The original St Matthew’s Church was a ‘Waterloo’ Church, one of the many provided from a fund raised in thanksgiving for the 1815 victory.
The architect was John Oates who designed several churches for the Waterloo scheme, as well as some public buildings. St Matthew’s was consecrated by the Archbishop of York on November 1st, 1826.
The Archbishop rode over to Wilsden from Harewood, where he had spent the previous night and on the same day consecrated St Paul’s, Shipley, an identical building.
Before this, Wilsden was part of the large parish of Bradford and the new church was built on the edge of the village because it was originally to serve Wilsden, Allerton and Denholme.
The first vicar was a member of the Wilsden Temperance Society. In 1835 what was described as probably the greatest Temperance Festival in the world, attended by over 3,000 people, was held at St Matthew’s.
As a result of disagreements amongst members of the congregation the new Free Church of England opened in 1869. The St James Free Church built their own building on Wellington Street. This building is now the Conservative Club.
The building of a new churches at Denholme in 1846 and at Allerton in 1879 reduced the size of the parish of Wilsden.
In 1926, when the Bishop of Bradford was preaching at a service to commemorate the centenary of the church, there was a loud crash part way through his sermon. When this was investigated after the service it was discovered that the ceiling of the vestry, where the Bishop had been sitting before the service, had collapsed and he had a narrow escape from injury.
The building had long suffered from damp and eventually became impossible to heat and maintain. It was not used for services from 1957 and demolished in 1962. From 1957 to 1962 the Sunday School on Laneside opposite the church was used. After one more move the new church building in Main Street was dedicated in 1975 and St Matthew’s moved into their current home.
The Laneside graveyard was officially closed for burials in 1974 and maintenance was taken over by Bradford Council in 1975 although there were, by agreement, two final interments in one reserved family plot in 1977 and 1985.
We acknowledge “Temples Various” by Astrid Hansen as the source of information about the history of St Matthew’s and the work by Astrid and John Hansen in recording details of the gravestones.
- Extract from wilsden parish council.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO
𝗨𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱'𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁: Revealing Bradford's Student Club.
★ • 𝗨𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱'𝘀 ...
VIDEO INFORMATION CREDITS & THANK YOU'S
Prior permission given from relevant authorities to film
FOLLOW BRAFORD THROUGH THE LENS:
★ Website- bradfordthroug...
★ Facebook - / bradfordthroughthelens
★ Instagram - / bradford_throughthelens
★ Twitter - / bradfordlens
★ Tiktok - / bradfordthroughthelens
SUPPORT BRAFORD THROUGH THE LENS
★ Coffee - www.buymeacoff...
★ Subscribe - kzfaq.info...
EQUIPMENT USED
★ DJI Action Camera 3
★ DJI Mic
★ Osmo Action 1.5m Extension Rod Kit
VIDEO & IMAGES FEATURED
A special thank you to all video content film makers and photographers who's footage or pictures are featured in this video.
Whilst we endeavour to credit all usage within the video or the video description, an original source/owner of the video/images is not always known. And as such, these may not be credited correctly or not credited at all.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER
This video may contain copyrighted materials, the use of which has not been specifically authorised by the copyright owner.
These videos are made for purposes of criticism, comment, review & news reporting. Which constitutes the fair use of any such copyrighted materials. As provided for in section 107 of the U.S Copyright Law & sections 29 & 30 of the UK Copyright, Design & Patent act 1988.
The fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, review & news reporting is not an infringement of copyright.
Hi! My name is Riaz Ahmed , born and bred in Bradford, UK. As you can see I have a taste for history, capturing interesting moments and eye for quirkiness!
If you live around the West Yorkshire area, I am sure you will like to view some of my videos. Better still , hope to reach out much further and interact with the viewer.
Thanks for watching.
#bradford #history #heritage