Heritage Tour is series of articles by Allan Boddy and Margaret Parkin, and occasional others, that appear monthly in the church magazine. These explore many aspects of the history and heritage of the church building and its artefacts.

Fonts

by Allan Boddy

The word ‘font’ comes from the Latin word fons, meaning a spring of waterand reflects the fact that the font is the container for the water used in baptism. The font is usually positioned somewhere near to the main door of a church, as it is now at Otley Parish Church, to emphasise the idea that when you are baptised you are enteringinto the life of the church and becoming a member of the community of faith. In fact, our stone font (Illustration 1)has only rarely been used for baptisms since it was decided that baptisms would take place as part of a Sunday service and that the ceremony of baptism itself would take place at the front of the church so the congregation could take a full part

One famous person’s baptism is recorded in the Parish Register for 1718: “5th June 1718 Thomas son of John Chippendale of Otley, joyner.”

We have a diagram (illustration 2) of what the font used for Thomas Chippendale’s baptism looked like, drawn by Fred Morrell, a local historian, based on an old photograph. We also have a rather grainy photograph (illustration 3)showing this font centrally sited at the west end of the church under the gallery that was constructed there in 1757. The organ, which is clearly shown in the photograph, was moved to this gallery in 1851. During the major reordering of the church in 1867 the west end gallery was taken down and a new baptistery was constructed in 1868 at the north side of what is now the Parish Room. A memorial plaque in the Parish Room tells us that this baptistery was erected by Francis Darwin of Creskeld Hall in memory of his mother, Ann Rhodes, who hailed from Bramhope Hall, the home of the Rhodes family.

Unfortunately, the ‘Chippendale’ font is believed to have disappeared from the Church during this restoration in 1867 and its whereabouts remains a mystery.

According to the researchers from the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS)who made a record of church furnishings between 2009 and 2012, the present font actually dates back to the early 19th century. The font itself is made of limestone whilst the font cover is made of oak and is much more recent, dating back to the second quarter of the 20th century. The cover is dedicated to the memory of Harriet Maston, who was a teacher in the Sunday School and who died in 1933, aged 72.

Until 1990 our baptistery was sited at the west end of the church but, following the decision to sell off the church hall on the south side of Burras Lane, it was proposed to build a meeting room at the back of the church and to move the baptistery and the Saxon crosses to the south transept alongside the Fairfax tomb. The font was moved there in 1990 and that was where the baptistery was sited until the recent reordering (2015).

As mentioned above, the stone font is not now regularly used for baptisms and instead we use a small wooden font (illustration 4), but this wooden font has its own story. It was made along with several other artefacts by Edwin Dale, Ken Dale’s father (Church member), from the Victorian oak pews which became surplus to requirements when the Parish Room was built.  Recycling pews is not a recent phenomenon! It was made for use at the Weston Estate Family Church which had opened in 1967 and it came to the Parish Church when WEFC was finally closed.

WEFC was the brainchild of Patrick Ashe who was Vicar of Otley from 1956 to 1964. When the Weston Estate was built, he was concerned that the inhabitants would find it difficult to get to the Parish Church so in 1960 he, his wife Marion and his six children erected a temporary home at the far end of the estate so they could meet and get the views of the residents. In another part of the estate a large marquee was erected in which services were held for two weeks. The result of Rev. Ashe’s researches was the building of a church on the Weston Estate which opened in 1967. But the full story of WEFC is one for another time.

Aspects of W.W.1 and Otley Parish Church

by Margaret Parkin

FROM RUSSIA ITALY WITH LOVE… in 1920

What links these pictures to Otley Parish Church?

TRAVELLING by train from Nice through to Italy, John and I got into conversation with a young American couple.

It was a beautiful day and a wonderful scenic route with sea on one side and country on the other and the Apuan Alps in the distance. Suddenly, the question was asked “Is that snow on those hills?” Just as I said, “no, I think you are seeing quarries”, the train slowed and passed through a small station with a place name of CARRARA. The man’s wife and I grabbed our cameras – we both knew about Carrara – and that’s the link. Marble, quarried in Carrara since the Roman times, is regarded as some of the finest in the world. And it was used to create the sculptures and buildings named at the start of this article, and many more too.

And yes, we have some Carrara marble in Otley Parish Church!

The altar in the Sanctuary was made in 1912. It cost £30 and was paid for by public subscription. The black and white marble tiles, laid at the same time, came from Carrara.

Another piece of Carrara marble can be seen to the left of the East window on the north wall. It is a memorial to the Reverend Henry Robinson, who was vicar here from 1816-1834 and a master at the Old Grammar School in Northgate. Symbols like the Latin cross, bible and prayer book are often seen on memorials to priests.

  

And, perhaps, the most poignant of all is the WW1 memorial in the South entrance. It was created in Carrara itself and brought to Otley.

I talked with Bill Mulholland, a local historian, whose research produced not only the biographies of the 187 men named on the WW1 memorial in church, but also of 95 others not listed on our memorial. This detailed record is held by Otley Museum.

Bill’s Great Uncle, Pat Devaney, signed up in Bradford where he worked, the day after war was declared. He received the Military Medal but never spoke of his war time experiences. Bill’s visit to the Somme to learn more about Pat moved him to a degree where he says, “it just seemed important to pay tribute to the men of Otley also”. So, in his retirement in 1995 he began a piece of work which took four years to complete. Bill’s record relating to the men named on our memorial was ultimately collated and re-produced in two bound volumes, presented to the Parish Church, and completed by the NADFAS (National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Society) Church Recorders. Their recording of the hundreds of artefacts inside our church took some two years to complete.

Bill’s research led him to consult many resources including the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Public Records Office, Regimental Histories and Museums, Otley Museum records, archives of the Wharfedale Observer, and the Leeds Library Service.

Following the cessation of World War One in 1918, it was decided to provide a permanent memorial to honour the sacrifices made by local men. Their families were invited to have that person’s name inscribed on what became our WW1 Memorial. Some, however, declined the invitation, but nevertheless, we have 187 names on our memorial. The memorial is dated to 1920. It was designed by Mr Oswald Holmes, an architect of Otley, and gifted by the Otley Town Council of the day.

On the Sunday nearest to 11th November each year, the WW1 Memorial used to become a focus in our Service of Remembrance. A new wreath of poppies was placed on it with the congregation turning to face it, standing for a moment in a silent act of remembrance and thanksgiving.

During the re-ordering of the church in 2015/2016, it was planned to move the Memorial from its place in the Children’s Corner across to the North aisle to maintain its role in our church and community life. Work was begun but abandoned when the risk of irreparable damage became obvious. So, it remains in situ and the stairs to the mezzanine floor have been created round it in the re-designed South entrance. This year, a wreath of poppies was placed on the main altar as we remembered the sacrifice made by so many.

The memorial simply lists the names of men killed during WW1 who had Otley connections. I have been re-reading Bill’s record which provides a mini-biography of each of the men named there. This includes, name, rank, regiment, age, date of death, place where buried, family history, etc., and reflects the human cost of war on a small town like Otley.

Each name represents someone’s father, husband, or son.

Most of the men died abroad – in Turkey, Iraq, Belgium and France. Some died here in England – from illnesses or injuries resulting from their wartime experiences. Two died during training and two died in captivity. Several families lost two sons each and one family lost 3 sons within eighteen months. Of the families who lost two sons, one family lost two of their sons on the same day and on the same battle field. They fought together and are buried together in France.

Two men were killed in an explosion on HMS Bulwark and are named on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. A Flight Lieutenant lost his life during his first flight.

During one of our annual Heritage Weekend events, the NADFAS records were available and Bill came along each day to talk with visitors interested in learning a little more about their relatives named on the memorial. Otley Parish Church member, Eileen Armstrong, learned more of an uncle, Forbes Rhodes. He was a sergeant in the 246th West Riding Brigade, Royal Artillery. Sadly, he was badly wounded in battle and died on 27 June 1916 in Albert, Somme, aged 20. He was born on 27th November 1895. Forbes is buried in Forceville Community Cemetery, France. Before joining the army he was a stonemason and lived with his parents and siblings in Danefield Terrace, Otley.

Two visitors to the Heritage Weekend came quite a distance seeking information about a relative. Bill was unable to verify their information and as yet, no official records have been found. So, a 100-year old mystery remains.

Tucked away, as it now is, it is easy to overlook the memorial and to forget what it stands for: “…for your tomorrow, we gave our today”.

I wonder what you and I will be remembered for?

The Fairfax Tomb

by Allan Boddy

THE TOMB of the First Lord Fairfax of Cameron and his wife Ellen dominates the south transept. The tomb is made of limestone from Hazelwood Quarry near Tadcaster which was owned at the time by a branch of another local family, the Vavasours. The tomb has been badly damaged as a result of subsidence on its south side which has led to the shearing off of the feet of the effigy of Lord Fairfax. One of the notable features of this monument is the Saracen’s head at the foot of Lady Fairfax and this is interpreted as showing that an ancestor of Lady Fairfax had been on the Crusades.

Experts date the tomb as early 17th century but given that Lady Fairfax died in 1620 and Lord Fairfax died in 1640 it is interesting to speculate when exactly this monument to both of them was created. The two effigies were each carved out of single but separate slabs of stone and then cemented together and could have been put on the tomb at different times. The inscription below the effigy of Lady Fairfax – ‘Here Leah’s fruitfulness, here Rachaels’ beauty. Here lieth Rebecca’s faith, here Sarah’s duty’ – was written as a panegyric to Lady Fairfax by Lord Fairfax’s brother Edward but he died in 1635. This may suggest that the tomb was originally created for Lady Fairfax and that Lord Fairfax was added later but, as with so much connected with the early history of the Church building, there is no certainty.

Who were Lord and Lady Fairfax and why is their tomb in Otley Parish Church?  The Fairfaxes have been described as one of the most prominent families in Yorkshire and they came to own Denton Hall in Wharfedale as a result of a rather lucrative marriage. In the early 16th century Denton Hall belonged to the Thwaites family and in 1518 Isabel Thwaites, who was heiress to the Denton estate, married Sir William Fairfax of Bolton Percy and Steeton. In 1557 their son, Thomas, duly inherited the estate and celebrated by building a magnificent Elizabethan mansion which sadly burnt down in 1734. He was succeeded by his son Thomas – our Thomas – in 1599. (Thomas was a favourite name for the Denton Fairfaxes!)

Our Thomas Fairfax was born at Bilborough in 1560 and married Ellen Aske in 1582. During his life he served as a soldier in the Low Countries; a diplomat on missions from Elizabeth I to James VI of Scotland; a Member of Parliament and a member of the Council of the North. He wrote books on horse breeding; household management and military matters which are now housed in the Brotherton Library. In 1627 he became the first Baron Fairfax of Cameron, a title in the peerage of Scotland. Wikipedia has the wry comment that the grant of the title by Charles I was ‘facilitated by a payment of £1,500.’  £1,500 in 1627 is probably equal to a quarter of a million pounds in today’s money – a lot of money to pay for a title which didn’t even get you a seat in the English House of Lords. According to the Otley Burial Register, when ‘the noble Thomas Lord Fairfax’ died in 1640 he ‘was buried with a great solemnity and company of Knights, Esquires, gents and yeomen of good rank and their attendants the first day of May in noble manner.’

