Church Of St Aidan

The Church of St Aidan is an Anglican church located on Roundhay Road in Sheepscar, Leeds. It was built between 1891 and 1894 by architects R.J. Johnson and A. Crawford-Hick, although it was not completed at that time. The church is designed in the Italian-Romanesque style and constructed from red brick, with terracotta and moulded brick and tile decoration, and features a tiled roof. The interior is finished in ashlar and includes mosaics completed in 1916 by Frank Brangwyn.

The church has a unique plan that includes a nave and chancel combined into one space, an apsidal west end, north and south aisles, and a vestry on the south side. The exterior features plain round-headed aisle and clerestory windows, pilasters between them, and a moulded string course below. The main façade is the west end, which has narrow round-headed windows to the apse set within a tall decorated arcade, with a blind arcade above. Flanking the main entrance are square-section turrets that have blind arcades, a circular top stage with louvred windows, and conical roofs.

To the left of the entrance is the base of an intended 61-meter (200-foot) bell tower. The Romanesque-style doorway features double panelled doors with scrolled hinges, a tympanum that displays a carved stone portrait bust with the caption: 'JAMES RUSSELL WOODFORD VICAR OF LEEDS AD 1868-1873' and the motto: 'Look unto the Rock/ from whence you are hewn', along with a niche that holds a statue of St Aidan.

Inside, the church has a basilican plan with an apsidal east end adorned with mosaics by Frank Brangwyn from 1916. The high chancel features a screen wall also decorated with figured mosaics, and there is a high and wide round chancel arch flanked by tall columns. The nave arcade consists of 11 bays with stone columns on high moulded plinths and arches in a Byzantine style, leading to narrow aisles. The west end includes a baptistry that showcases an extravagant use of coloured marbles, wrought iron, and stone balustrades. The pulpit, which has a domed canopy, also features lavish coloured marbles and alabaster plaques. Additionally, there is a fine brass lectern adorned with angels blowing trumpets and a high rood screen with full-size figures and kneeling angels.