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Dewsbury Minster
All Saints' Church
Dewsbury Minster from the front
53°41′23″N 1°37′45″W / 53.6896°N 1.6291°W / 53.6896; -1.6291
OS grid reference	SE 24590 21524
Location	Dewsbury, Kirklees
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	DewsburyMinster.org.uk
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	30 June 1949
Style	Gothic revival
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Leeds
Episcopal area	Wakefield
Archdeaconry	Pontefract
Deanery	Dewsbury
Parish	Dewsbury

Dewsbury Minster, the Minster Church of All Saints is the parish church in Dewsbury, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It dates from the 13th century and was rebuilt in 1895. It is situated on Vicarage Road and Church Street in the centre of the town. In 1949 it gained Grade II* listed status. Dewsbury Parish Church was rededicated as a minster church in 1994. It is one of three churches in West Yorkshire to be given the honorific title "minster". The others are Halifax Minster and Leeds Minster.

History

The north arcade of the church dates from 1220. The south arcade was built later that century. The ceiling of the nave was built in the 15th century. The tower and north aisle were built around 1767 and designed by John Carr. Patrick Brontë was a curate at Dewsbury from 1809 to 1811. In 1850, the ceiling was raised allowing more space for an organ loft to be installed. From 1884 to 1888, the church was extended to the designs of A. E. Street (the son of George Edmund Street) and A. H. Kirk. The east window and new pews were added during this time. In 1895, the south aisle was demolished and rebuilt in the Gothic revival style.

In 1912, a new carved-oak reredos was added, depicting Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles.

In 2013, the church received a grant from Kirklees Borough Council for £25,000 to build exterior lights to illuminate the church at night.

Dewsbury lies near the River Calder, traditionally on the site where Paulinus preached. Some of the visible stonework in the nave is Saxon, and parts of the church also date to the 13th century. The tower houses "Black Tom", a bell which is rung each Christmas Eve, one toll for each year since Christ's birth, known as the "Devil's Knell", a tradition dating from the 15th century. The bell was given by Sir Thomas de Soothill, in penance for murdering a servant boy in a fit of rage. The tradition was commemorated on a Royal Mail postage stamp in 1986.

Gallery

• South side of the church
• Interior

See also

• Listed buildings in Dewsbury
• Grade II* listed buildings in Kirklees
• Diocese of Leeds

References

1. ^ Historic England. "Church of All Saints, Dewsbury (1134712)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
2. Deaneries Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine at Diocese of Leeds, retrieved 6 March 2015
3. "Patrick Bronte". Dewsbury Minster. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
4. The British Architect: A Journal of Architecture and the Accessory Arts, Volume 29, (Pennsylvania State University, 1888) p. vii.
5. Kirklees Cabinet approve £25k outdoor lights upgrade for Dewsbury Minster from Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 18 December 2013, retrieved 7 March 2015
6. "Eric Shackle's eBook - Bells". Retrieved 10 September 2016.
7. Mitchinson, James, ed. (19 December 2020). "A corner of Yorkshire: Dewsbury Minster". The Yorkshire Post. The Magazine. p. 4. ISSN 0963-1496.

External links

• Dewsbury Team Parish site

• United Kingdom
• Yorkshire

• Buildings and structures in Dewsbury
• Grade II* listed churches in West Yorkshire
• Church of England church buildings in West Yorkshire
• Churches completed in 1895
• 19th-century Church of England church buildings
• Anglican Diocese of Leeds
• Gothic Revival church buildings in England