On the wall above the tomb there is another memorial to Thomas Lord Fairfax and his wife on which there are Latin inscriptions describing the two of them.  It is said, rather lyrically, of Thomas ‘having ‘completed 80 years active service of tribulation in the halcyon times of England [he] obtained his discharge to the garrison of heaven.’ Ellen is equally lyrically described as ‘his devoted wife, daughter of Robert Aske Esquire, descended from the barons Clifford and Latimer, mother of twelve children who after she had lived for 57 years as a model of piety peacefully fell asleep here taken from her human to her heavenly relations on 23rd August 1620.’

But why is the tomb of Lord Fairfax and his wife from Denton Hall in the south transept of Otley Parish Church?  The answer is that the parish of Otley was much bigger in the early 17th century than it is today. The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Otley comprised the chapelries of

THE TOMB of the First Lord Fairfax of Cameron and his wife Ellen dominates the south transept. The tomb is made of limestone from Hazelwood Quarry near Tadcaster which was owned at the time by a branch of another local family, the Vavasours. The tomb has been badly damaged as a result of subsidence on its south side which has led to the shearing off of the feet of the effigy of Lord Fairfax. One of the notable features of this monument is the Saracen’s head at the foot of Lady Fairfax and this is interpreted as showing that an ancestor of Lady Fairfax had been on the Crusades.

Experts date the tomb as early 17th century but given that Lady Fairfax died in 1620 and Lord Fairfax died in 1640 it is interesting to speculate when exactly this monument to both of them was created. The two effigies were each carved out of single but separate slabs of stone and then cemented together and could have been put on the tomb at different times. The inscription below the effigy of Lady Fairfax – ‘Here Leah’s fruitfulness, here Rachaels’ beauty. Here lieth Rebecca’s faith, here Sarah’s duty’ – was written as a panegyric to Lady Fairfax by Lord Fairfax’s brother Edward but he died in 1635. This may suggest that the tomb was originally created for Lady Fairfax and that Lord Fairfax was added later but, as with so much connected with the early history of the Church building, there is no certainty.

Who were Lord and Lady Fairfax and why is their tomb in Otley Parish Church?  The Fairfaxes have been described as one of the most prominent families in Yorkshire and they came to own Denton Hall in Wharfedale as a result of a rather lucrative marriage. In the early 16th century Denton Hall belonged to the Thwaites family and in 1518 Isabel Thwaites, who was heiress to the Denton estate, married Sir William Fairfax of Bolton Percy and Steeton. In 1557 their son, Thomas, duly inherited the estate and celebrated by building a magnificent Elizabethan mansion which sadly burnt down in 1734. He was succeeded by his son Thomas – our Thomas – in 1599. (Thomas was a favourite name for the Denton Fairfaxes!)

Our Thomas Fairfax was born at Bilborough in 1560 and married Ellen Aske in 1582. During his life he served as a soldier in the Low Countries; a diplomat on missions from Elizabeth I to James VI of Scotland; a Member of Parliament and a member of the Council of the North. He wrote books on horse breeding; household management and military matters which are now housed in the Brotherton Library. In 1627 he became the first Baron Fairfax of Cameron, a title in the peerage of Scotland. Wikipedia has the wry comment that the grant of the title by Charles I was ‘facilitated by a payment of £1,500.’  £1,500 in 1627 is probably equal to a quarter of a million pounds in today’s money – a lot of money to pay for a title which didn’t even get you a seat in the English House of Lords. According to the Otley Burial Register, when ‘the noble Thomas Lord Fairfax’ died in 1640 he ‘was buried with a great solemnity and company of Knights, Esquires, gents and yeomen of good rank and their attendants the first day of May in noble manner.’

On the wall above the tomb there is another memorial to Thomas Lord Fairfax and his wife on which there are Latin inscriptions describing the two of them.  It is said, rather lyrically, of Thomas ‘having ‘completed 80 years active service of tribulation in the halcyon times of England [he] obtained his discharge to the garrison of heaven.’ Ellen is equally lyrically described as ‘his devoted wife, daughter of Robert Aske Esquire, descended from the barons Clifford and Latimer, mother of twelve children who after she had lived for 57 years as a model of piety peacefully fell asleep here taken from her human to her heavenly relations on 23rd August 1620.’

But why is the tomb of Lord Fairfax and his wife from Denton Hall in the south transept of Otley Parish Church? The answer is that the parish of Otley was much bigger in the early 17th century than it is today. The ancient ecclesiastical parish of Otley comprised the chapelries of Baildon, Bramhope, Burley in Wharfedale, Denton, and Farnley, and the townships of Esholt, Hawksworth, Lindley, Menston, Newall with Clifton, Pool-in-Wharfedale, and Little Timble. This is why we find memorials and dedications from families in places like Burley in Wharfedale and Baildon and the tombs of people living in Denton in Otley Parish Church.

During the middle ages both the south and north transepts were private chapels. The chapel in the south transept was endowed by the family from Denton Hall and was known latterly as the Denton Choir. If you look around this transept you will see not only memorials to the first Lord Fairfax and his wife but also monuments commemorating the lives of his father, Thomas; his son, Charles; his niece Anne and his grandson, Charles.The Fairfax tomb is a grand monument even if the grandeur is now a little faded but is there anything in it?  A member of the congregation confided in me that during an earlier restoration of the Church there was an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the inside of the tomb. What did you see there…? Nothing!

This is why we find memorials and dedications from families in places like Burley in Wharfedale and Baildon and the tombs of people living in Denton in Otley Parish Church.

During the middle ages both the south and north transepts were private chapels. The chapel in the south transept was endowed by the family from Denton Hall and was known latterly as the Denton Choir. If you look around this transept you will see not only memorials to the first Lord Fairfax and his wife but also monuments commemorating the lives of his father, Thomas; his son, Charles; his niece Anne and his grandson, Charles.The Fairfax tomb is a grand monument even if the grandeur is now a little faded but is there anything in it?  A member of the congregation confided in me that during an earlier restoration of the Church there was an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the inside of the tomb. What did you see there…? Nothing!

The more traditional view of the tomb chest of Lord Thomas and Lady Ellen Fairfax in the first half of the 17th century.

Lost Church Buildings of Otley

by Margaret Parkin

IT IS BELIEVED that King Edwin of Northumbria erected a church here in Otley AD628. Made of wood, both the church and the town were burned by the Danes very shortly after this.

The pastoral work of the early church was conducted from the Minsters of Beverley, York and Ripon. When a village accepted Christianity, a stone cross was erected indicating the most convenient place for villagers to meet with missionaries and to hear the gospel until such times as churches were built.

Our Saxon cross fragments at Otley Parish Church began life as complete crosses. During the development of the church, the fragments were found lying around the churchyard or having been used as fillings in the walls. NOTE: The Saxon Cross fragments are currently in storage while we work on a dedicated heritage area to display them. Please contact the church office to arrange access to view them.

The chancel is the oldest part of this building, dating back to the Norman era and originally reaching along the nave to the first set of pillars. The Domesday Book of 1066 describes Otley as ‘having 11 villagers, 19 small holders, 5 freemen,1 priest and 1 church’.

Fast forward to 1890, when the Rev. John Trower came to Otley as vicar. He was accompanied by two lay workers. One was Mr Tom Smith, a Stipendiary Scripture Reader and the other was Mr A Cowan, a Church Army Captain. In addition to their traditional parish work they arranged mission services in the town; some held in a barn in Westgate, loaned by Mr Fred Payne, a printer engineer. Fred Payne was part of the Dawson, Payne and Elliotgroup which developed the world famous Wharfedale printing machine. Services were also held in Newmarket Street in a room above Mr John Brown’s butcher’s shop.

In 1892, a project to provide better Sunday School accommodation was launched. A site was procured from Messrs Garnett, situated in the Cross Green wood yard of Frank Gill, where a school was built. It was known as the Wharfe Street School. It cost £1,300 then – equivalent to £152,100 in today’s prices.

It had a three-fold purpose – to serve as a day school known as the National Infants’ School; as a Sunday School for Boys; and, as a Mission room. Today, it has been converted into private apartments.

The basement of Wharfe Street School is set out here as the Sunday School. The words on the rear wall read, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

By 1901 the congregation had increased to such numbers that the Church Council decided to erect a new church building on a site they purchased near to the cemetery gates on Pool Road. It was named St Peter’s Mission church.

Similar in style to the Victorian “tin tabernacles” – the roof was made of corrugated iron, painted a dark red colour, and the sides were of horizontal boarding and painted grey. At the west end was a wooden bell turret and under it was the entrance through a small porch. The clergy and choir had their own separate vestries. It cost £638 15s 10d which was raised by donations and a sale of work. Today, it would cost £78,874 to build.

The church was opened for worship on Advent Sunday in 1902 when Charles Jowett and George Newsom were appointed as sidesmen, and on the 10th of January 1903, a service of Dedication was held and celebrated by the Bishop of Bradford.

John Jackson was a choir boy and remembers that the choir did not receive any pay but that twice a year they each were given a shilling pocket money. On one occasion, he and his brother were the only two to turn up for a service because of there being a flu epidemic. They nobly managed to sing their way through all 72 verses of a Psalm and were each given 3 old pennies by the choirmaster, Mr Wilson, to “buy yourselves some sweets tomorrow”.

Tom Smith, the Reader who first came to Otley in 1890, was a dedicated and well regarded man. He walked many miles each week, in all weathers, visiting people in their homes, and not being given any pay for these extra duties. Once a fortnight he conducted a service in the workhouse and another each month in a cottage in Clifton.

The services had an evangelical tone to them. The Church Army regularly conducted missions, and Lantern Slide shows were very popular. The words of the hymns were projected onto a screen – so there is nothing new under the sun! Two brasses in the south aisle commemorated Tom Smith and Charles Jowett. A chalice, paten and goblet were given into the care of the parish church and are still used during our communion services.

St Peter’s closed in 1942 and four houses were built on the site which is now called St Peter’s Close. Look out for it the next time you go that way.

Other “lost” church buildings include the Burras Lane Church Hall – Musgrave Hall, and WEFC. What’s WEFC?  This, and Musgrave Hall, are stories for a later magazine – so keep reading!

Vicarage Gardens, on Burras Lane, houses what was a former vicarage with a large garden. Now, our current vicarage is there, alongside some bungalows and a row of town houses. The town houses were created from the Burras Lane Church Sunday School which was built in 1881 by Samuel Nettleton – father of James, a well-known Otley saddler and leather worker.

The foundation stone was laid on Monday 26th December 1881, and two hymns were sung: “All people that on earth do dwell” and “Holy Father may thy blessing rest on this our work today”.

Here we see some of the 130 men enjoying an early breakfast in the school room.

There are members of our current congregation who have happy memories of Sunday school classes, sales of work, social evenings, concerts and many other events.

Sadly, the building deteriorated and became too expensive to repair and in 1999 was converted into private housing as a plaque on an outside wall tells us. Canon John Clayton, a former vicar, conducted the opening ceremony.

Find The Pelican…!

Margaret Parkin looks at a few of the symbols and artefacts that the Heritage Tour might otherwise not cover

 

How did the Norman Arch over the North Door get there?

The Chancel is the oldest part of the church – built c.11th – 12th century and was longer than it is now, extending as far as the first pillars along the nave. That is where the arch began its life over the door at the west end of the Chancel.

As the church was developed the door was moved into new positions and the arch went with it. First, to somewhere along the north side of the nave c.1240 – then, in 1520 to where it is now. The current wooden doors were installed during a renovation in 1867.

The Easter Sepulchre and a hidden door

The ornate monument in the Chancel is dedicated to Walter Fawkes 1769 – 1825 of Farnley Hall. He was a local MP, a strong advocate of the reform of Parliament and of the abolition of slavery. He was also the  founder of the Otley Agricultural Show. He had two wives, both called Maria.

