St Edward King & Confessor, Clifford John Sparshatt

St Edward King & Confessor

The largest church in Clifford, St Edward's was built between 1845 and 1848 in the Romanesque style.

Clifford, Yorkshire

Opening times

Sorry, there are no regular opening times for this church.

Address

High Street
Clifford
Yorkshire
LS23 6HJ

It was constructed of ashlar limestone with a green slate roof; this Catholic church was established to serve the growing population of Irish workers who came to work in the local flax mill, beginning in about 1831.

The imposing 5 stage west tower, complete with buttresses, was finished in 1866-67 and culminates in a pyramid shaped ashlar roof and a finial. The base of the tower is open and has massive round arches open on three sides, making a very grand entrance to the church.

A mysterious looking ground level door in one of the pillars supporting the tower reveals a square stair turret (becoming cylindrical) that goes all the way up to the fifth stage and is topped with a rather graceful conical roof.

  • Captivating architecture

  • Glorious furnishings

  • Spectacular stained glass

  • Accessible toilets nearby

  • Dog friendly

  • Level access to the main areas

  • On street parking at church

  • Parking within 250m

  • Space to secure your bike

  • Walkers & cyclists welcome

  • Catholic Church

  • Maintenance Grant, £3,000, 2018

  • Our Maintenance Grants funded urgent maintenance projects to help keep churches open.

  • Cornerstone Grant, £10,000, 2022

  • Our Cornerstone Grants fund urgent repairs and essential community facilities such as toilets and kitchens to help keep churches open.

Contact information

Other nearby churches

St James

Wetherby, Yorkshire

There seem to have been chapels of the Knights Templars and Hospitallers in Wetherby but these would be distinct from a parochial chapel for the use of the ordinary laity.

St Mary

Tadcaster, Yorkshire

Remains from the church’s early life and history can be seen just inside the church, there are fragments from a Saxon cross, an ancient gravestone with scissor markings, as well as remains from a Norman arch and some ancient stained glass from the medieval church.