How a famous Yorkshire firm of architects designed churches in our area is the topic of an upcoming lecture.
The church of St Mary’s Dunsforth are raising funds for a reordering of the building, and are hosting Dr Colin Canfield, an expert on the firm of architects Mallinson and Healey of Bradford and Halifax, to hold a lecture in September.
The firm designed St Mary’s, as well as St James Boroughbridge and St Mary and All Saints Cundall and 32 other churches, plus schools and parsonages (including those in Lower Dunsforth) in Yorkshire in the period of 1845 to 1863.
Michael Wildblood, PCC Treasurer at St Mary’s said: “I met Dr Canfield in May of this year when he gave a talk on the firm’s work to the Halifax Antiquarian Society, and I found it fascinating.
“How the firm responded to the massive church-building programme of the mid 19th century, how it got its work, how it sought to give value for money in terms of cost per pew, how it competed with London ‘star architects’, how it developed patterns for some of the churches’ details, how its work expanded as the railways were built; they all came into the narrative.
“His talk in September will show how their three churches in the Boroughbridge locality fitted into the general pattern of their work.”
The talk will be held on Friday, September 8, at 7.30pm, at St James’ Boroughbridge.