Kirke House

919/33/365 CHURCH STREET 29-SEP-78 LONGWOOD (North side) KIRKE HOUSE (Formerly listed as: CHURCH STREET LONGWOOD CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS)

II Commissioners' church of 1828 by J. Oates; chancel enlarged 1878-79 by J. Kirk.

MATERIALS: Coursed and dressed sandstone. Roofless nave, replacement chancel roof.

PLAN: Nave with south porch, west tower, lower chancel, south chapel.

EXTERIOR: In simple Gothic style. The 5-bay nave is buttressed and has large lancet windows. The porch, in the first bay, has diagonal buttresses and chamfered doorway. The 3-stage west tower has angle buttresses in the lower stages, clasping buttresses at the bell stage, and embattled parapet with corner pinnacles. It has pointed windows, including the belfry openings with louvres, and circular windows in the short middle stage. Round clock faces are above the belfry openings. The chancel was in Decorated style but the east window has been blocked, with modern domestic fenestration inserted.

INTERIOR: Not accessible at the time of survey (2009)

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: Furnishings and fixtures are said to have been removed, according to the local authority.

HISTORY: Originally known as All Saints parish church and built in 1828 by John Oates (1793-1831), architect of Halifax. John Oates had a busy practice in the 1820s, during which he built several Gothic churches. His best-known secular works were Huddersfield Infirmary and Halifax Assembly and Concert Rooms. All Saints cost £2706, wholly funded under the auspices of the 1818 Church Building Act, which was passed in order to build new churches in growing industrial districts where the provision for Anglican worship was generally lacking. The chancel was enlarged in 1878-79 by John Kirk (1828-86), architect of Huddersfield. The church was declared redundant in 1984 and Kirk's chancel has since been converted to a house. John Oates is said to be buried in the graveyard.

SOURCES: Pevsner, N., The Buildings of England: Yorkshire, West Riding (1959), 271. Port, M H., Six Hundred New Churches (1961), 168-69.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Kirke House (former church of All Saints), Longwood, Huddersfield, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Despite the ruinous condition of the nave, the church represents the simple Gothic style of the early C19, with tall and wide proportions to accommodate a gallery, of the kind grant-aided by the Church Commissioners for the building of churches in expanding towns, as was the case here in Huddersfield. * The extended chancel reflects the renewed focus on the liturgy that was an important element of the ecclesiological revival of the C19.