Oldest Church in Leeds - All Hallows Bardsey

[cnosni]

Well there in lies the problem.Ledsham was a parish in its own right,not part of the parish of Leeds.Until the 70's pretty much what was the 32 square mile parish of Leeds was the city,hence the Leeds owl sign on Kirkstall Road at Horsforth (Horsforth was in the parish of Guiseley) whereas now it,and Guiseley along with Otley etc etc are now in the Metropolitan Borough of Leeds.So whether Ledsham could be accurateley said to "be" in Leeds is vey much open to interpetation,though of course there is the theory that Ledsham and nearby Ledston,along with Leeds,constituted parts of Leodis/Loidis.Frankly i find their distance from Leeds to be too far for them to be part of a settlement,especially as you have places such as Rothwell in between,which are supposedley older and also still alrger than Leeds was in the medieaval period (Leeds was referred to as being "near Rodwell")I wonder if it was maybe a tiny chiefdom/kingdom by the name of Leodis/Loidis and that the three "Led" settlements were all left with some derivative of this place,though another thing to note is that Ledston is in the parish of Ledsham,so it is possible that its name came from the settlement that was to become the centre of the parish when parishes were introduced.

[jim]

Leodian wrote: Leeds Hippo wrote: cnosni wrote: Ledsham is 8th century in originhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledsham,_West_Yorkshire That's very interesting - mentions that it is in the Leeds Metropolitan Borough of LeedsDoes anyone have a map showing the boundry of Leeds?http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/docu ... tmMentions that it is the oldest standing building in West Yorkshire!     Hi Leeds Hippo. This link may help. It will bring up a map showing the Leeds Metropolitan Ward Boundaries http://www.leeds.gov.uk/maps/leeds_wb.html The link brings up the map in the Leeds City Council website. It does though only show and name the boundaries as it does not name places in a ward.     Checking the map brought up by Leodian's link shows Ledsham to be within the current Leeds Metropolitan Ward Boundaries, so it would appear that Ledsham Church is the oldest in the Leeds of today, while Adel was the oldest in pre-1974 Leeds - unless someone knows of a better candidate.     

[Leeds Hippo]

Leodian wrote: Leeds Hippo wrote: cnosni wrote: Ledsham is 8th century in originhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledsham,_West_Yorkshire That's very interesting - mentions that it is in the Leeds Metropolitan Borough of LeedsDoes anyone have a map showing the boundry of Leeds?http://www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/docu ... tmMentions that it is the oldest standing building in West Yorkshire!     Hi Leeds Hippo. This link may help. It will bring up a map showing the Leeds Metropolitan Ward Boundaries http://www.leeds.gov.uk/maps/leeds_wb.html The link brings up the map in the Leeds City Council website. It does though only show and name the boundaries as it does not name places in a ward.     Thanks Leodian - I'd not heard of number 3. Ardsley & Robin Hood - I presume that's the council claiming "ownership" of Robin Hood for Leeds!

[Richard A Thackeray]

Ledsham has certainly been added to over the centuries.Note the spire. It sits on the 8th century towerhttp://travel.webshots.com/photo/1301741698047309372KdojNchttp://travel.webshots.com/photo/1301741779047309372fCemGq

[Leeds Hippo]

Seemingly the church in Ledsham is called All Saints' and falls within the Diocese of York.So the oldest church in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is All Hallows and the oldest church in the borough of Leeds is All Saints' More pics of the inside of All Saints' herehttp://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Ledsham/index.html

[cnosni]

Leeds Hippo wrote: Seemingly the church in Ledsham is called All Saints' and falls within the Diocese of York.So the oldest church in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is All Hallows and the oldest church in the borough of Leeds is All Saints' More pics of the inside of All Saints' herehttp://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Ledsham/index.html Then i would go for Bardsey,on a technicality in that it was at least in the same doicese before the 1970's    

[Steve Jones]

Well to tip the balance back to Adel:"Other items of importance associated with Adel Church are the old font, now in Leeds General Infirmary, and the Adel Stones, now rather unsatisfactorily displayed in Leeds City Museum. The latter are a group of unusually decorated stones discovered in the foundations during restorations in 1864. They are thought to have come from the earlier church, and dates from between the 8th century to the Norman period have been suggested; there has even been some question as to whether they are Christian or pagan. They probably once stood upright, are carved on both faces and may well have been grave markers; their religious ambiguity may reflect the conditions of Christianity at the time of their origin. " from research by John billingsley editor of NORTHERN EARTH magazine.if Adel stands on a Pagan site (and I believe it does as there were stones around here acccording to the account written by a previous vicar) then it predates Bardsey as a site of worship albeit Pagan!

[cnosni]

Steve Jones wrote: Well to tip the balance back to Adel:"Other items of importance associated with Adel Church are the old font, now in Leeds General Infirmary, and the Adel Stones, now rather unsatisfactorily displayed in Leeds City Museum. The latter are a group of unusually decorated stones discovered in the foundations during restorations in 1864. They are thought to have come from the earlier church, and dates from between the 8th century to the Norman period have been suggested; there has even been some question as to whether they are Christian or pagan. They probably once stood upright, are carved on both faces and may well have been grave markers; their religious ambiguity may reflect the conditions of Christianity at the time of their origin. " from research by John billingsley editor of NORTHERN EARTH magazine.if Adel stands on a Pagan site (and I believe it does as there were stones around here acccording to the account written by a previous vicar) then it predates Bardsey as a site of worship albeit Pagan! Slightly naughty your reverandship as Paganism pre date's Christianity.and this is about churches,not naked people dancing around a large fire and then...Must stop there,Jonesy has warned me before

[Steve Jones]

we must discuss this strange attraction you have chris for dancing naked around fires<G>. it depends on your definition of a church<G>. if you mean place of worship then I stand by my previous post. if you mean an exisiting building then fair enough.

[Uno Hoo]

Typical of Christianity to hijack other religions' traditions. As Christmas approaches it would be as well to remember that the festival is effectively a re-branding of the pagan winter solstice rituals. No doubt Steve Jones knows a lot more detail.