Description

LEEDS

SE33NW BEECH LANE, Gipton
714-1/7/694 (North West side)
25/06/93 Church of the Epiphany
(Formerly Listed as:
BEECH LANE, Gipton
The Epiphany)

I

Also known as: The Bishop Burroughs Memorial Church of the
Epiphany BEECH LANE Gipton.
Anglican parish church. 1936-38, altered 1976. Designed by NF
Cachemaille Day and built by Armitage Hodgson of Leeds.
Reinforced concrete with brick cladding and plain tile roof.
PLAN: nave and chancel under a single roof with square
transepts, curved east end and projecting eastern lady chapel
also with curved east end.
EXTERIOR: chamfered concrete plinth, concrete floor bands and
raised coped parapets. West gable end has single-storey
projecting porches to north and south, each with double
10-panel doors and chamfered surrounds with concrete hoods.
Gable has 2 tall buttresses to centre with window between,
linked by a brick cross to flanking bell openings.
Nave: 3 pairs of tall rectangular windows , transepts have 4
similar windows. Lady Chapel: 3 tall rectangular windows to
each side, 9 similar windows to apse, below smaller windows.
INTERIOR: stepped flat concrete ceilings supported on tall
plain circular columns. Columns form a continuous curved
arcade. Raised circular altar space, raised choir stalls on
either side behind 2nd row of tall circular columns.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the Gipton estate was one of the first
'garden' estates in the north of England, city centre slum
clearance taking place during the 1930s. A temporary church
was built in 1936; Cachemaille-Day's plans were inspired by
the new church at Coutances and an uncluttered open space was
the main consideration, pews rather than chairs, short side
altar rails, an 8-foot screen wall separating the high altar
from the Lady Chapel, originally intended to be dedicated to
St Edmund. A small pulpit wound round one of the columns but
was replaced by a larger which was later removed. A tall
bell-tower over the Beech Lane entrance was too costly and a
steel and masonry spire surmounted by a star was erected over
the E gable, this had to be dismantled in 1976. The foundation
stone was laid 12 July 1938 by Elsie Burroughs, sister of the
late Bishop of Ripon, and the consecration took place on 14
May 1938 in the presence of the Princess Royal.

Early structural problems included roof panels coming loose
because the fixing nails were too short and of iron instead of
copper, and the wooden floor tiles rose. Acoustical problems
were known as 'the Epiphany echo'. Furniture was given by
other churches, including the font from St Paulinus', now with
a tall cover which is a replica of the lost spire, given by
the Mothers' Union.

Listing NGR: SE3356435306

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Church of the Epiphany at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17530541

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)