A BRIEF GUIDE TO HOLY CROSS CHURCH AIREDALE

An article in the Church Magazine dated October 1970 gives a brief guide to Holy Cross Church. Describing the interior first and beginning from the front.

THE ALTAR is made of stone – fairly unusual these days, but universal in the Middle Ages. Each of the four stone legs weighs a quarter of a ton and the single slab top weighs one ton. The top is incised with five crosses – one in each corner and one in the middle, in token of the five wounds of Christ on the Cross. The Altar was presented to the Church by the architect Sir Charles Nicholson; originally he had intended to give this Altar to another church he was building at the time – the Church of King Charles the Martyr, South Mimms (near London)  but, being a stone altar, special permission was needed for the installation, which the authorities of the Diocese of London would not give . So, although the Altar had actually already been put in, it had to be taken out, and Sir Charles Nicholson offered it to Holy Cross – and since the authorities in the Wakefield Diocese would give permission – it was gladly accepted.

THE STONE which stands under the Altar is the foundation stone of the Church laid by the Marquise of Crewe on March 18th 1933, when the walls of the building were shoulder-high. The handout of the time says the stone was cut from the Beeston Seam at Fryston Colliery working somewhere under the parish. “About 500,000,000 years ago it was soft soil in a primeval forest. It then yielded nourishment for the trees which have formed our rich coal seams”. It was  to be laid as a foundation stone, with an informative inscription, and was to be set in the floor. But before the laying ceremony it was realised that the stone was too soft to last  and so the stone was laid on the surface and is slowly crumbling, the inscription has now gone  and perhaps in another hundred years the stone will have gone as well.

THE CANOPY is a feature and of a style specially favoured by the architect, he put a similar one in the church at Ossett. This special little roof for the altar tends to stress its significance, and facilitates effective lighting of the altar. At the rear and sides of the canopy we are fortunate in being able to hang curtains, which give the altar an aura of richness and warmth, or we can take the curtains away, giving a light and airy effect.The former goes well in the winter, the latter in the summer and, of course, the change is always pleasant. the canopy also facilitates hanging over the altar a variety of edifying focal points, which are as follows.

1. When the Church was built a symbolical Crucifix was presented by the then Bishop of Wakefield, J. Seaton. It depicts Our Lord with arms outstretched on the Cross, but wearing a twentieth century version of the vestments a priest wears for the celebration of Holy Communion, At the bottom of the Cross is an incised, barred window through which may be seen the figures of Adam and Eve, identifiable by the spade and distaff they are respectively holding. It seems that the inspiration for this work must be in the Epistle to the Hebrews 4 : 14  “Seeing we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God …was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”. Perhaps there is also a reflection of Colossians 2 : 15  “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” For in the priestly figure we seem to see a triumphant and ascending Christ, redeeming sinful man and reversing the fall as represented by Adam and Eve. The first drawings of this Cross showed it with square ends and the broad part of the body square also, bearing small figures of St. John and the Blessed Virgin Mary but the plan was evidently amended in the execution.
2. At Christmastime we replace the Crucifix with a large photograph of the Nativity Scene from a seventeenth century painting, reproduced and coloured by Mr R.L.Rann. When not over the altar this picture hangs inconspicuously beside the organ.
3. During Lent we use a picture of a realistic Crucifix, again reproduced and coloured by Mr Rann. It is accompanied by the challenging words: “This have I done for thee; what doest thou for me?”
4. During Passiontide we try to recall the starkness of the Cross by using a plain wooden Cross made out of two rough pieces of fir tree; it is very much the ‘Old Rugged Cross’.
5. Then for Easter we have a Resurrection picture which is  another of Mr Rann’s enlarged photographs. The original is a carving in stone by J.Vasconcellos, which stand in St. Mary’s Church, Westfield, Workington. This picture hangs at other times over the organ.
6. For Trinity Sunday, and a few weeks after, we use a picture representing the Trinity, this is also a reproduction of a medieval painting.

