St Mark’s celebrates – 100 years not out!

St Mark’s Church, Siddal, Halifax – built during the first world war – is celebrating its centenary this month with a weekend of special events.

In the mid-19th century Siddal consisted of little more than a few farms and hamlets and St Mark’s parish, which runs along the Hebble Valley from Stoney Royd to Exley, was part of the parish of All Saints’, Dudwell Lane.

It was not until 1869 that Siddal had its own church, a small mission chapel in Whitegate Road. It was made of metal and dubbed the “iron church”, the “tin church” or “tin tabernacle”. It only seated 130 people and was soon too small for an area that grew steadily during the second half of the 19th century.

Then, in 1874, the local Holdsworth family of textile manufacturers built the St Mark’s Schools, which for many years served as both a day school and Sunday school for the area. Parents who worked in the Holdsworth mills paid a penny a week for their children’s education.

In 1916, Clement Holdsworth and his son, George, gave the school to the church. But by then, in fact for many years, there had been talk of building a new church, starting with a meeting held as early as 1892.

Eventually a site, known as Tenter Field, was chosen for the new church. The architect was Joseph Frederick Walsh, of Halifax architects Walsh and Nicholas. Walsh used his signature russet-coloured stone, due to iron salts, also used, for example, at St Matthew’s Church, Northowram, Halifax.

The vicar of All Saints’, Canon John Henry Warneford, and his successor, Canon R F Pechey, bequeathed £1,100 towards the building fund and efforts by local people added to the total.

Work began with a sod-cutting ceremony in April 1912 and in November that year the corner stones were laid. A book containing a list of money gifts was placed in a lead casket under the corner stone.

The fundraising prospered, largely thanks to the generosity of an anonymous London woman – who became known as Lady Bountiful – and in July 1913 the church was able to order the completion of St Mark’s, albeit without the tower.

Then, in October 1914, the church received, from the same generous woman, all the £900 still needed to complete the tower. It wasn’t until many years later that the unknown benefactor was revealed as being Lady Lilia Boucher, of Blackheath, London.

A beautiful stained-glass window by William Morris, depicting the ascension, was put in the east end of the church in memory of Lady Bountiful, who did so much towards the building of St Mark’s.

The church has many fine features, including carving by the locally well known wood carver Harry Percy Jackson, of Coley, and his son, also Harry. They include pew ends incorporating the national symbols of the allied countries – a permanent reminder that the church was built during a time of war.

There is a fine lectern and pulpit and two oak panels behind the altar display the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed and the Ten Commandments.

A war memorial in memory of the men of the village who were killed in the Great War was unveiled in February 1923 during a violent storm, and a plaque in memory of those killed in World War II was unveiled after the end of hostilities in 1945.

In October 1957 a garden of remembrance was consecrated by the Vicar of Halifax, Archdeacon Eric Treacy, famously to become the Railway Bishop of Wakefield.

The Sunday school was sold in 1983 and later demolished. As a result it was decided to reorder the west end of the church to create a hall, lounge, kitchen and toilets with meeting rooms above. This work took longer than planned but the new church centre was eventually opened by the Bishop of Wakefield in April 1990, on the church’s 75th anniversary.

Today the ageing congregation at St Mark’s is much smaller than it used to be and when the A hundred years on: St Mark’s, Siddal, today. Picture: Betty Longbottom. last vicar, the Rev Colin Macdonald, retired in 2013 it was decided that he would not be replaced. As a result the church had to decide how to continue.

As if to turn back the clock a merger with All Saints’ was mooted but in the end it was agreed that St Mark’s should come under the wing of Halifax Minster. So today the priest in charge is the min- ster’s vicar, Canon Hilary Barber, and minster clergy conduct the services at Siddal.

Although congregations are small the church still has a number of active groups and events – beavers, cubs and scouts and monthly films and tea dances, for example.

The centenary is being marked by a series of events on the weekend of April 25 and 26. On the Saturday an anniversary concert will take place with the Halifax Concert Band at 7.30pm, while a special eucharist service on Sunday will welcome retired Bishop Tom Butler, famous as a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought of the Day.

Evensong at 4pm on Sunday, the feast day of Mark the Evangelist, will be led by the minster choir. There will also be an exhibition of photographs of old Siddal, on view in the church on Saturday from 2pm to 4pm and on Sunday from 3pm to 4pm.

David Hanson