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Dominic Gilroy



St Peter & Paul's - Sandal

 

St Joseph's - Crofton

 

The Duke of Wellington
Formerly Whinney Moor Hotel

 

Stanley Institute

 

Zion Chapel - Stanley

 

Lee Mount Methodist - Stanley

 

Heath View Primary School
Eastmoor

 

St Swithun's - Eastmoor

 
 
Last Updated
25th August 2001
Special Feature
Chapels of Ease of 
St Austin's Wakefield
1875 - 2001

 
During its long history Saint Austin's parish has included a number of Chapels of Ease, or "Outstations" as they were known by the Jesuits.  These catered for parishioners who lived a considerable distance from the main church building and would otherwise find it difficult or impossible to attend Mass regularly.  The last Chapel of Ease to close was Eastmoor (St Swithun's) where the last Mass was celebrated on Palm Sunday 2001.

 
Denby Grange (1875 - 1877)
Although not a regular Mass Centre as such, Denby Grange contained a small chapel dedicated to Saint Gertrude.  Here Catholics from Flockton, Chapel Hill and Middlestown would gather for prayer services and for the children to learn their catechism.
Normanton & Whitwood (1876 - 1888)
The Jesuits from Pontefract had originally covered the Whitwood and Normanton area, but it passed over to St. Austin's as this parish grew.  70 Catholics were registered in the Normanton area when Fr Cooper of St. Austin's took responsibility for overseeing the area in 1876.   A new chapel was built in Normanton in 1888 and the area passed over into secular hands as a separate parish.
St Ignatius - Ossett  (1877 - 1910)
Work on a new chapel at Ossett was completed in 1877 and St Ignatius' was formed.  The chapel was run as an outstation from St Austin's for many years.  On Christmas Day 1910 the Jesuits handed the chapel over to the secular clergy and St Ignatius became an independent parish.
Crigglestone (1910 - 1954) 
There were efforts to create a outstation in Crigglestone from 1910 onwards.  At this time a council school was rented on Sunday's for the purpose of teaching children their Catechism.  From 1926 Masses were said in the area but it was only in 1942 that a baptist chapel was purchased for use as a mass centre.  This new chapel was named St Michael's and continued to be administered as a Chapel of Ease by clergy from St Austins until 1954, when it became part of the new St Peter and Paul's Parish.  It was finally demolished due to severe subsidence in around 1960.
Portobello/Sandal - Sts Peter and Paul  (1922 - 1954)
The site for a new chapel of ease in the Portobello area of the city was purchased in 1922 after a number of new housing developments appeared in that locality.  The church was one of two projects financed in part by the War Memorial committee which had been set up following the end of the First World War in 1918 to provide a fitting memorial to the men of St Austin's who perished in the Great War.  Finished and opened in 1926, the chapel continued to be administered by St. Austin's clergy until 1954 when it became an independant parish and also took over responsibility for a number of other outstations run by St Austin's, including Crofton and Kettlethorpe.
Crofton - St Joseph's  (1926 - 1954)
Mass had been said in private houses in Crofton from 1926 onwards, but it was only in 1934 that a donation of land made it possible for St Austin's to build a Chapel of Ease in the area.  Although the chapel became part of St Peter & Paul's parish in 1954, it is significant becuse it is the only building in the area still to be used as a chapel of ease.
Lupset - English Martyrs (1930 - 1932)
The parish in Lupset began in around 1930 when priests from St Austin's offered Mass in the Whinney Moor Hotel.  In 1932 English Martyrs' School was built offering Catholic Primary Education for children from that side of the city and relieving pressure on the crowded St Austin's Schools.  Although no church was built until 1939, the parish immediately became independent in 1932 with masses said in the school itself.  Strong links with St Austin's remained and originally the nuns who taught in the school continued to travel from St Joseph's Convent at St Austin's School.
Kettlethorpe (1940's - 1954)
Througout the 1940's and 1950's masses were said in a local Working Men's Club by St Austin's clergy.  In 1954 the area fell under the new St Peter & Paul's parish and a new church, St George's, was built to replace the demolished St Michael's in Crigglestone, in 1960.   This in turn was demolished in the 1990's following the construction of a new parish church opposite the new ASDA supermarket in Kettlethorpe.
Stanley (1945 - 1990)
Masses in Stanley began just after the end of the Second World War.  They were celebrated in the Village Institute and parents attending mass there were encouraged to send their children to St. Austin's school for a Catholic education.  In 1981 the Zion Hall began to be used for Sunday masses when the parish was permitted the use of the building's cellar.  This continued until 1990 when Lee Mount Methodist Church began to be used, but within the year it was decided to discontinue the provision of a chapel of ease in the area.
Eastmoor (1954 - 2001)
The first masses in Eastmoor began in 1954 after many of the parishes other responsibilities in the south of the city passed to St Peter and Paul's.  Mass was celebrated at Heath View County Primary School between 1954 and 1972.  In 1972 the parish began an agreement with the local Anglican church of St Swithun's to use the building for an early morning service each Sunday and this arrangement continued until 2001.
Outwood (1970 - 1987)
In 1970 a Methodist chapel on Leeds Road came up for sale and was purchased by the parish as a new chapel of ease for Catholics in the area.  Our Lady's Chapel, as it was known, continued to hold regular Sunday masses until 1987 when an increased shortage of priests and a reduction in parishioners meant that closure was inevitable.  The church was sold for housing development.

 

(Please note the dates in brackets indicate the period covered by St Austin's clergy)