The highly decorated style of the canopy above the tomb chest has been described as ‘being in the style of an Easter Sepulchre’. In amongst all the decorations you might like to see if you can find eight faces. How many are male and how any are female?

We do not believe that the monument was originally designed to fit the space it sits in but don’t know where it was made for, nor do we know the sculptor.

In order to accommodate it, a doorway behind was removed, along with several steps down. This was the vicar’s quick get-away across the churchyard to his vicarage.

John Wesley – and a horse called Robert

Our pulpit was made of oak in 1740 but looked very different from what you see today. It had three levels – the lowest level was for the clerk who led the congregation responses, the middle was used for the Bible readings and the preacher spoke from the top. The bottom level of our pulpit was lost when it was moved from the north transept in 1851. The middle has been removed since then. So what we now see would have been the top deck of the original pulpit. John Wesley preached here in 1780 so we assume that he would have been speaking from the top deck.

There is a story that on one of his visits to Otley his horse, Robert, got sick, died and was buried in our churchyard following a full funeral service! Its grave stone is reputedly the Toblerone shaped one to the left of the North door. However, Wesley’s diary simply states that his horse got sick and died, with no mention of either a funeral service or burial in the churchyard. Mind you, we don’t know who is buried there!

12 Choir Stalls + 2 Clergy Stalls = 26 Ends

If only they could talk, what tales they could tell. It seems to be traditional that choirboys should carve their initials where they sat. A few years ago, a lady occupied one of the choir stalls during the Christingle service and to her surprise saw her son’s initials. He owned up and was duly ‘reprimanded’. He was by then in his mid-forties! The stalls match the screen and were donated by Peter Garnett in memory of his mother. Made in 1893 the intricate carving on the pew ends is well worth a look. We are told that each one is different from all the others. What artistry.!

Two OAPs set in stone

If you listen carefully when it is “birthday time” during our morning service, you will know that we have some delightful OAPs amongst our congregation who are as old as or older than the Queen. Well, none of them can beat the two old folks discovered following the creation of the new mezzanine. They are carved one each side of the stone arch above the steps to the tower. They were created in 1240. If my maths is correct that makes them seven hundred and seventy-seven years old! What stories they could tell if they could talk. Perhaps they were put there by stonemasons with a sense of humour!

Have you visited the new upstairs loos yet?

Prior to the recent re-ordering, if you wanted to see two of our stained-glass windows it was necessary to stand on a pew in the south aisle and peer into the darkness above the south porch. Now if you climb the new stairs you can see both of these. One is on the landing and the other is situated in the ‘Ladies’ and, yes gentlemen, you are allowed to go in and have a look. The window on the landing depicts the first of Christ’s miracles at the wedding of Cana. It was created in 1878 and given by John Hartley of Ashfield House in memory of his wife Frances. The other window shows Dorcas and Elizabeth; this was also given by the Hartley family in 1879 in memory of Anne, wife of Thomas, and their children William and Anne who both died in infancy.

“On t’pancrack” – aka the dole cupboard

‘On t’ pancrack’ is supposedly a bit of Yorkshire slang from its mining areas. It is applied to men who have been out of work and are receiving “the dole” or social security benefit payments, enabling them to provide essentials such as food for their families.

The dole cupboard is described as an ecclesiastical cupboard to contain bread for the poor of the parish. The custom certainly dates back to the late 14th century. Our church has its own dole cupboard – kept in the vicar’s vestry, and dating to the early 18th century. In 1724 the Barker Charity left money for the distribution of bread to the poor widows of the parish. There was a condition attached whereby the widows had to attend services and sit through the sermons which often went on for an hour or more. Distribution ceased in 1823 due to a lack of widows at the services!

Do you know where the pelican is? A clue – look in an easterly direction

The Pelican is an amazing bird which hides a store of good things to eat in its crop for feeding to its young. In the Middle Ages people saw that the pelican dipped its head before feeding its young. They thought it was pecking its chest to feed the chicks on the nutrients in its own blood stream. It was in fact bringing food out of its crop for its youngsters. The Pelican became a Christian symbol of giving everything you have for others.

Where is our Pelican? It can be seen, along with four chicks, in the East Window. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are shown with Jesus in the middle. You will see the pelican at Jesus’ feet – his symbol and a sign of his self-sacrifice.

And finally – the aumbry and the piscina

To be found in the sanctuary. The piscina, to the right of the East Window as you look at it, is an original part of the Norman chancel and was the place where the communion vessels were washed. The aumbry, also in the sanctuary to the left of the East window as you look at it, is a cupboard in which consecrated bread and wine are preserved to be taken to parishioners who were not able to attend service. The stone recess is also part of the original Norman building dating to 11-12th century. Its wooden door was made from the back of a 17th century pew.

Why are they so low down?  Because the sanctuary floor, covered with Carrara marble slabs, was originally lower than it is now. Another story?!

What’s gone wrong?

Allan Boddy looks at some intriguing errors on three of the memorials. Have a look yourself.

Written on tablets of stone is an expression derived from the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments. It suggests that an idea or rule is firm and fixed and cannot be changed. Similarly, when we see things carved on stone tablets we tend to assume that they are accurate.

Unfortunately, as you explore the ‘tablets of stone’ or memorials in Otley Parish Church you will find that in a number of cases there are some surprising inaccuracies.

Thomas Fawkes, married but ‘single’

As you might expect, our church has many memorials to the Fawkes family of Farnley Hall. One of the earliest is a memorial to Thomas Fawkes who was born in 1563. The Latin epitaph on his memorial translates:

‘Thomas Fawkes of Farnley Esquire lived a single, upright and liberal life for 63 years. He died in 1626. Consider, understand, take thought for the past, the present and the future.’

These are nice sentiments to have as your epitaph but there are two problems with it – one explicable and one not.

First, we would say that Thomas died in February 1627 and not 1626 as recorded on his memorial. The difference came about because in 1752 the date for the start of a new year was changed. Up to 1752 the new year started on March 25th – Lady Day – but after that the start of the new year was moved to January 1st. Historians tend to refer to dates January to March in the years before 1752 as belonging to the following year. So, the execution of Charles I took place on 30th January 1648 but historians date it 1649. Thomas Fawkes died in February 1626 but we would date it February 1627. Simple really!

The second inaccuracy is much harder to explain. The Latin word which has been translated as ‘single’ is ‘caelibem’ and it can’t mean anything other than single or celibate and yet we know that Thomas Fawkes was married. He was married on 6th October 1588 in All Saints Church, Otley and this marriage is recorded in the registers of Otley Parish Church. We also know that he had a child, Richard, born and baptised in 1591 though we do not know when he died. It is hard to understand how a man who had married and had a son would have ‘single’ carved on his memorial.  Any ideas?

Whose is the tomb chest?

Another memorial which presents us with problems is the tomb chest in the sanctuary which dates from the first quarter of the seventeenth century.  There is no doubt that it belongs to the Dyneley family who bought the Bramhope estate in the middle of the sixteenth century and it was natural that Dyneleys would want to be buried and memorialised in Otley Parish Church, as Bramhope was part of the parish of Otley at that time.

The first problem, however, is that there is no inscription or other record which tells us which Dyneley is celebrated in this large and presumably costly monument. There are the letters ‘jd’ carved into the top of the chest which suggest it might be a memorial to John Dyneley who died in 1620 but there is no certainty. So much for the immortality conferred by a stone memorial in Otley Parish Church and it is not the only tomb of an unknown gentleman in our Church. On the opposite wall to the Dyneley tomb is a memorial to a member of the Vavasour family who lived at Weston Hall but again, we have no idea which one.

Anonymity is not the only problem with the Dyneley tomb; there is also an error. In the centre of the tomb there is a coat of arms which has three stars or mullets at the top. In the Dyneley coat of arms the middle star or mullet is pierced. In the coat of arms on the tomb the middle mullet isn’t pierced and is, therefore, the coat of arms of the Townley family from the other side of the Pennines. If that was not bad enough, when Sam Smiths came to do the sign for the Dyneley Arms pub they copied the coat of arms on this tomb, so in fact the sign for the Dyneley Arms bears the Townley arms!

Another error – can you spot it?

 

Now here’s the chance for you to see if you can spot an error. On the south wall of the nave there is a memorial to Thomas Fourness, his wife Rebekah Fourness, the Reverend Henry Wilson and his wife Ann. Henry Wilson was born in 1723, attended St John’s College Cambridge and was Vicar of Otley from 1761 until his death in 1781.

What is wrong with the information on the memorial?

 

Thomas Fawkes, married but ‘single’

As you might expect, our church has many memorials to the Fawkes family of Farnley Hall. One of the earliest is a memorial to Thomas Fawkes who was born in 1563. The Latin epitaph on his memorial translates:

‘Thomas Fawkes of Farnley Esquire lived a single, upright and liberal life for 63 years. He died in 1626. Consider, understand, take thought for the past, the present and the future.’

“We Will Remember Them”

By Margaret Parkin

In a previous section we wrote about the World War 1 memorial situated in the south entrance of our church. A brief reminder – the memorial was made in the town of Carrara, Tuscany, using the local marble said to be among the finest in the world. It was designed by Oswald Holmes a local architect and gifted by the Town Council of the day. It dates to 1920 and honours the sacrifice of 185 local men, nominated by their families for inclusion in the list. Another 95 names are included in the records held in the Otley Museum archives.

Bill Mulholland, a local historian, wanted to pay tribute to the men of Otley after he visited the grave of his uncle on the Somme. It took Bill four years to complete his work and the results make poignant reading. You can see them in the NADFAS records kept here in church – just ask.

There has been one outstanding mystery – a complete lack of information about George Hector Vause. This has tested the minds of lots of folk from Lieutenant Colonels to family members. Just Google his name and you will see what I mean.

During the recent Heritage Weekend, a visitor asked what we could tell him about George, his great uncle. All we could tell him was of the searches made by Bill with no results to speak of. However, using what he could tell us, Lynne Barber began further research. Further conversation with George’s great nephew would seem to confirm that G. H. Vause became G. H. Ramsey, taking the married name of his sister, Maud Alice, believing that his own name of Vause sounded too Germanic. Sadly, he was killed in the battle of Dorian, Greece in April 1917, aged 26.

H. Vause is also listed on the War Memorial at Rawcliffe, the place of his birth. George Hector Vause/Ramsey’s details will be added to the NADFAS records and be available to researchers.

Moving on, what has this collection of rough stones, found in our churchyard and currently stored on the mezzanine above the Parish Room, got to do with the Town War Memorial?

They are fragments of Anglo-Saxon preaching crosses dating to the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries and pre-date the erection of any church buildings as we see them. They are witness to the early Christian community in Otley – established by missionaries sent from York, Beverley and Ripon. The stone crosses were erected to indicate a place where villagers could continue to meet the missionaries until such times as church buildings were created.

Our fragments were found lying around the churchyard, possibly victims of damage done during the Reformation. Some of them were used as “fillers-in” in the outside walls of the south and north aisles when built during the early fifteenth century; the Dragon cross piece was found in the chancel arch during the 1850’s internal renovations.

At a Vestry meeting, forerunner of our Parish Church Council meetings, held on 3rd April 1918, it was agreed that a memorial should be erected in the churchyard to commemorate those men of Otley who died during World War One. On 14th December 1919, plans were submitted for a cross for the churchyard and a wall tablet for inside the church. The cross is a reproduction from a design by Professor William Gershom Collingwood and is based on an eighth century cross which stood in the churchyard at that time. Fragments of that cross are among those preserved here today.

