History of St. John's Yeadon
Early days
Yeadon is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086,
along with Rawdon and Horsforth, as "Terra Firma". The Norman
period brought the foundation of Abbeys, Monasteries and other
religious houses - the nearest to Yeadon being the Cistercian
Abbey at Kirkstall, started in 1152.
Here we
find a definite connection with Yeadon as it is recorded that
among the benefactors of the new Abbey were "Adam, son of Stephen
of Yeadon, who gave lands" and Nicholas Adamson of Yedon (later
chaplain to the Nuns at Esholt Priory) who gave "1 messuage and
33 acres of lands".
When Esholt Priory was established, more connections between Yeadon and the Church were made. Between 1150 and 1200, a church was built at Guiseley - Yeadon was included in its parish - and this Church, for centuries, was the focal point of Yeadon's religious life. Here, generations of Yeadon folk were baptised, married and finally laid to rest. Guiseley Church, dedicated to St. Oswald*, was the most conspicuous building in the district.
*St. Oswald (604-642), early Anglo-Saxon ruler and
saint, King of Northumbria (634-642). St. Oswald supported the
Irish missionary Aidan in his widespread evangelism from a base
on Holy Island, where the Lindisfarne Gospels similar to the
photo above (right) were written.
Later days
From the end of the 17th Century, the role of the established church became passive and in the 18th Century, working class people thought the English parish Church had little to offer, though tithes and other payments were rigidly extracted from them. Guiseley (St. Oswald's pictured below), which included Rawdon and Horsforth as well as Yeadon, was one of the better livings.... the incumbent was not obliged to live in the parish or to do any of the work entailed in marriages, funerals or administration of Holy Communion - he was rich enough to pay a curate to do this work for him.
Consequently, the Rector of Guiseley can hardly have been a popular figure in "Yidden", described by a traveller in 1747, as a "wild and uncouth village".
To the poor working at their looms in the upper storeys of the stone houses, and to those toiling on the glebe land, he must have represented an unnecessary burden on their slender resources. Tithes were based on the church's traditional claim of one tenth of the produce of the land. Great tithes were of corn, hay or wool - all others being labelled small.
The Rector required from Yeadon, all tithes great or small. Also the expenses of cheese, bread and ale would be incurred in collecting and auditing the tithes account.
Yeadoners, somewhat reluctantly, continued to pay these tithes until, at a meeting in the Woolpack Inn, Henshaw, on 20th May 1837, it was decided that the tithes payable should be commuted to a direct annual payment of £111 in all.
Then in 1844, the people of Yeadon got their own Parish Church of St. John the Evangelist, Henshaw (pictured left), which was built as a Chapel of Ease to Guiseley, and no longer did the locals have to trudge across the fields and becks to worship at St.Oswald's. The foundation stone was laid in 1843 and the church was consecrated and opened for public worship on July 18th 1844. It consisted of a nave with gallery and small apsidal chancel and vestry. In the 1890's the nave was refurbished and the East end enlarged to include alongside the enlarged chancel, the organ chamber (pictured right) on the north side and enlarged vestries on the south side. The church remained like this until the 1970's.
20th Century
In 1971 it was discovered that the church tower was unsafe - it had
not been "keyed in" to the main building and was parting from it.
The cost of strengthening and making the structure safe was
estimated at £15,000, a staggering sum in 1971 - and so the
tower had to be demolished.
When re-decoration was undertaken in 1985, extensive woodworm was found in the gallery seats and floor, as well as in the nave beams. At this time, re-ordering had been discussed, resulting - in addition to the remedial work - pews being removed from the back to create a Narthex - the tower steps were removed to enlarge the porch, toilets provided, and the church repaired, repainted, re-ordered and re-floored. The church was re-opened for worship in March 1986.
In 1992 a mezzanine floor was constructed, giving two meeting rooms and the Narthex was also screened to provide a third room when needed.
This completed Phase 1 of our Development Project. Late in 1995, the refurbishment of the vestries was started and completed in the summer of 1996, providing an office in the Vicar's Vestry and a comfortable lounge/meeting room in the choir vestry.
A New Hall
Phase 2 of the Development Project at St. John's was completed and opened by
the Bishop of Bradford in July 1999. This exciting development
provides a durable and easy to maintain building - a useful and
attractive building - which will enable us to extend our work
within the local community. Included in the hall extension is a
large meeting room, new toilets, kitchen, and adequate storage
space.
Upstairs there is a Youth Loft complete with its own kitchenette
and more toilets. St.John's will now be able to pursue its firm Biblical
understanding of the nature of a church - "The Body of Christ, called to mission, witness
and service in Christ's name in His world" - into the 21st
century.
Modern and Practical
During January 2003 work started on the reordering of the Chancel at St. John's. This £30,000 project saw the removal of the choir pews, pulpit and lectern, the levelling of the floor throughout and the provision of new heating and lighting.
The reordered Chancel will provide a much more practical space for use in Services and mid week activities.
As part of the project access for disabled or less able bodied people has been provided. The chancel area is raised above the main floor of the church by two steps and this provision will enable this area to be all inclusive.
The Pulpit and Lectern have been replaced with modern furniture with the original pulpit front and pew ends being incorporated into the new design of the Chancel.
Below: Before and after views of the re-ordered Chancel at St. John's
