A short history of Roundhay St John’s church
Built between 1824 and 1826, St John’s church was designed by Thomas Taylor in Gothic Revival style. The chancel was extended, and a vestry added, in 1885. Built in stone with a slate roof, it has a cruciform plan consisting of a nave, north and south aisles, a south porch, north and south transepts, a chancel, and a west steeple. The steeple has a tower with three stages, buttresses, a moulded parapet, and a broach spire with lucarnes. The windows in the church are lancets.



HISTORY
A listed building
Providing a place of worship for the expanding community of Roundhay in Leeds, over time the church and the attached churchyards became an integral part of the area. The Nicholson family who lived in Roundhay Park Mansion instigated the building of St John’s church alongside the school and alms houses which are still in use today on Wetherby Road. A verger’s cottage to the left of the driveway and a vicarage was built to the right of the school in 1841. In its centenary year 1926, patronage transferred to a Board consisting of the Bishop of the Diocese, the Archdeacon of Leeds, the lay secretary of the Leeds Church Extension Society and two members of the Parochial Church Council of St John’s Roundhay.
Background
In 1976 the church was placed on the National Heritage list for England by Historic England.
Due to dwindling numbers, in 2007 the congregation was forced to move. St John's was subsequently sold in 2010 and it became the responsibility of the new owners. Since then, the church property has fallen into disrepair which has distressed its neighbours, families who have experienced the circle of life at St John's, people who have loved ones who are buried in the graveyards, historians and those interested in genealogy.
It is within this context that the Friends of Roundhay St John's Church was formed in early 2014, predominantly to concentrate on renovation of the north churchyard (which was opened in 1932). Meetings were held and work parties formed to tidy the north churchyard; rubbish and brush were cleared from the driveway and the curtilage of the church. Through generous donations, we have been able to purchase a lawnmower, a strimmer, weedkiller and various other pieces of landscaping equipment.
The Friends are members of the National Federation of Cemetery Friends and remain dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the St John's property which is a treasure of local and national importance. We are proud of what we have accomplished in a comparatively short time. https://www.cemeteryfriends.com/members/roundhay
http://www.oakwoodchurch.info/history.html is an interesting local site which includes a more in-depth history of Roundhay St John's at http://www.oakwoodchurch.info/roundhaystjohn.html and where the following articles can be read in full:
- A History of St John’s church Roundhay 1967 © By J. Dickinson & G.D. Webster;
- A brief history of Roundhay StJohns church © By J. Dickinson & G.D. Webster.
From Oak Leaves, Part 4, Spring 2003 - published by Oakwood and District Historical Society [ODHS] (now out of print though one or two copies are available for borrowing at Oakwood Library);
- The Closure of St John's Church, Roundhay - Some Final Thoughts. © By Neville Hurworth. From Oak Leaves, Part 8, Autumn 2008 - published by ODHS;
- History of Roundhay St John © Sharon Donaldson 2014.
(Please understand that Oakwood Church is not linked to The Friends of Roundhay St John's and our views are not necessarily those of Oakwood Church).