The cross itself was carved by William’s daughter Barbara Collingwood at the family home in Coniston, Cumbria. How they transported it to Otley we are not told! It was placed in the churchyard in front of the East window.

The memorial was unveiled by the then vicar of Otley, the Reverend G.T. Shettle and dedicated by the Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend Arthur Perowne at a service of dedication held on Saturday 20th November 1920.

Following the end of the Second World War in 1945 proposals for a Garden of Remembrance were formulated and an appeal to fund it was launched. Plans were approved in 1946

 

Displaying the Anglian Crosses

Allan Boddy looks at our Anglian Cross fragments and what we should consider doing with them

In 1931 Otley Parish Church held celebrations to mark its 1300th anniversary. Charles Walker, who wrote the souvenir booklet to accompany the celebrations, did acknowledge that ‘the origin of Otley Church is almost lost in the annals of antiquity’ and that maybe a foundation date of 631 was a little too precise given the limited evidence available but he also emphasised that our Anglian cross fragments are clear evidence of a very long history of religious observance on the site where the Parish Church now stands.

In her article in the November magazine Margaret Parkin noted that our crosses were erected to indicate a place where villagers could meet with missionaries from York, Beverley or Ripon until such time as church buildings were erected and, according to Professor Collingwood who has studied the crosses in depth, they cover a period from before 750 to the Norman Conquest. Professor Collingwood has also commented on the quality of our stones describing the largest of the fragments as ‘one of the most artistic and perfect of all Anglian monuments.’

Our crosses have lived through turbulent times and received some rough treatment. Some pieces of the crosses were scattered around the churchyard whilst others had been used as filling in the walls and chancel arch.

 

 

Happily, in some respects, we live in more enlightened times and have a little more respect for ancient monuments and artefacts from the past. The Anglian crosses, once discovered and identified, have been put on display in various locations in the church including what is now the Parish Room and the area near the Fairfax tomb. Sadly, it was not possible to leave the crosses on display during the recent reordering and they had to be moved into storage on the mezzanine. With the completion of the reordering it is now the aim of the church to put the crosses back on public display but where, how and who pays are questions which have to be answered.

Where, How and Who?

We hope that the answer to who pays will be the Heritage Lottery Fund.  Earlier this year I submitted a Project Enquiry Form to the Heritage Lottery Fund outlining what I hoped to do and got a very helpful response from our assigned case worker, Katherine Boardman. Based on her advice I fleshed out my outline which now focuses not only on displaying and interpreting the crosses but also on ways in which we can use them to make people more aware of their Anglo-Saxon heritage, in particular through developing a project with local schools centred round the crosses. The Heritage Lottery Fund places great emphasis on outcomes for people as well as outcomes for heritage.

I am now trying to get to grips with the where and how questions but before I can deal with them it is important to be clear about what we have actually got. Professor Collingwood describes Otley as having eighteen cross fragments but visitors to the mezzanine will realise at once that we don’t have eighteen fragments in the church. In fact, we have ten, the rest being in the safe keeping of Otley Museum.

It has been argued that we have four fragments of a single cross which makes a reconstruction of the cross a possibility. However, experts question whether one of the four fragments is of the same date as the other three and it is evident that another of the fragments is in poor shape. To try to reconstruct a cross would involve a lot of guess work; would be expensive and would leave the best piece at ground level and difficult to view.

On the basis of my own reading and talking to people who have come to view the cross fragments it is clear that we have six to eight fragment which are in good or very good condition and which cover the period from the 8th to the 11th century. It is my view that these should be put on display and lit in such a way as to allow visitors to see the carvings on the fragments in all their glory. We need to decide where they should be displayed and how much it will cost to put them on display. We also need to decide what we do with the fragments which aren’t going to be put on public display.

Inside Out

Margaret Parkin looks at some of the memorials in the churchyard.

I wonder how long it is since you had a look around the churchyard – maybe you have never have!

Well, here are a couple of stories to encourage you to go and see for yourself sometime soon. Do tread carefully though!

Reading the memorial stones will give you a fascinating glimpse of Otley life before 1861 when the graveyard was closed, and burials were then held in the Pool Road Cemetery.

The importance of the humble potato.

Our first story has its origins in Ireland. Owing to the failure of the potato crop, there was a great famine there in 1845. Otley was inundated by some hundred Irish families, invited here by Thomas Constable who lived in the Manor House. The families initially settled in tents on what became known as the Irish Fields, somewhere in the area we now call the Cambridge Estate. Many of them arrived weakened by starvation after their long journey. Lots of them had famine related diseases. The young in particular suffered, with many of them dying soon after they arrived here.

The Parish registers name some 79 Irish people buried in our churchyard between 1845 and 1860, there being no consecrated ground in the town for Catholic burials.  Among them were 23 infants. The oldest person was Francis Blisset, aged 84. He died as a result of being murdered by his nephew’s wife!

The Telegraph and Argus told the story of John McQuinn, aged 9 who died of Smallpox the day after his family arrived in Otley in 1847. At his funeral his father carried the foot of the coffin, with a brother and sister on either side at the head. His mother followed on behind. It was claimed there had never been a funeral of its kind in Otley There were no other mourners, only the McQuinn family trudging up the road dressed in rags.

John is one of those buried in our churchyard. The then vicar, the Revd. Joshua Hart agreed to the burials of the Catholics there – quite a remarkable ecumenical gesture for the time.

In 2001, the church of Our Lady and All Saints in Otley celebrated its 150th anniversary and decided to create the Irish Famine Memorial. This can be seen on the south wall of the church in Bridge Street. The stone was designed by Peter Holt, donated by Mone Brothers; Pickles Funeral directors undertook the engraving.

The following year, Father Tom O’Connor, Parish Priest of Our Lady and All Saints, and the Rev. Graham Buttanshaw, Vicar of the Parish Church, dedicated a stone in the Parish churchyard to commemorate the burial there of those named on the Famine Memorial. This stone was also designed by Peter Holt. It’s made of Caen stone and was also given by Mone Brothers and engraved by Pickles Funeral Directors.

It stands in the top west end of the churchyard – in the wildflower garden. To find it, cross the path from the north door of the church, turn left into Church Lane and peep through the railings. And remember them next time you have your Shepherd’s pie!

Chris Power MBE., has written much more about this story – see “Thomas Constable and the Irish in Otley”. [A transcript of this is available – ask Margaret Parkin for more details.]

Just opposite the North door lies this object. Because of its location visitors occasionally ask what it was, and why is it there?

It has no connection with the church interior or exterior, nor is it the base of a pillar, nor the lower part of a churchyard cross.

Supposedly, it had earlier connections with the town market which is often referred to as the “Buttercross”. Fred Morrell, a former church reader and local historian, believes that this stone was part of a structure which supported a bell, held in position by three vertical bars fitted into the three cutaway parts of the stone rim and soldered into the indents below.

Otley market was granted a royal charter c.1220 and like many markets boasted a Buttercross – a structure built for folks from the outlying villages to come to market to sell their home-produced goods – milk, eggs and, of course, butter. Otley’s was situated in the area that we call the Buttercross – the shelter beside the Jubilee lock in the Market Place.

In market towns, a clerk of the market was appointed to ensure fair and just weights. He was also in charge of the bell and no market could begin or end until he rang it.

When the town’s Jubilee clock was erected it was placed in a position where it could easily be seen from the Market Place and Manor Square. It is reasonable to suppose that the bell stood in that area where it could be clearly heard in the Market Place and where produce and foods were sold, and in the Cattle Market in Manor Square where the sale of livestock took place.

The location of the Jubilee clock was decided in 1881 so it may well be that the bell and its structure was taken down somewhere between 1883 and 1885.

In 1883 Thomas Constable, a solicitor and Deputy Steward of the Manor of Otley, retired and was succeeded by Henry Dacre. It is thought that when the market bell was taken down he took charge of the bell and the stone. The bell was put into his office in the old Manor Grammar School in Manor Square which  lay forgotten for many years. Fred Morrell remembers seeing a photograph of the bell with the date 1767 engraved on the rim.

It is probable that Fred removed the stone to his garden at the house called “Hawthornden” on Bradford Road and that it was later placed in the churchyard when he moved to Caley Hall at the turn of the 19th century.

Fred Morrell’s story finishes with a question – “Can it be proved that the bell is connected with the stone – and did they once comprise the Market Bell?”

As yet, the question is unanswered, so for now we will simply enjoy the story.

Weston Estate Family Church

Ken Dale looks at the history of Weston Estate Family Church

For over 30 years a church plant from Otley Parish Church provided a focus for Christian ministry and community on the Weston Estate. However, the story does not start with the erection of a building. It starts with a vision, because without that vision W.E.F.C. would not have materialised.

In the 1960s Reverend Pat Ashe (Vicar at Otley Parish Church) had a concern for the people of Weston Estate – a relatively new housing development and one located far from the Parish Church. For two summers he and his family camped on the playing field of the estate during August, and in the second year he brought along a large tent and services were held which were very well attended. Also at this time, a curate from the Parish Church, Reverend Roy Clarke, moved from his house in the town to a council house in Meagill Rise on the estate, enabling him to minister more easily to those around.

In those days the Parish had a policy of giving away half its income and, since the Parish Church was in need of decoration, the P.C.C. had the vision of a ‘Triple Project’ which involved £10,000 for redecorating the Parish Church, £3,000 for a church centre at Embarcacion in Argentina, plus a building on the Weston Estate.

So land was purchased and a church hall of prefabricated wood and glass construction was erected with an adjoining brick-built curate’s house at a total cost of £11,000 (equivalent to about £200,000 today). The hall could seat over 100 people and included a kitchen, office/small meeting room, toilets and entrance lobby. The building opened in September 1967 with a
dedication service led by the Archdeacon of Bradford, William Johnston. A prominent feature on the outside of the building was the large, blue and white, internally illuminated cross, pointing to the love of God for those living on the Weston Estate.

The first ‘curate in residence’ at W.E.F.C. was Reverend Ray Gibson whose catchphrase ‘B.A.F.’ (Bring Another Family) resounded round the estate. The congregation quickly rose to between 50 and 90 each Sunday. Ray was followed by Reverend Tony Thompson, an ex-missionary who had been working in Paraguay. Under Tony evangelism on the estate continued and in 1973 the Friendship Club was started, giving opportunity for people to meet each week. Tony would not use a car but travelled by motor bike since it gave him greater opportunity to stop and chat with people on the Weston Estate.

The next Curate after Tony was Reverend John Poole, who continued the teaching and encouraged house fellowship groups. The last residential Curate was Reverend Geoffrey Percival, who moved to Windhill in 1981.

In 1980 a Parish Stewardship Mission encouraged the use of talents in the Church and many people started to help with the worship services. This was

very useful when the Parish was down to the Vicar and one Curate (from three in the 1960s), resulting in more limited availability of the clergy.

Many people were also involved with teaching Sunday School classes (at one time there were 5 classes), leading the G.F.S. (Girl’s Friendly Society) and Pathfinder groups, running the Luncheon and Friendship Clubs. The Luncheon Club met weekly to provide a hot meal for up to 30 people, many of whom would otherwise be on their own.

When the Sunday morning Family Services ceased at W.E.F.C. in December 1993 the congregation transferred to the Parish Church and took part in the worship there. Monthly Sunday evening services continued for some years offering informal, contemporary worship – a forerunner to our present-day Activate services.

