreaking | 1856 |
| Completed | 1859 |
| Specifications | |
| Spire height | 236 feet (71.93 m) |
| Materials | Stone, slate roofs |
All Souls Church, Halifax, is a beautiful old Anglican church in Haley Hill, Halifax, England. It's no longer used for regular church services, but it's a very important building. It's listed as a Grade I building, which means it's considered to be of special historic interest. The Churches Conservation Trust looks after it, and you can visit it at certain times.
Contents
Building a Special Church
All Souls Church was built a long time ago, starting in 1856. A rich local businessman named Edward Akroyd paid for the whole thing himself! He wanted a really special church for the model village he was building called Akroydon.
Sir George Gilbert Scott, a very famous architect, designed the church. He thought it was his best church ever. The church was finished in 1859. Edward Akroyd even had a statue of himself placed right next to the church.
What the Church Looks Like
Outside the Church
All Souls Church is made from stone with slate roofs. It's built in a cross shape, which is called "cruciform." The style is like churches from the 13th and 14th centuries, known as Gothic Revival.
The church has a main hall (called a nave), with smaller sections on the sides (called aisles). It also has parts that stick out like arms (called transepts) and a special area at the front (called a chancel). There's a tall tower with a spire that reaches 236 feet (71.93 m) into the sky! That's about as tall as a 20-story building!
The tower has four levels and a fancy top with pointed decorations called pinnacles. The spire itself has five sections and even has small windows. At the very top, there's a finial and a weathervane. The main entrance at the front has a carved stone panel above the door.
Inside the Church
When you step inside, you'll see amazing details. The tall arches that separate the main hall from the side aisles are made with shiny Derbyshire marble. The huge pillars supporting the tower are made from Aberdeen granite.
The floor is covered with colorful encaustic tiles in black, red, and chocolate brown. The steps leading to the chancel are made of red sandstone. There's a beautiful screen made of alabaster and wrought iron that separates the main hall from the chancel. A famous sculptor named John Birnie Philip oversaw all the carvings.
The altar area has a special carved screen called a reredos. It has small carved spaces (called niches) with statues of important figures like the Virgin Mary and Saint John. The pulpit, where sermons are given, is made of light-colored stone.
The font, used for baptisms, is made from a unique dark green stone from The Lizard in Cornwall. All the windows have beautiful stained glass. Some were made by famous companies like Hardman & Co. and William Wailes.
The church also has a very large organ, though it needs to be fixed. There are eight bells in the tower, all made in 1859. They still work today!
More Recent Times
All Souls Church stopped being used for regular services on March 1, 1979. Since 1989, the Churches Conservation Trust has been taking care of it.
After it closed, the entrance was boarded up to stop damage. To make it look nicer, the Trust added beautiful iron gates with crosses and flowers. They also fixed some of the stone around the entrance and the big window. In 2007–08, they did even more repairs, like fixing the roof to keep the rain out and mending the stained glass windows.
Today, the church is open for visitors at certain times and for special events like Heritage Open Days. It's a great place to see amazing Victorian architecture and learn about history!
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in West Yorkshire
- Grade I listed churches in West Yorkshire
- Listed buildings in Halifax, West Yorkshire
- List of new churches by George Gilbert Scott in Northern England
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Northern England
