St Edward King and Confessor Catholic Church, Clifford
Encyclopedia
Saint Edward King and Confessor Church is a Roman Catholic church in Clifford
, West Yorkshire
. The church is the largest in Clifford and its tall tower is the most prominent structure in the area. The church is a grade II Listed building and serves Clifford and the surrounding villages. The church lies in the Roman Catholic deanery of Harrogate.
mill owned by the Grimston Brothers that was established in the village in 1831. The Grimstons, Cliffords and Vasavour families contributed to the cost of building the church. It was built in the Romanesque
style by J.A. Hansom
to designs by Ramsay between 1845 and 1848. The tower was built to designs by George Goldie
and completed in 1866-7.
magnesian limestone
and has a green slate roof in the Romanesque
style. There is a seven bay aisled nave
and chancel
with small east Lady Chapel
and a five stage west tower with buttress
es to the fourth stage. At the southwest corner of the tower there is a square stair-turret which becomes cylindrical after the second stage and has a conical roof above the fifth stage. The base of the tower is open to the first stage and has round arches on three sides. The tower has a pyramidal ashlar roof with a finial
. The vestry is on the north side and on the south side there is a chapel.
Clifford, West Yorkshire
Clifford is a small village in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The village is 3 miles south of Wetherby. Many of the older buildings are built of magnesian limestone.-History:...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. The church is the largest in Clifford and its tall tower is the most prominent structure in the area. The church is a grade II Listed building and serves Clifford and the surrounding villages. The church lies in the Roman Catholic deanery of Harrogate.
History
The church was built to serve the population of Irish workers that came to work in the flaxFlax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
mill owned by the Grimston Brothers that was established in the village in 1831. The Grimstons, Cliffords and Vasavour families contributed to the cost of building the church. It was built in the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style by J.A. Hansom
Joseph Hansom
Joseph Aloysius Hansom was a prolific English architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style, who invented the Hansom cab and was one of the founders of the eminent architectural journal, The Builder, in 1843....
to designs by Ramsay between 1845 and 1848. The tower was built to designs by George Goldie
George Goldie (architect)
George Goldie was a nineteenth century ecclesiastical architect who specialised in Roman Catholic churches.Goldie was born in York and was the grandson of the architect Joseph Bonomi the Elder...
and completed in 1866-7.
Exterior
The church is built in ashlarAshlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
magnesian limestone
Magnesian limestone
Magnesian limestone can refer to:* For the rock made of magnesium carbonate ie Magnesian limestone see dolomite or dolostone* For the traditional name of a specific suite of Permian age rocks in north-east England see Magnesian Limestone...
and has a green slate roof in the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style. There is a seven bay aisled nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with small east Lady Chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
and a five stage west tower with buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es to the fourth stage. At the southwest corner of the tower there is a square stair-turret which becomes cylindrical after the second stage and has a conical roof above the fifth stage. The base of the tower is open to the first stage and has round arches on three sides. The tower has a pyramidal ashlar roof with a finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
. The vestry is on the north side and on the south side there is a chapel.