The pre-fabricated building began to show its age and needed significant work, including a new roof, to keep it open. In January 2003, after much debate and with some reluctance, the PCC decided to close W.E.F.C. The building was demolished that spring and the car park area and part of the garden of the house were sold for housing. The former curate’s house continued to be rented out for a number of years until that was also sold. Recently, the remaining land has been sold to a local builder.

 

The Friendship Club, led by Mavis Bowman, continued to meet until 2011 at the Weston Lane Social Club after the W.E.F.C. building was closed. At its peak there were over 50 members meeting regularly with a varied programme of activities, including speakers, meals, Old-time Music Hall and annual UK or foreign holidays.

So the history of W.E.F.C. is about much more than the building, but the growth of a Christian community, reaching out to the Weston Estate and touching lives with the love of God in Jesus.

The All Saints Alphabet

Margaret Parkin looks  gives you a brief and simple look at the A-Z around our church. It’s not a comprehensive list – just a taster – and your list may well differ from this one. ALPHA – the first letter of the Greek alphabet – variously interpreted as meaning ‘beginning’ or ‘most significant occurrence’. God declared himself as “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last”. You can see this letter in the top left of the East Window.

ALPHA – the first letter of the Greek alphabet – variously interpreted as meaning ‘beginning’ or ‘most significant occurrence’. God declared himself as “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last”. You can see this letter in the top left of the East Window.

BOOKS – the oldest we have is a book of sermons preached in the Otley parish, and mostly in our church, between 1642 and 1644. Written for the Fairfax family – looks as if it’s written in a code, but it’s simply in the handwriting style of the day.

CORBELS – are load-bearing brackets. Look up and you will see these on the roof beams either side of the nave. Fourteen angels are carved on them – look around to see if you can find two more!     

DEVIL’S DOOR – in the Middle Ages this was the name often used for the North Door. It was traditionally left open during baptisms to let out any evil spirits in the child. Our door dates to c. 1530.

EASTER SEPULCHRE – this elaborately carved monument in the Chancel hides a secret. A door behind it was closed up when the monument was inserted – originally the most direct route home for the vicar to his vicarage opposite in Church Lane. How many faces can you see? The monument to Walter Fawkes and his wife Sophia was placed here in 1852.

FONT – Thomas Chippendale was baptised in our church on 5th June 1718 but not at the font you see in the church now. This one was given by Francis Darwin of Bramhope in memory of his mother Ann Rhodes in 1868.

GALLERIES – in 1793 a gallery was erected in front of the Chancel Arch and housed the organ. In 1851, the gallery was removed, and the organ moved to  the west end of the church and placed on a gallery which had been erected in 1757, which is where our new mezzanine now is.

HALLMARKS – many of our communion vessels, candlesticks, plates and other items bear these makers marks which tell us by whom, where and when they were made. Our oldest? We have a Chalice dated 1660.

INCUMBENTS – beside the lectern is a list of vicars starting with Galfrides de Bridlington in 1267 and ending with Graham Buttanshaw who came here in 1999… and then we run out of space!

JESUS – is at the centre of our worship and of our vision too. You will see him in the centre main light of the East Window and another 10 times in windows depicting his life from Nativity to Resurrection.   

KNEELERS – The ones in front of the altar rails, embroidered in colours to echo the colours in the East Window, were worked by church members, Sallie Finch, Karen Weir, June Dale, Jennifer Peckham, Barbara Taylor and  Walter Hudson.

LECTERN – the word lectern comes from the Latin legere meaning ‘to read’. The Bible or other service books were used from here. Our lectern was given in memory of Mr Garnett in 1868.

MOTHERS UNION BANNER – is at the top of the south porch stairs. It was embroidered in 1968 by Hetty Forest, a Mothers Union member, and originally stood in the North Transept which at the time was used as a Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

NORMAN – not our church treasurer! The arch over the North door, which itself dates to c.1530, dates to the Norman era, approx. 11th century, and came from above the door of the first church building, now our chancel.

OLDEST MEMORIAL – in the North transept, it dates from 1593 and celebrates the alliance through marriage of the Lindleys and Palmes.

PUTTI – you won’t find this in the windows! Putti are representations of cherubs, usually found as architectural features and often seen in memorials. You can see three of them on the Thomas Fawkes memorial in the North Transept.

QUOINS – you will have to go outside to find these – they are the stones used on the external angles of walls and provide strength to large load bearing structures. Much of the stone used in our church building is local Millstone Grit.

ROOD –  the screen which separates the nave from the chancel. These often have a cross on them and are known as a Rood Screen. Sometimes there was a gallery or loft behind it where musicians or choirs sat. Our screen was given by Mr Fison of Burley in 1893 in memory of his wife.

SKULL AND CROSS BONES – seen on a memorial and a reminder that none of us can escape death. Another challenge for today – can you find this?

TOILETS – are we the only church to have a fabulous stained-glass window in its ladies’ loo? In the vicar’s vestry is a Victorian toilet beautifully decorated with blue art. We have recently twinned all our toilets through the Tear Fund project to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene education for billions of people worldwide.

URN TABLE – was made by Mr D. Good, a local undertaker and carpenter – it comprises wood from a 300- year old farmhouse table, pews from the north transept, a Spanish galleon with links to the Armada and Otley Methodist church. It provides the last resting place for ashes prior to their burial in the Garden of Remembrance.

VESTRY – not the two you have on the south wall leading off from the chancel – but one built along the same wall in 1495 and situated at the mid-point of the current ones. It was originally the point of entry for the priest.

WINDOWS – two questions for you to solve – why are there two Baptism scenes in the Parish Room?  And where will you find Faith, Hope and Charity? If you get stuck, be patient – a re-print of the Windows Booklet is on the way.

X – THE CROSS – a cheat, I know! If you can find an X please tell us. We have crosses inside but how many can you find on the roof outside?

Y – YOU, THE READER – one of the most important components of our church.

Z – THE END – what’s missing from this list? Far too many things to fit the space – come to the Heritage event in September and take the “Walk round OPC” tour and Allan’s “Stories of the monuments” if you want to learn more. And if you can find a Z to go with the X then that will be wonderful.

Churchwardens’ Accounts

We look at a few interesting extracts from the Churchwardens’ Accounts between 1811 and 1891

1811. In a description of the interior of the church, it states it has a flat stucco roof, with a brass chandelier suspended in the centre and a wainscote screen dividing the chancel from the nave.

1825. The Clerk, Sexton and Organist’s wages are
by custom paid by the parishioners; all are appointed by the vicar.

1826. The church possessions are: one pulpit and cushion, one Bible and prayer book, a Communion Table and cloth, one font, one clock with chimes, two surplices, eight bells, one chandelier of 18 branches of brass, two in the pulpit and two at the reading desk, also of brass.
1841. William Daphne appointed Clerk, for which he receives half the proceeds of searches and certificates, an annual collection at Easter, and £1 from the Churchwardens.

1850. The north door in the chancel made up. The iron railings between Kirkgate and the little lane put up (this is now Church Lane).

1855. Regret the loss of the music abilities of Master James Hudson of the choir on his moving to Halifax.

1866. The accounts include £10 to the Clerk, 50s. to the Sexton and £2.19s. to the ringers, 12s. 6d. to the organ blower.
1867. The cost of restoration and alterations in this year amounted to £2583, the principal accounts being for joinery (£759), masonry (£428), roof of nave (£231), and aisle roofs (£116).
1870. The wooden porch at the north door put up at a cost of £8 15s. Paid to Tom Cowley, 16s. for chiming the bells for divine services, during the time the ringers were out, from June to January last. To Wm. Daphne, clerk, £10, plus £1 for transcribing the registers, 18s. for leading coke, 3s. for wood for the fires, £1 for attending the fires, and 6s. 8d. for cleaning the surplices.

1875. The stone cross on the east end of the chancel put up.

1885. Deficit in the Balance Sheets, the receipts £105 2s. 10d., expenditure £125 2s. 10d. Mr Fison of Burley clears the deficit.

1888. The gas jets round the capitals superseded by new iron pendant lamps made by Longfields of Otley. 

1891. A memo states the “Widows’ Shilling” was paid in church as usual, after morning service on 1st April.

The End of the Story – Or is it?

By Margaret Parkin

Who was Caroline Antonia Menezes de Freitas Drummond Aragão Dunn of Madeira? Where is she now?

Carolina lies on top of a tomb in our churchyard wearing an 1850s style dress. It was carved by Dennis Lee of Woodhouse Lane, Leeds and  is regarded as his pièce de résistance.

 The tomb was created, on her orders, in memory of her husband Thomas Dunn. She herself is not buried in it.

Thomas Dunn,  had been a prosperous merchant in Madeira, returning to England in the 1850s. In 1856 he and Carolina were living at Headingly Hill in Leeds  just prior to their move to “Moorville” in Burley Woodhead. In the same  enclosure as Thomas’s tomb is a flat gravestone in memory of Ann Dunn who died in 1806 and Thomas Dunn who died in 1827. This Thomas Dunn had been the house steward to the Fawkes family and we believe  that he was father to Carolina’s Thomas. Carolina’s Thomas died in 1857 and three years later Carolina sold “Moorville”. Since then we have believed that she returned to Madeira. So if she is not in the tomb  where is she? The mystery has remained unsolved for a long time until just six months ago in March of this year we were contacted by David Bond – this is some of what he told us.

Mauritz, a prince of Hungary accompanied Prince Atheling from England to Hungary between the years of 1067 and 1070. He was richly rewarded by King Malcolm III of Scotland for his services, being given extensive lands, given the name of Drummond by the king and with it a coat of arms, some of the heraldry seen on Thomas’s tomb. He married a maid-of-honour to the king and died in the Battle of Alnwick in 1093.

Twenty three generations later, Carolina was born in Madeira in 1805 – one of 12 children born to Antonio Caetano Drummond de Freitas Aragão and his wife Maria Luisa Tele de Meneses. Her father is described as a Morgado – an important land owner.

At the age of 26 she married Thomas Dunn, aged 36, in 1831 in Se Cathedral in Funchal, Madeira. They had no children, and when he died in 1857 Carolina received little by way of inheritance, only a few pictures and the contents of their house at Burley Woodhead. But what a house! It was later used as a Youth Hostel.

Three years later, Carolina was living in New Bond Street, London where on 28th June she married William Thomas Hugh Harrison at St Georges Church in Hanover Square – she was 55 years old and he was 22 years old. So having a toy boy is nothing new! He adopted one of her family names – inserting Drummond  in front of Harrison.

Carolina died a year later at their home in St Martin, a district of Jersey.

By 1871 William was living in St Pancras, Middlesex at the home of Elizabeth Aberdeen, another wealthy widow, with a son whose birth certificate named him as Hugh Harrison. William was identified as the lodger on the census of that year.

William later married Elizabeth with whom he had 5 children endowing   Carolina’s Drummond name to each of them – and also de Freitas to the youngest. I wonder what Elizabeth felt about that?

He later moved to Kingston on Thames, then to Twickenham and in 1884 he moved back to Jersey where he stayed for two years before moving back to London and becoming landlord of the Bay Malton pub in Portland Street.

He died in Marylebone in 1889, aged 50, of “digestive problems” possibly from sampling too much of his produce. He is buried in the graveyard of St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham.

