Church of St Michael and All Angels, Beckwithshaw
| Church of St Michael and All Angels, Beckwithshaw | |
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Beckwithshaw Church, 2014
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 Church of St Michael and All Angels, Beckwithshaw
Location in North Yorkshire
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| 53°58′25″N 1°35′36″W / 53.97361°N 1.59333°WCoordinates: 53°58′25″N 1°35′36″W / 53.97361°N 1.59333°W | |
| OS grid reference | SE267625 |
| Location | Church Row, Beckwithshaw, North Yorkshire, HG3 1QW |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Churchmanship | Central |
| Website | strobertschurch.co.uk |
| History | |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Dedication | St Michael and All Angels |
| Dedicated | 1886 |
| Consecrated | 1886 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II listed 1421800 |
| Architect(s) |
W. Swinden Barber, FRIBA Contractor: James Simpson |
| Architectural type | Church of England parish church |
| Style |
Arts and Crafts movement Gothic Revival |
| Specifications | |
| Bells | 6 (D#, C#, B, A#, G#, F#) |
| Tenor bell weight | 13 long cwt 15 lb (1,471 lb or 667 kg) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Ecclesiastical parish of St Robert of Knaresborough, Pannal (300230 30/230) |
| Deanery | Harrogate (30104) |
| Archdeaconry | Richmond (301) |
| Diocese | Ripon and Leeds |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar(s) | Reverend John Smith (with Pannal) |
| Curate(s) | The Revd Christella Helen Wilson (with Pannal) |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Nigel Duce |
| Churchwarden(s) | Mrs Ann McGeogh; Mrs Kathleen Newbould |
| Verger | Mrs Christine Ward-Campbell (with Pannal) |
| Parish administrator | Mrs Rachel Fullwood (with Pannal) |
The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Beckwithshaw, North Yorkshire, England, also known as Beckwithshaw Church, is an Anglican church built and furnished between 1886 and 1887 by William Swinden Barber in the Gothic Revival style as part of the Arts and Crafts movement. The stained glass windows in the same style were added in 1892. The church is listed as a Grade II historic structure; it is a pristine and unchanged example of an Arts and Crafts church retaining all its original furnishings, apart from one missing statue. The first vicar of this church, from 1887 to 1894, was Charles Farrar Forster.
When the church was built in the late 19th century, Beckwithshaw was a little hamlet, about two and a half miles from Harrogate, and its ecclesiastical district had to be carved from Pannal parish. In 1886 the view was described thus:
"In the immense sweep of country which meets the view from the higher grounds lying between Harrogate and Otley and which, beautiful as it is, conveys an idea of loneliness to the mind from the very few habitations that are seen, the eye rests with a sense of relief upon the newly-erected edifice at Beckwithshaw."The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 1886
However, in January and February 1885 there had been an outbreak of scarlet fever, and the school was closed for at least six weeks. As of 2014 Beckwithshaw is a small village.
Dr Henry Williams and his wife lived at Moor Park House, built in 1859 in Beckwithshaw, and acquired by them in 1882. The household and estate, expanded in 1882, employed many local people until the late 1970s when Harrison Developments of Leeds bought the buildings and converted them into flats. The church was built "entirely at their own expense." They funded the building at £8,000, with an endowment of £5,000.
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Wikipedia