The former St Mark's Church, Old Leeds Road, Huddersfield, was an Anglican parish church in West Yorkshire, England. It was previously known as St Mark's, Leeds Road, before the road name was changed. ("Leeds Road" differentiates this building from St. Mark the Evangelist, Longwood, Huddersfield.) This building was designed in 1886 by William Swinden Barber when the parish of St Peter's was split and a new building was required to accommodate a growing congregation. It was opened in 1887. Among the vicars posted in this benefice were the very popular Canon Percy Holbrook, the notoriously unfortunate Reverend Jonas Pilling who was involved in a standoff with his congregation for many years, the sociable Reverend Robert Alfred Humble who died in mysterious circumstances,Crockford's Clerical Directory (1908) OxfordHartlepool Northern Daily Mail, Friday 01 February 1929 p7: "Vicar's death, midnight discovery in garden" and the eloquent preacher Reverend Joseph Miller, who had previously been a Congregational minister. The building was sold by the Church of England in 2001, and it has been converted into a block of offices.

Foundation stone ceremony The cornerstone was laid in the afternoon of Saturday 15 May 1886. There had been bad weather during the previous week, and the ceremony was performed before a "considerable" crowd under a large tent in a high wind, although the rain had abated. The silver trowel had an ivory handle and a Morocco case lined with silk. The blade was engraved thus: "Presented to Mrs William Brooke, on the occasion of her laying the foundation stone of St Mark's Church, Leeds-Road, Huddersfield, Saturday May 15th, 1886, by W. Swinden Barber, architect, James W. Bardsley, vicar of Huddersfield and chairman of the Building Committee; Edward Armitage, treasurer; and George Fisher, secretary." The mallet "was made of polished rosewood, and was beautifully finished. Round the top of the head a suitable inscription was engraved on two circles of silver." These circles were engraved, "Presented by William Henry Jessop to Mrs William Brooks, Northgate Mount, May 15th, 1886," and "St Mark's Church, Huddersfield." Chief among those present at the ceremony were Mr William Brooke JP, and his wife. Heading the list of surpliced clerics were the Reverends J. Wareing Bardsley MA vicar and Rural Dean of Huddersfield, and John Dunbar, vicar-designate of St Mark's, and the choir led by Mr Fowles. They were accompanied by sixteen other clerics, plus J.F. Richards, headmaster of Huddersfield College, three justices of the peace, a number of local personages and the building contractors. Last on the list was T.H. Farrar, managing clerk for the architect who was not present on that day.

The hymn, This stone to thee in faith we lay, was sung, and in his sermon Rev. J.W. Bardsley spoke about the way in which the mass movement of people to cities had had a consequence in which "large numbers of the people of England had grown up in habits of non-attendance in the House of God," and this had caused the Church of England to split city parishes and build more churches. He said that in the 1881 Census the population of the Huddersfield parish was 9,201, and that number had increased greatly since the Census. Moreover, the Parish Church had only 500 free seats.Free seats were pews where anyone could sit, as opposed to the older box pews, some of which were rented by those who could afford it. This was the reason why the parish had been split, and St Mark's built as an extra church, on land given by Sir John Ramsden. He said that poorer people had "collected considerable sums of money by means of collecting cards." He told the parish congregation that they must raise sufficient funds for the remaining building work, and for an endowment as well. They then sang, Christ is our corner stone. The collection was £42 1s 1d. The treasurer Mr E. Armitage said that they had been promised subscriptions of about £4,800, but that they needed £6,000 to cover the endowment. They had incurred liabilities of around £4,000, and they needed another £1,200. They had received nearly £3,700 in hard cash, but they had had to buy out the leaseholder of the land that they'd been given. So the congregation was constrained, in an area of much poverty, to raise more funds.

A time capsule in the form of a bottle was placed in a cavity in the corner stone. It contained "copies of that day's Times, the local newspapers, current coins of the realm, and a copy of the description of the church, with the names of the architect and the contractors." The stone was then laid by Mrs Brooke, and the audience cheered. There were long speeches by G.L. Batley, F.W. Bradon, William Brooke, and Colonel Brooke. The event ended with the National Anthem and the Doxology, and – unusually for these events – no mention of a meal provided for guests.Huddersfield Chronicle, West Yorkshire, England, Saturday 22 May 1886 p6: "The new Huddersfield church"

Consecration

The building was consecrated in front of a large congregation at 10.30 am on Tuesday 27 September 1887, by William Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon. The bishop "was accompanied by the majority of the clergy [all surpliced] in the rural deanery, and a procession was formed proceeding up the middle aisle of the church to the chancel." The procession included 33 clerics, headed by the Bishop, Rev. J.W. Bardsley vicar of Huddersfield, and Rev. J. Dunbar vicar-designate of St Mark's. Last in the procession were thirteen members of the building committee: John Beaumont, John Barnicott, William Brooke, Isaac Hordern, Sharples Fisher, Peter Conacher, G.L. Batley, A. Armitage, Dr Foster, G.G. Fisher, G.H. Hart, churchwarden H. Kilner, and churchwarden J.J. Booth.