David Bond is the great-great-great-grandson of William Harrison. His great- great-uncle Aragoa Drummond Harrison was a steward on the Titanic, surviving in lifeboat number 9. At this stage, Carolina’s resting place was still a mystery but we continued our research in the archives of Jersey to see what else we could find. Still looking for the “end of the story”, this is what we found:

Carolina was buried in the parish of St Saviour on the island of Jersey on the 19th of March 1861. Interestingly, the parish records and local newspaper reports of the time describe her as being ‘about forty’. We know that she was really 56 years of age. Did she really manage to convince her husband of this? I know I would love it if I could knock 16 years off my age and have nobody notice the difference!

My thanks to Barbara Winfield, a volunteer at Otley Museum, for finding this piece of the puzzle. It prompted the following from David Bond:

He is not convinced that Carolina lied about her age believing that it was  simply a marriage of convenience. However, he has realised that if she were ‘about forty’ on her death then she would have only been 10 years old on her marriage to Thomas Dunn!

As with most family research projects there are unanswered questions and for David Bond one of these is “how did a man from London come to meet a Madeiran widow from Otley?”

Anyone who has ever done family research is often left with those sort of unanswered questions and with nobody, of course, around to provide the answers.

Is this the end of the story? Not quite.  Dr Dennis Warwick, recently retired chairman of the Burley Local History Group, told me more about “Moorville”, the home of Thomas and Carolina in Burley Woodhead.

Thomas bought “Moorville” in 1856 not long before he died. After his death Carolina let the house to Edward Hirst Hudson who then bought it in 1861. Later it became the property of Peter Garnett of Otley, also a worsted spinner. It then passed through the hands of George Atkinson, an architect, to William Simpson Hannam, a solicitor of Leeds, who bought it in an auction. In 1939 it became the property of J. W. Broadbend of Leeds, a music publisher who sold it in 1945 to the Youth Hostels Association. They used it until 1972.

Following a lead from Allan Boddy, The  Guiding Association told me that their camp site called ‘Robin Hole’ was established nearby and they drew their water from “Moorville” but they can tell me no more. So it is back to the Youth Hostel Association for me. And I now have questions of my own Is the house still standing? Has David Bond been back to Madeira and taken up his research again?  Will he find out what took William and Carolina to Jersey?

So, perhaps this is not “the end of the story” but a case of “watch this space”. For now though, we will leave Carolina resting in peace in our churchyard

From a Tunnel to a Planter?

Margaret Parkin looks at an interesting link between the Navvies Memorial in our churchyard and Musgrave Hall in Burras Lane

IN 1845, the Leeds & Thirsk Railway Act received Royal Assent, heralding the invasion of the railway age into Wharfedale and providing a rail link between Leeds and Thirsk. James Bray, an iron and brass founder from Leeds was appointed to oversee the construction of the section between Horsforth and Weeton which had to pass under the ridge separating Airedale and Wharfedale. This necessitated the building of a tunnel at Bramhope, some 2 miles long,  25 feet high and at its deepest point 290 feet under the village. Work began on 20th October 1845. It is reported that at the height of the work some 2,300 men and 400 horses were being used – quarrymen,  stone-masons, tunnellers, labourers and carpenters. Each man worked a 12-hour shift, were lowered down by huge buckets to work in candlelight and were paid around £1.50 per week. Working conditions were constantly wet with foul air, gun-powder fumes and the danger of roof falls.

For four years, the navvies, many of whom bought their families with them, lived in wooden huts called bothies in and around Bramhope. There were often seventeen at a time in each hut, taking turns to share beds in unsanitary conditions. They had travelled to find work from all over England, Ireland and Scotland. As might be expected, given the dangerous working conditions, accidents were frequent and often fatal and it is recorded that 23 navvies were buried in unmarked graves in Otley Churchyard. We know there are more – buried elsewhere.

In 1849, a memorial to those killed, and known as The Navvies Monument, was erected in our churchyard at the expense of James Bray the contractor, agents and sub-contractors and fellow workmen. Costing £300 it was made of soft Caen stone shipped here from Normandy. Unfortunately, it did not weather well and by 1883 was recorded as ‘being in a sorry state of repair’. But it  was another 30 years before the memorial was reconstructed in more resilient local stone.

1974, the Monument was granted Grade II listing by the Department of the Environment, thanks to recommendations from Paul Wood, Christine Dean and Eric Cowling,  under the auspices of the Otley Civic Society. Further restoration was carried out in 1988.

In 2017 permission was given to Otley Town Council  to take ownership of the monument with a view to its restoration and future maintenance. That work is currently being done, driven by the enthusiasm and hard work of local volunteers in the form of Otley Town Council and  Otley Conservation Force, with funding from the Heritage Lottery fund, the Heritage Railway Trust, and the Otley Town Mayor’s Charity Appeal; also with private donations from local residents and businesses. It will continue to attract the attention of visitors and local residents alike – being the only known memorial of its kind in the country.

And the planter?

A garden planter stands at the front door of Musgrave Hall in Burras Lane – placed there by Ken Pollard (Churchwarden 1959-1970) and his wife Barbara when the Hall became their home in 1978. We have recently learned that this planter was one of the original turrets from the Navvies Memorial.

One of the tragic deaths during the construction of the tunnel was reported in The Bradford Observer which is reproduced below:

The Bradford Observer

AND HALIFAX, HUDDERSFIELD AND KEIGHLEY REPORTER

THURSDAY,   JULY 9, 1846

 

 

 

1066 and all that…

by Margaret Parkin

In the year 597, Pope Gregory 1st sent St Augustine and several other monks from Rome to try and reclaim Britain as a Christian country. He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. The main Christian religion of the day was based on the Church of Rome with the Pope as its head.

The pastoral work of the church in Yorkshire was conducted from the minsters of York, Beverley and Ripon with missionaries sent to outlying towns and villages. They preached in the open air and stone crosses were erected as a meeting place, there being no church buildings erected at the time. We have some Saxon Cross fragments of our own and a new display area for them is being planned.

Our church is called “All Saints” because all churches established in Saxon parishes were called “All Saints”, and we believe that the first church here was probably Saxon and made of wood. It was recorded that the first church in Otley was erected by king Edwin of Northumbria c.628 and was burned by the Danes soon afterwards.

Modern homes are built to a specific design and I am told can be completed in about three months. How long did it take to build All Saints, remembering that when started on, the builders didn’t have diggers and cranes, scaffolding and all the other labor-saving machines of today?

It was started during the time of the Normans – c.1100 – and it took till about 1890 for the shape of the building to become what we see now. That’s some 800 years!

I guess we could describe All Saints Church as a big jigsaw puzzle – let’s see how it fits together.

Here is another kind of puzzle to keep in mind – the arch over the North door is a Norman arch – i.e. circa 11th century and sits over a 15th century doorway. How come? Read on…

Domesday – the 1086 record – commissioned by William the Conqueror, describes Otley as having thirty five residents, plus a church and a priest. It was obviously an important building even then, being described as a 7th century monastic centre and even a semi-monastic minster.

The Chancel is the oldest part of our church and dates from the Norman era. Bigger then than it is now it originally reached to the middle of the first two pillars. Try and imagine it as when first built. Just a cold and dark space, an earth floor, windows the same as the two we see on either side of the altar, a piscine where communion vessels were washed, an aumbry for storing communion to be taken to the sick and housebound, and a door in the west wall. The service was conducted in Latin by a priest who stood at the stone altar with his back to the people. Then in 1240 the first major re-ordering took place. The west wall, where the door was, was removed and the nave, tower and two transepts were developed. A simple cruciform shape emerged – symbol of the Christian belief that Jesus was crucified on a cross. The word ‘nave’ comes from the Latin word ‘navus’ which means a ship. Early Christians believed that the church would take them safely across the sea of life – and if you look up you will see that the ceiling above the nave looks like an upturned boat.

The corners of the cross shape are called Transepts and were used as private chapels, called Chantry Chapels, with a priest paid for by local notable families who would conduct private masses for the family estates and prayers for their souls when dead.

The chapel in the north was established by the Lindley family as far back as 1300 – and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The last priest to celebrate here was Edward Lindley in 1557.

The chapel in the south was dedicated to St Catherine of the guild of linen weavers and supported by the Fairfax family of Denton Hall – it is also known as the Denton Choir. The amazing Fairfax tomb, added later, shows Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife Lady Ellen. Sir Thomas was a member of parliament in the time of Queen Elizabeth the first – and the grandfather of Sir Thomas Fairfax who was Captain – a General of Cromwell’s army. His 9 times great granddaughter, Jain Fairfax, came to visit us from America in 2017. If you want to know more about Sir Thomas, then you really will have to come to Allan Boddy’s Heritage Weekend talk in September about the church memorials!

Windows have been around since the start of the building – different shapes and styles, some plain and some beautifully coloured. As walls were moved and the building developed in size and shape the windows would also have been moved (see our leaflet describing our stained-glass windows in detail).

The nave led directly to the tower prior to the Parish Room being developed in 1991. There has been considerable debate as to the date it was built. In 1830 Wm. Mounsey wrote, ‘the transept and chancel are much older than the nave and tower’. Peter Ryder’s architectural survey suggests it was built in the late 14th or early 15th century. He also believes that the nave is older than the chancel and says there might have been a tower in the middle of the church.

Pevsner says 14th century and the Grade 1 listing goes for 14th-15th century. The NADFAS church recorders have dated the stone archway into the tower as 1240. We are sticking with that! Towers have had various uses – Priests’ residences, lookout posts, or storage places – built as tall as a signpost to where the church was or as status symbols? Our tower houses a ringing chamber where the hard work is done and further up are eight bells and a carillon. New ropes have to be stretched before being attached to bells. They used to be suspended from an iron bar, sticking out of the tower, with a weight attached and left for a time. On one such occasion the vicar’s young son fancied an adventure and decided to use a rope as a zip wire. His mother just happened to look out of the vicarage window and saw him climb out of one of the tower windows and make his descent. We understand she fainted.

In 1490 the South Aisle and South Porch were created by moving a wall and windows. It was financed by Sir Simon Ward of Esholt and Thomas Thwaites of Denton. The south porch was rebuilt in 1730 and there is a vicar buried out there. Look for the skull and crossbones along here.

At the same time, the Norman windows in the East wall of the Chancel were removed and the tracery and stonework of the East Window was put in. Thirty years later in 1520, the North aisle was built. To do this they took out the nave and transept walls and inserted the pillars and arches that you see today. Check out the pillars in each of the aisles, they are of different sizes in order to accommodate the upward and sideways slope of the ground outside.

The organ chamber and vestry were added on the north side of the chancel in 1865 and the outside shape of the church was completed when the clergy and choir vestries were built on the south side in 1890. Inside roofs and floors have been raised and lowered, clerestory windows placed above both aisles, the soil floor was boarded over… and much more. In 1757 a gallery was built where our mezzanine floor now is and in 1793 another was built over the chancel. The organ was housed in both of these before it moved to the chancel and later to its current position. In 1826 the east gallery was extended over both transepts and was used for the Sunday School with the boys sitting to the left, the girls to the right and the teachers in between. We are told there was seating for ‘184 and a half persons’!

Remember the Norman Arch mentioned above? During all the changes, the main door has moved around from the end wall of the chancel, to somewhere on the nave and finally over the North Door. Have a look next time you leave the church.

 Symbols

Margaret Parkin looks at some of our church symbols and what they mean.

A symbol is something we can see which represents something else, which itself is invisible. It can be an object or an action. For example, a handshake supposedly made popular by Sir Walter Raleigh, is a statement of peace and trust, because you are obviously not carrying a weapon. A ring is often a sign of marriage and because it is a circle, which has no beginning or end, is a symbol of infinity, just like love should be.

