St Hilda's Church Cross Green
"The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church"
The Declaration of Assent
About St Hilda's
St Hilda's is a Church of England parish church - this means we are here for everybody who lives within the parish, not just those who already come to Church!
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We uphold the faith as the Church of England has received it through the Sacred Scriptures, the Creeds, the Historic Formularies, and the Book of Common Prayer. We profess faith in the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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If you want to learn more about the Anglican Church or what we believe, please contact us.
A History of St Hilda's
The involvement of Dr Edward Bouverie Pusey, the great Tractarian leader, with the Church in Leeds, came about through his friendship with the Vicar of Leeds Walter Farquhar Hook; they had been students together at Christ Church, Oxford. In the mid-nineteenth century the population of the city was increasing and so to ensure better pastoral care Hook divided his huge parish into smaller parishes, each with its own priest, church, vicarage and school; some of these were later subdivided. As early as 1845, at the consecration of St Saviour’s church, Dr Pusey made the first contribution to what became the Building Fund of St Hilda’s. For nearly 40 years he urged that a start be made: the city was spreading. He was far-sighted and he cared about poor people in industrial areas. His total contribution to the Building Fund of St Hilda’s was, with interest, £634.
In November 1873 a temporary “iron” church was erected, known from the start as St Hilda’s. This was made possible by the Leeds Church Extension Society who made six contributions amounting to £1,175 once they had come to accept that Keble College, Oxford, would be the Patrons of the living – which they did in 1874; the LCES had wanted the patronage to be vested in the bishop. Building started and then stopped, for lack of money. It was a poor district and money slow to come in. For three years the roofless building was a playground for local children. A new priest came, resolved to make a determined effort. There was generous support from Mrs Emily Charlotte Meynell Ingram, of Temple Newsam House, who made seven donations, amounting to £1,010. She also organised a Bazaar at Temple Newsam, which raised £995 towards the total cost of £8,123. Leeds solicitor J.W. Cudworth was also a generous benefactor. He later paid for the building of Pusey House, Oxford.
A driving force in getting the church built was Mother Agnes Logan Stewart, the St Hilda of the nineteenth century, who founded the school and did all manner of good works in the parish. She also tried to found a religious community at the orphanage which she opened nearby at Knostrop. In 1986 to mark the centenary of her death a memorial was carved in the North West pillar. Sisters worked in the parish until 1965, having a valuable pastoral and teaching ministry. These were from the Community of All Saints’ until 1938 and then the Community of the Holy Rood.
The consecration took place on 18th September 1882. On that same day the news came that Dr Pusey had died two days before, at Ascot Priory. In June 1882 a further contribution of £20 had been received from Dr Pusey and local folklore has it that this was for the High Altar. Fifty clergy, 80 choristers and Bishop Vincent Ryan (Vicar of Bradford and former Bishop of Mauritius, deputising for the Bishop of Ripon who was ill) processed through streets decorated with bunting and lined with local residents. There was great enthusiasm. The architect of St Hilda’s was Wakefield-born John Thomas Micklethwaite. He knew that the exterior of the church would be spoiled by smoke and fumes carried by the prevailing westerly winds from the then heavily industrialised Hunslet; also, money was short. For these reasons the exterior was deliberately left quite plain. All the attention was given to the interior, but adornment would be added, as and when funds became available.
St Hilda’s was designed with the requirements of Anglo-Catholic worship very much in mind. Micklethwaite was asked to design a church “with plenty of elbow room”, with wide aisles, for example, to allow processions. Also, the Font and the High Altar are raised on steps, emphasizing the importance of the two main Sacraments, of Baptism and the Holy Communion. Micklethwaite designed the church in such a way that it should look incomplete without a rood screen, but in perfect proportion with such a screen. The spiral staircase and a door to lead onto a future rood loft were there from the start, in readiness, but the work could not be done until 1922, for lack of funds. The reredos was erected in 1927, when the bas relief panels on the front of the screen were added; the Font Canopy in 1938.
The church is built from the same red brick as the nearby housing, and so is seen to belong to the neighbourhood that it serves. It has significant townscape value, being a prominent landmark, close to important road junctions at a busy gateway into the city. The nave has always had movable chairs, and never fixed pews, giving a sense of openness. The flexibility of the building makes it appropriate for modern styles of worship, facilitates variety and experimentation in liturgy and makes this a suitable venue for a variety of community and school events. It is the only large meeting-space in the area. The impression of spaciousness is enhanced by the quality of natural light flooding in through the clear windows of the aisles, west end and clerestory. This differs with the time of day and at different times in the year, according to the angle of the sun.
Some outstanding priests have worked here, exemplifying all that is best in parish ministry. St Hilda’s church is the heartbeat of the community, looking forward, in faith. Here God’s people are served and He is worshipped, in the beauty of holiness.
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Stephen Savage
Parish Historian
