St. Peter's Church, Harrogate is a parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 located in Harrogate

Harrogate

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

.

History

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

Christ Church, High Harrogate

Christ Church, High Harrogate is a parish church in the Church of England located in Harrogate. It was the first church building to be built in Harrogate and is today home to a thriving congregation and - along with the attached Parish Centre - an important focus of community...

.

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.

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 - current

Organ

The church has a pipe organ which has evolved over a long period of time from an original organ by Edmund Schulze

Edmund Schulze

Heinrich Edmund Schulze was a German organ builder. He was the last of five generations of the Shulze family to build organs, starting with Hans Elias Schulze , Edmund's great-great-grandfather...

 in 1867. This was moved to St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley

St. Bartholomew's Church, Armley

St Bartholomew’s Church, Armley is a parish church in the Church of England located in Armley, West Yorkshire-History:The first chapel at Armley was built in 1630 but not consecrated by Richard Sterne the Archbishop of York until 1674...

 and a smaller organ installed in 1869. There have been restorations by Brindley & Foster

Brindley & Foster

Brindley & Foster was a pipe organ builder based in Sheffield who flourished between 1854 and 1939.-Background:The business was established by Charles Brindley in 1854. He was joined by Albert Healey Foster in 1871 and the company acquired the name Brindley & Foster.Charles Brindley was born in...

, Abbott & Smith, Binns, J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd

J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd

J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd is a British firm of organ builders established in 1828 by Joseph William Walker in London. Walker organs were popular additions to churches during the Gothic Revival era of church building and restoration in Victorian Britain, and instruments built by Walker are found in...

, 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 Shaw 1879 - 1890
• Robert Senior Burton 1890 - 1892 (formerly organist of Leeds Parish Church
  Leeds Parish Church
  Leeds Parish Church, or the Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds, in Leeds, West Yorkshire is a large Church of England parish church of major architectural and liturgical significance. It has been designated a grade I listed building by English Heritage...
  
  )
• Charles Legh Naylor 1892 - 1902
• John Pullein 1903 - - 1917 (formerly assistant at Lincoln Cathedral
  Lincoln Cathedral
  Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
  
  , latterly organist of St. Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow
  St. Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow
  The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. The current building was opened on 9 November 1871 as St Mary's Episcopal Church and was completed in 1893 when the spire was...
  
  )
• Charles Legh Naylor 1917 - 1935 (appointed again)
• 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
• John Longstaff 2003 - current

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.