Many countries, businesses and other groups have their own symbols such as flags, logos and national emblems. And, of course, we have our own church symbol:-

We are going to focus here on some of the Christian symbols which we see in the church. There are lots of them which can be seen in:

Furniture such as the altar, aumbry, piscina, lectern, pulpit, font and choirstalls.

Objects such as communion vessels, crosses, robes, candlesticks and banners.

Stained glass windows tell stories from the bible, memorials to people and include angels, doves, flowers and other symbols.

Stonework has angels on corbels, Saxon crosses, memorials, tombstones, outside as well as inside, and

Ceremonies we take part in, including services such as communion, baptism, marriage and funerals.

I made a list of christian symbols which I found while walking round the church. But there are some symbols that I hoped I would find but haven’t managed to, such as a fish like this:-

If you can find one, perhaps on a monument or window, please do tell me!
This symbol was used by early Christians to identify themselves to other Christians and to demonstrate their affinity to the Christian faith. Even today, people still wear a fish brooch or put a sticker in their car, testifying to their faith.

My list is long so I will just tell you briefly about a few of them. Have a look next time you’re in the church.

A cross is the most easily recognisable religious symbol. We have several styles both inside and outside, from our palm crosses to the simple wooden one on our nave altar, or the brass one on the high altar and those in the crucifixion window. The cross represents Christ’s victory over sin and death through his own sacrifice on the cross. Making the sign of the cross with the hands is also used by a priest as a blessing or by some Christians when praying.

Alpha and Omega found in the East Window. They are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and mean God is the beginning and the end.

Doves which you will find on a memorial on the south wall of the chancel. They represent the Holy Spirit who descended on Jesus in the form of a dove when he was baptised in the river Jordan They are also seen as a sign of peace. After the flood, a dove brought an olive branch to Noah, a promise of the end of God’s judgement and the start of a new covenant.

The Bible and a prayer book are used to help us in our worship and also seen on a memorial on the north wall of the chancel. Why? The carvings indicate that the person they are a memorial to was a priest.  He was the Reverend. Henry Robinson who was buried in the chancel in 1834 having been vicar in Otley for 18 years.

Skull and cross bones. Do you know where to find it? Not on a pirate flag but in the south aisle on a small brass plate. Mary Maud was not a pirate but ‘a faithful and obedient wife’ who died in 1739. The  skull and crossbones remind us that life is time limited and we cannot escape that, so make the most of it and use it well.

Angels. Let’s finish on a heavenly note. We can see lots of angels around. For example, at the base of the roof beams on either side of the nave and into the mezzanine are 14 angels, 7 on each side. The word “angel” comes from the Greek word “Angelo” meaning ‘messenger’. Angels are described as spirits who belong to God and are engaged in his service. They are somewhat misrepresented in the Bible because they are always referred to as male!

In our church family we have lots of human angels, both female and male who also belong to God and who are all engaged in God’s service. You don’t have to look far to find them!

Memories of Musgrave Memorial Hall

Louise Lee shares some of her memories of Musgrave Hall, now her family home, which is next door to The Chestnuts on Burras Lane.

Recognise Musgrave Hall from its doors, the funny chimney, the gate and the weird cobbled drive leading to the house? Passers-by watch aghast as we negotiate the rather precarious driveway in the car!

Musgrave Hall is situated just 50 yards to the west of Otley Parish Church in Burras Lane. It’s a Grade 2 Listed Building. Ever wondered what it was before it became a home?

Your Memories

Do you have memories of Otley Collegiate School, Sunday School, Boy Scouts, Men’s Christian Fellowship Meetings, the Church Bookstall or even having fun jumping off the edge of the strange wedge-shaped cobbled drive?

Maybe you remember a meeting with the local MP and Councillor to fight Leeds City

Council’s proposals to raze nearby Mount Pisgah to the ground for a car park? Do you remember seeing Ken Pollard outside in his colourful garden?

My Memories

Teaching Sunday School at Musgrave Hall and Newall Hall (Newall Carr Road) in the early 1970s and under the auspices of Margaret Proctor.

In 1964 my brother was born and his christening in the Parish Church was followed by a Christening Tea at Musgrave Memorial Hall.

My Dad, Ken Pollard, who was Vicar’s Warden for many years, applied for planning permission on behalf of the Parochial Church Council to convert the Hall into a private dwelling. It was originally a school – Otley Collegiate School. The church needed to raise funds for the upkeep of their other building, Burras Lane School. It took many years and 4 costly attempts after employing various architects to achieve Listed Buildings and Conservation approval through Leeds City Council. It was thanks to Mary Wells, a church architect who finally succeeded with the approval.

Then, the building went for Public Auction but as my father always believed, the Lord was in control. My parents won the auction and sold their family home in Queens Terrace. While the conversion and restoration work to a bungalow with a minstrel’s gallery was being carried out, they lived in a caravan at the front of the Hall throughout a very cold winter.

My parents and brother John moved into the property in July 1978. Pat Ashe, the vicar at the time, conducted a dedication of the new house.

The original cross from within the Memorial Hall is now in our hallway as a memory of the Christian nature of the building. My Mum died in 1994 and my Dad continued to live in the house on his own until he passed away in 2009.

My Dad was a totally committed Christian – “a sinner saved by grace” is inscribed on his headstone. I will never forget his longing gaze out of the lounge window up the Chevin as he left the house for the very last time to be admitted to the Marie Curie Hospice.

Between his death and funeral some unexplained occurrences happened. The Otley Life magazine landed on the doormat; we had no idea that a photo of Dad’s house had been taken and would be put on the front cover. Just two days after his death I was in the hall when I had an amazing vision of how to further turn the house into an even more liveable home. To cut a very long story short we had tremendous problems lasting a year or so to get Listed Building Planning Permission to totally alter the interior but retain all the historic features. Some of you may remember my husband, Richard, project managing every day with some brilliant tradesmen. I clearly remember one craftsman telling us it was “an honour to work on such a beautiful building.”

Neighbours will no doubt remember the dust and noise when contractors sandblasted the stone mullions and beams which had been overpainted in brown gloss, but consequently well preserved.

 

We have to say “thank you” to our neighbours for being long-suffering throughout 2010 while the building was being restored.

 

 

 

Memories of Musgrave Memorial Hall – Part 2

Louise Lee continues her memories of Musgrave Hall, which is next door to The Chestnuts on Burras Lane, now her family home

From private school to private home  – and what happened in between

When my parents moved into their home in 1978, they had the name Musgrave Hall carved on the right-hand side of the front door and the date of 1834 was placed over the doorway. However, as I began to look further into the history of our home, conflicting details emerged and I began a more detailed piece of research which has provided a fascinating look at the history of our home and some of the people who have passed through its doors.

I wondered where my father, Ken Pollard, got the date of 1834 from as the Leeds Listed Buildings record for Otley gave it the date of c1830…mind you, they did describe it as a private school built by Dr Kirk! Not true – Dr Kerr was the teacher, not the builder; we don’t know who the builder was!

Elise Brumfitt, a local historian writing in her book, “Old Otley” also records that in 1834 a small school known as “Collegiate School” was built on Burras Lane.

A survey, conducted in 1971 by the Otley Urban District Council on Buildings of Architectural and Historical interest, also quotes this date of 1834 and it is from this record that my father chose the date.

However, a search of the “Tracks in Time” Leeds Tithe map dated 1836-1851 shows only All Saints Parish Church in this area and a map of 1842 shows the church, the graveyard and the old vicarage on Church Lane, surrounded by fruit trees.

Margaret Parkin had a chance meeting with Paul Wood, the former curator of Otley Museum, and things changed again. He told her that the Otley Collegiate School was built on College Hill, its present site, in 1867 as reported in both the Bradford Observer of Thursday 31st October of that year and the Otley and Wharfedale News dated November 1st of the same year.

Copies of these records can be found in the Leeds Reference Library. So that is the date we now go with.

Who was Dr Kerr and how did his school become established?

In the 1840s a group of Otley citizens, including William Musgrave, uncle of Peter Musgrave, (more of him later) wished to establish a private school. Samuel Hyslop Kerr, aged 24 years, was chosen to be the teacher. He came to Otley in 1848 from Sanquhar in Scotland where he had been employed as an assistant teacher and described as being a teacher of English and Latin.

The 1851 census shows S.H. Kerr as teaching in a school room on West Terrace, Beech Hill.

In 1855 he opened the ‘Otley Classical School’ in a room in the old Congregational Sunday School, in the old Salem Chapel on Bridge Street. He became a deacon of the church, retiring as the Senior Deacon in 1885.

When Samuel Kerr’s 15 pupils grew to 30, with classes running from 8am to 5.30pm, he moved to a room above the old Courthouse. This was in 1857 – but which ‘courthouse’? There have been several of them over the years, one of them being in the Old Grammar School in Manor Square, once used by the Manor Club and now where the Stew and Oyster bar and restaurant plies its trade.

Other possibilities included the Court and Session house established in 1757 in the top storey of the Assembly Rooms on Bondgate. This building became the Bowling Green Inn and is now part of the Wetherspoon chain.

And of course, we have the Courthouse and Police Station in the street of the same name, built in 1874.

The consensus of opinion is that Samuel Kerr’s original school was in the courthouse in the Old Grammar School.

Trades Directories can be a useful tool when researching local history, and Slaters Commercial directory of Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire, dated 1855, tells us that Samuel Kerr was master at the Otley Classical School on Bridge Street – the Salem Chapel referred to earlier.

The Post Office directory dated 1861 describes his school as being ‘the Academy on Westgate’.

The census records for 1851/1861 and 1871 record Dr Kerr as living in a house in West Terrace, off Beech Hill and built for him by Mr William Dawson, the founding proprietor of the printing trade in Otley. In 1866 he was teaching from a cellar under his house in West Terrace, and in addition to being a school master he held the post of Superintendent Registrar.

In the next year he at last moved into his own school on Burras Lane which we now know as Musgrave Hall but was then called the Otley Collegiate School.

In addition to educating many local children, Samuel Kerr’s own education continued – he had arrived in Otley as an assistant teacher – gained a B.A. in 1870, then an M.A. and finally in 1875 acquired a Ph.D.

Mr Kerr was now Dr Kerr and locally the Collegiate school was called Dr Kerr’s School. He stayed there until his retirement in 1887 when he moved to Devon where he died on January 1st, 1918 aged 92. Mr James Etchells became the school master.

A scholarship in Dr Kerr’s name was established after his death for the ‘highest attaining student of the year’ and a memorial board in the Main Hall at Prince Henry’s Grammar School displays their names.

Dr Kerr’s school closed in 1897.

Many of those who made Otley famous in the commercial, manufacturing and professional world were taught by Dr Kerr. Their names and contributions are still remembered today – Dacre, Walker, Newstead, Duncan, and more.

As I mentioned in the February edition of this magazine, between 1974 and 1975, my father, Ken Pollard, vicar’s warden, made four failed planning applications at his own expense, on behalf of the Parish Church Council, for conversion of Musgrave Hall to residential property.

The property was then left for four years with no decision on how to sell it. In 1978 it was offered for public auction and Ken’s offer was accepted. My mother had not dared to attend the auction knowing how much it had already cost my father. Renovation of the building commenced in 1978 with my parents and brother living in a caravan on the site.

Musgrave Hall became my parent’s home until Ken died in 2009. My husband, Richard, and I now enjoy their legacy and have a few more stories to uncover and a few more questions to answer.