After they were seated, the commissary of the diocese read the deed of conveyance which was signed by the Bishop, who then delivered the consecration prayers. There was then a morning service, prayers and lessons, and a communion service. The choir, choirmaster and organist were supplied by the Parish Church.There was not yet an organ in place, so the organist probably used a harmonium. The choir sang the Venite, Te Deum and Jubilate, and Psalms 84, 122 and 132. The congregation joined in with the hymns Christ is our corner stone, We love the place, O God, and Pour out thy spirit from on high. Bearing in mind that the local population was very poor and had had little opportunity in their lives to attend church, the Bishop's sermon was based on Second Epistle to the Corinthians 4:18: "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, and the things which are not seen are eternal," and he spoke at length about life after death and Jesus' work with the poor. Psalm 100 was sung, and the collection made £201 4s 11d.

The Huddersfield Chronicle described "an excellent and substantial luncheon" which the vicar had arranged in the Parish Church Schools, and which were very well attended by clergy and laity, and evidently at least one journalist. There were many toasts, and speeches by the chairman Rev. J.W. Bardsley, the bishop, Mr J.A. Brooke, Rev E. Snowden, Rev J.W. Town, W.H. Barber, W.H. Jessop, and Rev. P.F.J. Pearce. During the speeches it was noted that 1887 was the year of Victoria's jubilee, and that the new Diocese of Wakefield was about to take over the parish. It was also mentioned that several nonconformists had contributed to the funding of St Mark's. Bardsey said that the estimated cost of the building was at that time £4,024, and that they had raised subscriptions totalling more than £5,430, including money from some very poor local people. Moreover, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners had promised £1,000 to meet a future £1,000 raised by St Mark's parish. He listed a number of gifts, including vestry furniture and communion plate, showing that this church was fully furnished on consecration day. Barber the architect was toasted, and replied that "the church was extremely plain and might be much improved by colouring and stained glass, but he supposed such matters must be left open for future consideration." Rev. Pearce recommended the building of a new church school premises near St Mark's, and noted that there was not yet a vicarage for Rev. Dunbar. This was to be built later. Although the congregation left the luncheon well fed and watered, there was good attendance at the evening service, when the collection raised £11 9s.Huddersfield Chronicle, West Yorkshire, England, Wednesday 05 October 1887 p3: "Consecration of St Mark's Church"

Structure

In the face of limited funds and a large congregation to be roofed over, the building was designed to be as plain as possible. Therefore, a mission-church style was chosen, having no clerestory, and with plain detail. The building occupied all of the available ground from west to east, leaving only a narrow margin between it and the canal. The Huddersfield Chronicle described the west end of the building: "The principal external feature is the west elevation which abuts on the Leeds Road, and whatever interest may attach to it is due rather to outline than to any elaboration of detail. A central buttress of slight projection separates the long two-light windows, and from this buttress there rises a bold cross built into the wall, the termination of the arms being formed of blocks on which are to be carved the emblems of the evangelists, the main gable being crowned with a plain bell turret." In the event, by 1887 the centre block in the cross carried an image of a suffering Jesus, and the bell turret carried a bell made by Mears & Stainbank. Due to its proximity with Huddersfield Broad Canal, the foundations of the east wall were deep and made of concrete. The canal company's engineer had to draw off the canal water twice during the building's groundwork, before the foundation stone was laid.

Interior

The original plan shown to journalists at the foundation ceremony showed a nave by , and a chancel by . The widths of the south porch, and the north and south aisles were and wide respectively. At the east end of the north aisle, alongside the chancel, was a space for the organ (this was in place by 1907, as pictured above). Beneath the chancel and the east ends of both aisles were "spacious vestries and a heating chamber." By the time of the September 1887 consecration, these undercroft rooms had become two vestries, a heating chamber and a store room. There was room for these as the ground inclined rapidly to the west, and the chancel above was raised by seven steps. The Huddersfield Chronicle described the 1886 plans for the interior thus: "Internally the roofs and chancel arch are somewhat striking, owing to the wide span and heavy timbers which will be used, but all details such as the windows and open benches are very plainly drawn.This is confirmation that the architect Barber designed the pews for St Mark's (as he did for his other churches) because they were among his drawings for this church. The east window will be of three long lancet lights, ad here is an opportunity for a display of stained glass, which would be a decoration of great value to the interior of the building. [In the event, no stained glass was ever forthcoming in this poor area]. Seats are to be provided for 422 adults and 112 children" At the consecration, the accommodation was described as "500 adults." The cost was estimated in 1886 at £3,250 (). Messrs B. Graham and Nephew of Mold Green, Kirkheaton contracted for the excavators, masons, carpenters and joiners' work. George Garton contracted for the plumbers and glaziers; Mr Jowitt contracted for the slaters and plasterers; and S. Kendall contracted for the painters. Mr Calvert made the heating apparatus.