Bells
Roundhay St John’s church had three change-ringing bells most recently rung by parishioners Raymond Horne (1920-2009) tower captain for many years until 1998, Peter Oldfield, John Mee and Bryony Crisp. By 1990 all three bell ropes had become frayed; new ropes were dedicated and replaced early in 1991.
On Sunday 10 July 2005 the ringers at St John’s (Peter as master, John and Bryony) participated in the national Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II. The Ministry of Defence had requested that bells should ring out across the country at 5pm and the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers encouraged bellringers throughout the country to respond.
Made in 2012, this video shows possibly the last ringing on our Samuel Smith ring of three bells. Rung regularly until 2007, the bells themselves were in good condition, on modern fitting and with fairly new ropes https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=egxCT5FcEew.
The organ
(The first organ in the church was a barrel organ played by turning a handle. A small organ was later installed in the gallery which was eventually replaced in 1885 when the chancel was extended.)
Installed in 1885 as a gift from James Kitson of Elmete Hall, the new two-manual instrument with 24 stops was built by Foster and Andrews of Hull. Over the years, the organ was modernized, a mechanical blower was installed in 1938 and it was rebuilt in 1951. Unfortunately, it deteriorated over the next 50 years requiring a fund to be established for its refurbishment to occur in stages. In 2003 the refurbishment was completed with a generous gift from the Lindley family in memory of William Bernard Lindley who had been a churchwarden at St John's between 1953 and1964.
Due to the accumulation of damp, wood rot and mould inside the church building since it was vacated in 2007, the organ has since crumbled and fallen off the wall. The image here of the organ was taken in 2015 by Neville Hurworth.
Opus sectile
In 1921, three years after the end of the Great War, the Roundhay St John's Church Council met to discuss designs for a memorial to the fallen soldiers. With the War Memorials' Committee's recommendation, an opus sectile was chosen depicting St Alban, St George, St John, St Martin, St Oswald and St Wulfstan.
Crafted by Messrs Powell and Sons, Whitefriars, London, at a cost of 360 guineas. the design was unveiled at the east end of the church on either side of the altar in January 1922. See the beautiful image of the church interior here.
Stained glass
There are a number of beautiful stained glass windows in StJohn's church in memory of, for example, 2nd Lieutenant Tom Willey 15th West Yorkshire Regiment, killed in France 1st of July 1916; members of the Hudson family, the Ives family, the Luptons and the Princess of Wales' 3 xgreat grandfather Thomas Davis.
Please be aware that it is no longer possible to enter the church building. The current owners of the property, The Pentecostal City Mission Church, embarked on a renovation of the church to listed building standards some years ago. The company engaged for this task did a great job of repairing leaks in the roof and taking care of interior damage resulting from the years of neglect. Further work on the interior was planned but unfortunately came to a halt in late July 2016 and we do not know when the work will be continued.

OUR MISSION The goal of the Friends of Roundhay St John's Church is to protect and preserve for the public benefit the integrity of the property of the former Church of Roundhay St John, with initial emphasis being given to the North Churchyard but with an eye for the future of the whole. With listed building status, Roundhay St John's is located in a Conservation Area adjoining Roundhay Park and makes a very valuable contribution to the character of the neighbourhood. Acknowledging that it is currently at great risk due to a mixture of mismanagement and neglect, the very diverse group of Friends is unified by a shared concern for the future of the church and its grounds. We do this by means of regular meetings, gardening work parties and the circulation of information within the group and the wider civic community. We aim to raise awareness of the church and grounds, its history and its remarkable significance for the local area and for the City of Leeds. FoRSJ, 2014 Formation of The Friends of Roundhay St John's
In 2007, the congregation was forced to move due to dwindling numbers. St John's church was subsequently sold by the Church Commissioners in 2010 and the building became the responsibility of the London-based Pentecostal City Mission. Since then, the church property has fallen into disrepair which has distressed its neighbours, families who have experienced the circle of life at St John's, people who have loved ones buried in the churchyards, historians and those interested in genealogy.
It is within this context that the Friends of Roundhay St John's Church was formed in early 2014, predominantly to concentrate on renovation of the north churchyard, opened in 1932 (where the south yard was initially deemed unsafe).
National Federation of Cemetery Friends Members
Our Trustees
Lynne Staveley, Chair: lmstaveley@gmail.com
Caroline Feeman: in absentia
Mike Lax: RIP
Anne Muers: annemuers@gmail.com
Martin Muers: mfmuers@doctors.org.uk
Roger Potts, Treasurer: roger@potts-uk.com
David Whittaker:
david@amberstonedevelopments.co.uk
Mark Wilson: RIP
Sue Edwards, Secretary: roundhayfriends@gmail.com
Contact the Friends of Roundhay St John's
Fill in the form below and a member of our team will contact you shortly from roundhayfriends@gmail.com