Memories of Musgrave Memorial Hall – Part 3

Louise and Richard Lee tell the final part of the history of Musgrave Hall

How did Otley Collegiate School, also known as Dr Kerr’s School, become Musgrave Hall

When Dr Samuel Kerr, School Master, retired in 1887, he was succeeded by James Etchells. The school continued for a few years until its closure in 1897 when the building was sold to William Wratmell, then later to Peter Musgrave.

Peter was a former pupil of Dr Kerr and a churchwarden at Otley Parish Church. He was also Superintendent of the Parish Church morning Sunday School.

In 1898 he paid £445 by deed of gift to the church and Dr Kerr’s school building then came into use as a Sunday School. It is said that on Sunday mornings he marched his scholars to the church service and sat with them, armed with a billiard cue which he used to tap the heads of talkative youngsters!

In later years, the building was used by several local groups. For example, in 1937 the large room became a club for unemployed men and in the late 1960s Bethel Church used it for worship. In 1958, a reader of the Wharfedale Observer wrote a letter asking that it should be given its full title of Musgrave Memorial School, reminding readers that it was really a monument to the memory of Peter William Musgrave, and  ‘it is only right that we should not forget it is a memorial’. The letter says that Peter Musgrave presented Dr Kerr’s school to Otley Parish Church for use as a Sunday School in memory of his daughter Henrietta who was killed in a horse-riding accident.

A very interesting artefact in the entrance hall of our home is this brass plaque. We are told that in 1904 a ceremony took place at the Burras Lane School to unveil a tablet in memory of the late Henrietta Musgrave who was a superintendent of the Girls’ Sunday School. This plaque was later moved to the Parish Church and we are indebted to the Otley Parish Church Council for gifting it back to us.

The inscription on the plaque needs some explanation. It clearly indicates that it is a memorial to his wife Henrietta, who died on 26th May 1890 and not his daughter Henrietta, as suggested by the reader of the Wharfedale Observer. His daughhter did not die until  18th May 1904 and of Tuberculosis, not  a riding accident as previously reported. The plaque itself was not unveiled until 1904, some months after his daughter died. The date in the bottom left hand corner of the tablet of 27th July 1898 is the date when Dr Kerr’s school became the Parish Church Sunday School.

Peter Musgrave, who described himself as a wool-buyer, with his wife Henrietta set up their first home in West Bradford. Nine children were born while they lived there. In 1875 they moved to Manby House on East Chevin where a further three children were born. Of their twelve children, two sadly died in infancy. In addition to his involvement in the church Peter also served as a magistrate. He died in 1913, aged 75.

From the start of our Musgrave Hall history trail several coincidences have occurred. From the unexpected return of the plaque to its original home, to the casual meeting in Otley’s market place between Paul Wood, local historian, and Margaret Parkin which led to the date of Musgrave Hall being established. Paul also confirmed dates and places of Samuel Kerr’s teaching history. Then, Judith Boardman came to the church Friday coffee morning, and told us that she was the great-granddaughter of Peter Musgrave. Margaret Parkin put her in touch with Richard and me. She visited us and gave us a copy of “The Musgrave Family of Otley”, a family history document produced by her niece Dr Gillian Overend. This provided much of the above information about Peter Musgrave.

The next coincidence came this year on February 14th, when the Wharfedale Observer carried an item about the forthcoming celebrations at Prince Henry’s Grammar School to celebrate the centenary of its reopening. Among their archives the school had found an original oil painting of Dr Kerr. Stephen Clarkson, the assistant headteacher co-ordinating the event, has very kindly taken this photograph of Dr Kerr from the oil painting. In his memory an annual scholarship is presented to the highest attaining students at the school.

Prince Henry’s is keen to collate the stories of as many former winners as is possible and has been appealing for information. We intend sharing the information we have acquired with the school and look forward to visiting the exhibition planned for the end of June his year.

The latest coincidence occurred very recently when Otley Methodist Church provided a copy of a historical booklet produced by Reg Rawling some years ago following the development of Methodism in Otley. This was intended to clarify a query that Margaret Parkin had raised with them about John Wesley and his horse but when reading through the booklet she came across the following information:

‘A purpose-built meeting house was built in 1771 on Nelson Street and was intended to seat 500 persons. It became necessary to build a new and larger building and this one was vacated as a chapel in 1826 but continued to be used as a Wesleyan Day School for the education of young people. We have a record of quills being bought to help the youngsters in the art of writing. One of the teachers being Dr Kerr’.

The inscription on the plaque needs some explanation. It clearly indicates that it is a memorial to his wife Henrietta, who died on 26th May 1890 and not his daughter Henrietta, as suggested by the reader of the Wharfedale Observer. His daughhter did not die until  18th May 1904 and of Tuberculosis, not  a riding accident as previously reported. The plaque itself was not unveiled until 1904, some months after his daughter died. The date in the bottom left hand corner of the tablet of 27th July 1898 is the date when Dr Kerr’s school became the Parish Church Sunday School.

Peter Musgrave, who described himself as a wool-buyer, with his wife Henrietta set up their first home in West Bradford. Nine children were born while they lived there. In 1875 they moved to Manby House on East Chevin where a further three children were born. Of their twelve children, two sadly died in infancy. In addition to his involvement in the church Peter also served as a magistrate. He died in 1913, aged 75.

From the start of our Musgrave Hall history trail several coincidences have occurred. From the unexpected return of the plaque to its original home, to the casual meeting in Otley’s market place between Paul Wood, local historian, and Margaret Parkin which led to the date of Musgrave Hall being established. Paul also confirmed dates and places of Samuel Kerr’s teaching history. Then, Judith Boardman came to the church Friday coffee morning, and told us that she was the great-granddaughter of Peter Musgrave. Margaret Parkin put her in touch with Richard and me. She visited us and gave us a copy of “The Musgrave Family of Otley”, a family history document produced by her niece Dr Gillian Overend. This provided much of the above information about Peter Musgrave.

The next coincidence came this year on February 14th, when the Wharfedale Observer carried an item about the forthcoming celebrations at Prince Henry’s Grammar School to celebrate the centenary of its reopening. Among their archives the school had found an original oil painting of Dr Kerr. Stephen Clarkson, the assistant headteacher co-ordinating the event, has very kindly taken this photograph of Dr Kerr from the oil painting. In his memory an annual scholarship is presented to the highest attaining students at the school.

Prince Henry’s is keen to collate the stories of as many former winners as is possible and has been appealing for information. We intend sharing the information we have acquired with the school and look forward to visiting the exhibition planned for the end of June his year.

The latest coincidence occurred very recently when Otley Methodist Church provided a copy of a historical booklet produced by Reg Rawling some years ago following the development of Methodism in Otley. This was intended to clarify a query that Margaret Parkin had raised with them about John Wesley and his horse but when reading through the booklet she came across the following information:

‘A purpose-built meeting house was built in 1771 on Nelson Street and was intended to seat 500 persons. It became necessary to build a new and larger building and this one was vacated as a chapel in 1826 but continued to be used as a Wesleyan Day School for the education of young people. We have a record of quills being bought to help the youngsters in the art of writing. One of the teachers being Dr Kerr’.

Who knows what else we are going to find out about Musgrave Hall, our home? That is where you come in – what memories do you have of times spent there when in use as the church Sunday school or for other events? What photographs might you have?  We would love to hear from you.

Our thanks go to Otley museum for access to their archive records and to all those who have contributed in any way to help us put together this fascinating story so far.

We are grateful to Margaret Parkin of Otley Parish Church and a volunteer at Otley Museum, for her passion in this research and her meticulous documentation.

My parents would have been so thrilled, as Richard and I indeed are. We are honoured to live in such a special part of old Otley.

Special thanks to Richard and Louise for all their hard work in compiling the Musgrave Hall history for Otley Parish Church.

 

 

 

 

Who Lies Here?

By Margaret Parkin

What did you see when you last walked through Otley Parish churchyard? Silly question isn’t it!

You might say trees, flowers, locals taking a short cut, church folk, arriving for a service, or for a wedding or funeral or…

And of course, you saw gravestones and tombstones, didn’t you? Some are very simple, like the small triangular one commemorating the Irish Immigrants who came here during the Potato Famine from 1845 onwards. Or the one supposedly containing John Wesley’s horse! Others are more flamboyant like the Navvies Memorial or the one of Caroline Antonia Menezes de Freitas Drummond Aragão Dunn of Madeira. You know, the one with the lady lying on the top of the tomb chest not far from the willow tree. Her husband was buried there but she was not.

Some gravestones are more legible than others thanks to our Church Sustainability group who have removed ivy and other weeds from them. They may include details of family members, occupations and of course dates. They are useful resources when we get enquiries about Family History and feature on various websites. Recently I was given some papers relating to Otley Parish Church from the Archives of the Otley Methodist Church. These will be added into our Church Archives. Amongst them was this one headed, “List of Trades of those buried in Otley Parish Churchyard”. It was copied in 1974 by Mr D. B. Good, a local undertaker, and contains details from the inscriptions on every grave in the churchyard.

So here goes – this is that list. Given that the churchyard was closed for burials in 1861 it provides a fascinating insight to the occupations of Otley Townsfolk at that time. Some occupations have disappeared, and you also must remember that often words were written as heard – so we have “Linnen Drapers” with two “n’s” not the one “n” we use today. And those Linnen drapers did not always have a shop premises in the town but were travelling salesmen selling their goods in the surrounding districts.

Can you guess which entry stands out for me? Yes, the 24 Innkeepers of course!

At first sight it seems that the good folks of Otley ate a lot of meat and drank a lot of ale but despite that they only needed one doctor… oh, and four surgeons!

A gravestone in the churchyard is often an indication of how much money and status you had. There have been thousands of burials in our churchyard over the centuries. Many of these will have had no gravestones as they could not afford them. As graves filled up, they were emptied and the bones stored in the Bonehouse, which was built on the West side of the North door, to your left if you go out that way. You can see the marks of its sloping roof on the wall outside.

Following the closure of our churchyard in 1861 the local cemetery on Pool Road was established. I wonder what reading the memorials there would reveal about the changing face of Otley from that date onwards? I’m not suggesting that I go and do just that, but you can if you want to and then maybe you could write a follow up to this piece!

Those remembered in the churchyard left their mark on Otley in a variety of ways, some of them being notable members of our church, others quietly going about their living, and all valued by their families.

Of course, we should not forget those 13 Stonemasons without whose craftsmanship this article would not have been written. They well and truly left their mark on our town.

I wonder what mark you and I will leave behind? How will folk remember us? Our memorials will not be in the churchyard, but we will all make an impression perhaps more so than we can imagine.

Do any of you have family members graves in our churchyard? Do let us know as it would be interesting to hear about them.

by Margaret Parkin

Me, being me, wanted to go at least one step further and to look a little more closely into the history of George and Elizabeth and their granddaughter Mary Jane. That was my undoing. We have plenty of Church records for Otley Parish Church but with only the Butler

George’s sister Jane was married to John Butler, and Betty, already a successful business woman herself, persuaded them to rent the derelict Kirkstall Forge. And so the Butlers and the Beecrofts became the owners of Kirkstall Forge, along with Thomas Butler, brother of John. It became a successful family ironmaking business over six generations.

 

George and Betty had two daughters, Elizabeth and Ann and a son called George who married Mary Audus. George and Mary had a daughter, Mary Jane Beecroft. John and Jane Butler’s son Thomas married his cousin Ann, daughter of George and Betty and they had ten children. They called their third child Thomas. He also married his cousin Mary Jane Beecroft who then became Mary Jane Butler, the granddaughter who donated the window. Are you keeping up with me?