In the centre, at the top of the canopy, is the sacred monogram, I.H.S. this is the name of Jesus, written in Hebrew script, and then the letters changed for the sort we use; sometimes this version of the name of Jesus is used to convey other edifying thoughts by making the letters the initial letters of words, producing phrases such as “I have suffered”.

THE AUMBRY to the left of the Altar is a small steel safe in which the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood is reserved for Communion of the Sick or those who are unable to receive Communion at normal service times. A miner’s lamp hangs by the Aumbry, and the light is a reminder that the Sacrament is reserved. The lamp bears the name of J.C.S.Daly, the first Vicar of the Parish, and the bracket on which it hangs was made and presented by his old school, Gresham’s Holt.

THE BISHOP’S CHAIR stands near the Aumbry. It is a 19th century reproduction piece, finely carved in a florid version of the Jacobean style. The chair is specially to be used by the Bishops of the Diocese when they visit the parish, and is a reminder of the Bishops overall pastorate.

THE RECESSES in the wall near the Aumbrey look more interesting than they really are. They were air ducts connected with the hot air heating system installed when the Church was built. There are corresponding ducts at floor level near the pulpit, the hot air was supposed to be drawn in through these to warm the vestries and then circulate through the ducts by the Aumbrey. It did not work, and the ducts are closed off.

THE PROCESSIONAL CROSS is an item of great interest, the top section being of brass, probably late 18th century of Spanish origin. The pole is more recent.

THE INTROIT BELL which hangs by the vestry door is used to signal when priest and servers are ready to enter for the beginning of a service. It is an elegant piece of brass work although they are commonly to be found in secular shops. The bell is embossed with symbols of the four Gospel writers.

TO the right of the altar are three items of standard equipment which are worth noting:

THE PISCINA which is a little drain to take to earth the water which has been used for the ablutions or commixture during the Communion Service.

THE CREDENCE  which is the shelf on which the bread, wine and water are placed ready to be used for the Holy Communion.

THE SEDELIA which is the seat which may be used by priest and servers during the Communion Service.

THE ROUND WINDOW above the altar is seven feet in diameter; note the intricate cutting necessary to make all the splayed stones that go to make up the circle fit so accurately. George Westerman, was foreman in charge of the building work. What satisfaction he must have felt when doing the job,  fitting the last stone into place and realising that he had achieved exact work. The picture in the window depicts St. Christopher carrying the infant Christ. It is a glass mosaic made by Mr K. Rann.

CANDLESTICKS used on the altar are sometimes of a simple wood construction but we also have a best set, given by Mr Rann, which are silvered bronze, probably mid-eighteenth century, and originating from one of the Balkan countries. For special occasions we may also use on the altar four additional small candlesticks given in memory of Mrs Langley, which are of silvered copper, modern in design; and from the canopy corners we sometimes hang a pair of wooden candelabra which help to contribute to a glowing and gorgeous effect to mark the major festivals. The simple wooden standard candlesticks were installed when the Church was built.

THE CHANCEL STEPS are tiled in green and Father Daly is said to have likened this to the green hill of Calvary.

THE SEATS AND KNEELING DESKS in the Chancel were made by Thompson of Kilburn and all bear his mouse trade mark. Three of the seats are inscribed with the presenters: the Guides, the Scouts, the Cubs and Brownies.

THE COMMUNION RAILS originally installed on the Chancel Steps were the ones now situated in the St. Francis Chapel which were made by Thompson. However, in 1960 a pair of longer rails were given, one in memory of members of the Holland family, one in memory of the Langley family. These rails followed the style of the former pair, but were made in Pontefract. A bar to connect the two standing pieces was brought into use in 1965, given in memory of Mrs Hough.

THE LECTERN which stands in the chancel but is normally used in the middle of the main aisle, is of a folding type, specially designed by Mr F. Berry and made by Blythe of Barwick-in-Elmet. It was given in memory of Mr Thorpe and came into use in 1967, replacing an old wooden one which has since been given to Upton Church.

