The church was built in 1851 by Mr Thomas Constable, a Catholic Solicitor,
who lived in the Manor House, Otley and both he and Mrs Constable maintained it
during their lifetime; after their death it passed into the hands of their
daughter, Mary, Lady Mowbray and Stourton. She handed over the church to the
Diocese of Leeds in 1943.
Mr Constable set himself the task of building the Church of the Blessed
Virgin and All Saints in the grounds of the Manor House for the benefit of the
family and also for Otley’s growing Catholic community (The Manor House was at
one time joined to the church by a large conservatory.) The designer of the
church was Charles Hansom, one of the leading Architects of the day. The front
and middle section - up to the balcony - was built first, the balcony and tower
were added 16 years later.
Mr Constable’s sister, Mary Anne Stanley Constable, co-operated with her
brother in this work and she contributed a thousand pounds towards its cost of
£4,000. It was opened on 24 June 1851 by Bishop Briggs of Beverley who was the
senior Bishop of the English Hierarchy on its restoration in 1850.
In 1867 the parish had grown sufficiently for the west end of the church to
be extended the lower portion which now contains the organ gallery was added.
This was done at a total cost of around £700.
Over the years the church has been renovated several times both inside and
outside. In 1934 a striking feature of the renovations were the paintings on the
North and South walls showing i e- size representations of two local martyr
priests. One of them, born in Otley, was Francis Dickenson, executed at
Rochester in 1590, aged 24 and Matthew Flathers born a Weston, executed outside
Micklegate Bar at the Knavesmire, York on 21 March 1608. Both of these paintings
are now in the outside porch above the door. A new set of the Stations of the
Cross in terracotta was also fitted in 1934 and electricity was also installed
at this time. The church was known to have one of the most beautiful interiors
in Yorkshire.
Since this time, further alterations have been made to the church over the
years, the major one being the removal of the Rood Screen across the front of
the altar and the Victorian stained glass from the window behind the altar,
sometime in the 1950’s. In 1961 the organ was renovated. Much of the original
organ installed when the church was built was in excellent condition, but it had
not been in use for several years.
In 1970 a new altar facing the people was placed in the
Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was remodelled in the light of the new Liturgy, which
came in from the Second Vatican Council. The church was consecrated at this time
by the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt. Rev. W.G. Wheeler. Also around this period
alterations were carried out to make a new entrance at the rear of the church.
The original was where the priest and parishioners’ confessionals are now, one
harboured the entrance door and one the baptismal font. Also quite pleasing as
you came out of the old entrance was a high wall facing you with a small grotto
to Our Lady built into the stone.
Since the present parish priest Fr. Sean Gilligan came to Otley in 1992,
extensive alterations have been carried out both internally and externally. The
Baptismal Font removed from rear to front of church, new stained glass window
behind the altar (old window positioned on the West wall in the organ loft).
Lady Chapel refurbished from cry room, new organ, new altar and pulpit, toilet
installed, ramp for wheelchairs and the whole church fully carpeted.
Thomas Constable died in 1891 and is buried in a vault at the rear of the
church. He is remembered by the plaque on the North wall of Our Lady and All
Saints church - a church and a parish the Constable family did so much to
support and maintain during their lifetime.
F.McManus 2012
|
1792 |
The Manor House was built in the grounds of the
former medieval Palace of the Archbishop of York.
|
|
1833 |
At the age of 28, Thomas Constable, a solicitor, came
to reside in Otley. He was also agent for the estate of the Fawkes
family of Farnley Hall.
|
|
1836 |
Thomas Constable bought the Manor House. He then
added Clitherow House to act as an office for meeting clients and
collecting rates.
|
|
1840-50 |
People made their way from Ireland to Otley to escape
the ravages of the Irish Potato Famine. They settled in an area of Otley
now known as Irish Fields. These settlers greatly increased the Catholic
population of Otley who, at that time, had to do a 15-mile round trip to
Myddleton Lodge in Ilkley every Sunday to hear Mass.
|
|
1845 |
Thomas Constable formed plans to build a Catholic
church in Otley and on July 28 th wrote to Bishop Briggs
regarding the "building of a chapel."
|
|
1851 |
Thomas Constable built the church for £4,000. His
sister, Miss Mary Constable who lived at Dovecote House in Boroughgate,
Otley, helped him and contributed £1,000 towards the cost. The
architect was Charles Hansom.
|
|
1865 |
Thomas Constable married Miss Elizabeth Ducarel de la
Pasture on 17th August.
|
|
1867 |
As the parish had grown by this time, the west end of
the church was extended and the portion that now contains the organ
gallery was added at a cost of £700.
|
|
1878 |
Miss Mary Constable died on the 13th
February and was buried in Otley Cemetery.
|
|
1891 |
Thomas Constable died on 18th November and was buried in a
vault at the west end of the church. There is a commemorative plaque
inside the church on the north wall.
|
|
1919 |
Mrs. Elizabeth Constable died on 22 nd
December and was interred in the vault beside her late husband
|
|
1934 |
Renovations carried out included a new set of
Stations of the Cross in terracotta, which remain in the church today.
Paintings of two local martyred priests (Francis Dickinson and Matthew
Flathers) were placed on the north and south walls of the church either
side of the sanctuary. These paintings were re-positioned into the
entrance porch during the refurbishment in 1992-3.
|
|
1943: |
Lady Mowbray (daughter of Thomas Constable) gave the
church to the diocese.
|
|
1951: |
100th anniversary of the building of the church..
|
|
1970-72:
|
Changes were made to the sanctuary to meet current
liturgical needs and a new altar allowed the priest to face the
congregation. A new entrance porch and stairs to the organ loft were
built in the southwest corner. The old entrance in the south wall (left
hand door of the two doors in the middle of the church) was blocked up
and turned into a storeroom. A new confessional (the right hand one of
these two doors) was put where the baptismal font stood and the stairs
to the organ loft were situated. The baptismal font was moved to the
rear of the church. Some of the land around the church was sold to
Harewood Housing Trust for sheltered housing and when the last
descendant of the Constable family left the Manor House, the house was
let to Harewood on a long lease to be refurbished and turned into flats.
|
|
1992-93 |
The sanctuary was again changed and a new altar,
similar to the original one, was put in and placed closer to the front
of the sanctuary. Improvements were made to the sanctuary ceiling. The
baptismal font was moved to the front of the church and a new tabernacle
for the oils placed into the wall nearby. A new window by Ann Sotheran
costing about £10,000, which was raised by donations from parishioners,
was put into the East wall. The old window from the East wall was moved
to the West wall. The organ was refurbished and the pipes moved so that
the West window could be seen from inside the church. A chapel to Our
Lady was put at the west end of the church. A toilet was added and entry
facilities made for disabled peopled including a new loop system for the
hard of hearing.
|
|
2001 |
The parish celebrated 150 years of praise on 24th
June. A plaque to mark the occasion can be found situated above the
confessional entrance. A new stone commemorating those who came from
Ireland in the mid-1800's and died of famine related diseases soon after
their arrival in Otley (mainly children) and were buried in the Parish
Churchyard was placed into the outside of the south wall of Our Lady &
All Saints church.
|
|
2002 |
A second stone remembering those who died was placed
in the northwest corner of the Otley Parish churchyard.
|