THE CORONA LUCIS, (Crown of Light) was installed as an ornamental and symbolical feature in 1962. It was designed by Mr F. Berry, making a simplified adaptation of similar features in many churches, particularly on the continent. The Corona was made by Mr L. Chopping. The three hoops which make up the structure draw our minds to the nature of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The globe which is thus made helps us to think of God embracing and sustaining the whole world. The twelve candles remind us of the twelve Apostles, their part in bringing the Light of Christ to the world and our part as inheritors of their Apostleship. We decorate the Corona with holly and colours for Christmas, having placed candles in it for each Sunday in Advent. The Corona is decorated with palm branches for Palm Sunday, spring flowers for Easter – and so on.

ST. FRANCIS CHAPEL is situated to the right of the Chancel. The people who helped to build the church were much inspired by the example of St. Francis who developed his faith through the work of repairing a ruined church. Perhaps Italy may also have influenced the design of Holy Cross a little because the front of the Church with its broad eaves is reminiscent of churches in Northern Italy. We have another connection with St. Francis in the Iron Crucifix and Lion Candlesticks. These were bought by Father Daly in Assisi, the town most closely associated with St. Francis, having been made in an ancient cave forge which had doubtless been turning out such work since the time of St. Francis. This Cross and the Candlesticks were brought into service as soon as the site for Holy Cross Church was decided upon. An Altar was set up in the open air, about where the present high altar is, and to this were cemented this cross and candlesticks. Here is the relevant paragraph from the brochure of 1933: “On St. Peter’s Day 1931, the Bishop of Pontefract blessed a temporary Altar on the site of the High Altar. Behind it was planted, by the first Priest-in-Charge, the huge wooden Cross which he had erected many years previously to witness to the fact that Airedale should have a real church. In front there flourished a little garden, kept by the Guides, to mark the Sanctuary and on the altar were placed wrought iron Candlesticks and a Crucifix which had been made in Assisi”.

THE ST. FRANCIS ALTAR is a sturdy wooden structure, a little ornamented, with five crosses incised in the top and also a small stone slab let into the top so that the place where the vessels actually stand in the Communion Service is stone.

THE ST. FRANCIS WINDOW contains painted glass depicting St. Francis preaching to the birds, and the Anney which he founded at Assisi. It was painted by Mr L. Rann.

THE BELL ROPE in St. Francis Chapel is connected with the Sacring Bell, which hangs outside of the east wall and is intended to be rung at the consecration during the Holy Communion service.

A SMALL ROOD   This is a crucifix accompanied by figures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John. It hangs on the wall between the Chancel and the Chapel. It came from Oberammergau and the figures are delicately made in plaster.

A LARGE OIL PAINTING of the Madonna and Child hangs at the front of the north aisle. The original by Raphael hangs in the Sistine Chapel but this is an excellent copy done on canvas in the last century. There is an inscription on the back which reads, “This copy of Raphael’s ‘Madonna and child’ belongs to my son, Francis H. Lyell”. This representation of Mary and Jesus is very popular. Nearby stands the Mothers’ Union banner which has at its centre another reproduction of the same picture. Here is a good example of an artist seeing the Holy Family in terms of their own surroundings because they are represented as Italian peasants contemporary with Raphael.

THE OCTAGONAL TABLE on which so many people have signed their names at weddings is known as a ‘monk’s seat’. The top is hinged and may be raised to reveal a seat, of which the top becomes an elegant if rather knobbly back. On the back of the seat is a coat-of-arms depicting sun, moon and stars with the initials A.C. and the date 1763. It is unlikely that the coat -of-arms is a real one since the configuration is non-heraldic. Still, it remains an elegant interesting and useful item.

THE HOLY WATER STOUP  by the door at the front of the North Aisle rests on a piece of carved stone from Durham Cathedral, making a link with the Cathedral Church of these parts in ancient times. The carving is of the late Norman ‘dog-tooth’ pattern and so must have been carved around the year 1100 A.D. The Stoup is intended to be filled with water that has been blessed for the purpose so that the worshiper, on entering the Church, may dip his finger in the water and make the sign of the Cross on his forehead recalling the time when he was Baptised.

THE PULPIT stands on part of one of the columns from Fryston Hall. It is a fine simple oak structure but there is no mouse on it. So presumably it was not made by Thompson’s as was almost all the rest of the furniture.

THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS begin on the wall near the pulpit. They were painted in 1963 by Mr L. Rann. The Stations, there are fourteen of them in all, remind us of what happened to Jesus at the time of the Crucifixion. From the Judgment Hall of Pontius Pilate, on the Road to Calvary, until His body was laid in the tomb. The journey is sometimes known as the Way of Sorrows. In Jerusalem people often walk round the actual places where these things happened so that they can think more deeply about the significance of the events.  In our Church we have pictures to help us with the same sort of meditation. In these Stations the aim has been to evoke the feeling of the events by using hands and a few symbols. the sequence of events is represented along the North wall, across the back of the church and up the South wall.

THE PEWS are exceptionally fine examples of Thompson work, bearing many mouse trademarks which often delight visitors. Many of the pews were given to the Church by associates and benefactors and the gifts are recorded with inscriptions on the backs.

A SLENDER COLUMN stands before the square pillar half-way down the right hand side of the church which bears a small statue of the blessed virgin Mary with the infant Jesus. The top part of the column came from York Minster making a link with another Cathedral. This area was in the York Diocese until 1926. The stone is carved in the ‘Early English’ style which indicates that the work was done around the year 1350.

THE RUSSIAN CRUCIFIX hangs near the entrance to the Church depicting Christ on the Cross in shallow relief – representing a deviation from the usual custom of Eastern Christian art which normally represents human form in flat painting or Icon form. At the top of the Crucifix are forms representing God the Father, the Holy Spirit and two angels. Around the feet of Christ are representations of the walls of Jerusalem and beneath the feet a skull reminds us that the Crucifixion was on Golgotha – the place of a skull. Wording on the front is in the traditional Eastern Christian writing known as Cyrillic Script and tells us that the Crucifix was made in St. Petersburg in 1816. The words above the arms of the cross say, “Jesus Christ son of God”, the letters below the foot of the cross say, “Jesus Christ conquers”. On the back there is an inscription which says: “The cross protector of the whole universe; the cross beauty of the church; the cross power of kings; the cross strength of the faithful; the cross life of angels; punishment for the demons.” The lower part of the back has an outline drawing of the whole Crucifix accompanied by some of the words from the front with two symbols of the Passion – a spear and a sponge on a stick. The Crucifix is made of brass, with the background on the front picked out with blue and white enamel. The whole has been lacquered to preserve it.

THE FONT is situated near the main entrance to the Church as a reminder that Holy Baptism is the means by which we become part of the Church. Our Font was made from part of one of the stone columns from Fryston Hall. A niche is fashioned in the front of the Font which contains another relic from a Cathedral. This time it is a finial from Wakefield Cathedral. The outside of our Cathedral (because this parish is now in the Diocese of Wakefield) is lined with three-stage buttresses and each ledge is finished with a piece of stone carving like the one we have in our Church. The one on our Font probably fell off and was damaged so was replaced with a new one. This carving was possibly done in the fifteenth century. The front of the Font is inscribed with the Greek letters that form the word for fish. The word is pronounced ‘ICHTHEWS’. This word and the fish symbol have been much loved and used in Christian history, particularly in the early days. These letters are taken as the initial letters of five words which make up an important statement of Christian belief, the beginnings of a Creed.

I=Jesus; CH=Christ; TH=of God; EW=the Son; S=Saviour. Therefore if you put the words into their natural English order you read:-

‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’.

It is specially appropriate to have this written on the Font because Baptism must be accompanied by true belief and these words form the basis of this belief.

THE YORK STONE which stands at the back of the South Aisle was a spare bit from the Houses of Parliament. It was thought to be a suitable addition to the church because of the rose carved upon it and the word ‘York’ This link with Parliament reminds us of the strong connection between Church and State in this country. What is known as ‘The Establishment of the Church of England’. This stone was probably carved early in the Nineteenth Century.

THE MEMORIAL is to be found on the wall at the back of the North Aisle. The covered book rest contains a record of the names of those from this Parish who were killed in the Second World War. The picture over the book rest is known as a Pieta. It depicts Christ being taken down from the Cross. The original of this picture was found in a fifteenth century Swiss stained glass window and was copied here by Mr L. Rann. Beside the memorial hangs a sanctuary lamp which was originall intended to burn oil. Made of brass it may be two hundred years old (almost three hundred at the time I am writing this Blog!). It has worn extremely thin and is very fragile.

THE CHILDREN’S CORNER is furnished with Thompson furniture. A picture known as ‘St. Veronica’s Handkerchief’ hangs there reflecting the tradition that St. Veronica wiped the sweat from the face of Jesus and miraculously the image was transferred to the cloth. The original handkerchief is preserved in Milan Cathedral and the painting of which this is a copy was executed by Gabriel Max in the 1870’s. There is an optical illusion that if you watch the eyes very closely they appear to close and then open.

THE ORGAN was installed in 1962 replacing an instrument that came from the former St. Mary’s Church in Wheldon Road. The present Organ had done many years of service at the former Leeds Road Methodist Church in Kippax but while being rebuilt in Holy Cross the Organ was completely restored and re-modeled to fit its new surroundings.

THE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH leads us to think first about the structure which, as everyone knows, was built with stone from Fryston Hall. The Hall had been purchased in 1784 from Charles Crowle, a friend of Horace Walpole, by Richard Slater Milnes. Mr Milnes was M.P. for the City of York from 1784 to 1802. He took up residence in 1790, added an Italian front with Ionic pediment and pilasters, and died suddenly in 1804 aged 45 years.

Quotations from old publicity handouts:-

“It was agreed to pay £300 for this rich stone quarry, thus all the stone, brick paving, lime and rubble of Fryston Hall came into our possession. In using the stone from Fryston Hall we have reversed the practice which occurred after the Dissolution of the Monasteries when many stately manor houses were built from the stone of Monasteries and Churches. The whole of the exterior of the Church is built of sandstone which came originally from the Harehills Quarry, Leeds. This was considered to be the best sandstone in Europe. The West end is composed of the original dressed ashlar with four engaged columns surmounted by Ionic Capitals. The old part of Fryston Hall was built from Huddlestone limestone, as was York Minster and parts of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. This stone was to be dressed and used for facing the interior of the Church”.

The architect, Sir Charles Nicholson, is said to have declared his intention, in view of the shortage of money for the building, to concentrate on making the inside beautiful, even if the outside would look like a great big barn. So there are few decorative features on the outside. The East wall of the Chancel has three arches in the stone work – which look almost like windows that have been filled in – but they were put there to relieve the monotony of a large blank stone wall.

THE WEST FRONT, in addition to the columns (which don’t really quite fit with a sloping roof) has, over the front door, a large Cross cut into the stone work, with the inscription ‘IN HOC SIGNO VINCES’. These words are associated with a vision granted to Constantine, Emperor of Rome – a valiant soldier who was wondering whether to become a Christian. He saw in the sky a fiery cross with the Latin inscription, which means, ‘IN THIS SIGN YOU SHALL CONQUER’. So Constantine came to understand that the truest victories are those of faith and devotion to God, and he became a Christian. This is a challenging statement to have on the front of our Church.

THE BELL which is rung before services was presented to the church by ‘some friends in the South of England’, who have contributed, including the cost of the Bell, £160 through their Farthing Fund.

THE PANTOCRATOR which surmounts the bell tower is a vertical feature reminiscent of the Cross. consisting of an upright open post, supporting a disc, the feature looks like a spire from a distance (leading the mind upward to God), and like a Cross in the middle distance, the appearance being the same from any direction. The view from close to gives rise to the name of the feature. Pantocrator is a Greek word which means ‘Ruler of All’ and is applied to the painting on the Apse Roof of many Eastern Christian Churches, which depicts the figure of Christ sustaining and guiding all the people of the world. Our feature represents these thoughts in geometrical terms- Christ signified by the upright and the world signified by the disc.

So, in conclusion, it may be said that we hope to show to all who pass by our faith in the power of the Cross and our reliance on the providence of Christ for all the world. A Faith, Hope and Trust which we seek to nourish with our worship inside our church and express in the actions of our lives.

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