St. Anne

Introduction

Saint Anne's Church in Keighley, within the Diocese of Leeds, was built in 1840 and serves as the mother church of all surrounding parishes in the diocese.

History

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin designed the church in 1840, and it was altered and enlarged in 1907. In 1823, Father Burgess of Myddleton Lodge offered the first Mass in Keighley after the Reformation at the house of Mr Jack Carr. Father Hampson, a Benedictine, established a permanent mission in 1835 and became the first resident priest in Keighley since the Reformation. In 1907, an extension was formally opened that nearly doubled the church's length and reoriented the building by placing the main altar and sanctuary at the opposite end. In September 2016, the parish of Our Lady of Victories and Saint Anne was formed through the amalgamation of Saint Anne's Parish and the Parish of Our Lady of Victories Keighley.

Architecture and furnishings

The interior features a round-arched arcade on the north side, pointed arches at the crossing, an open timber roof, and marble altar rails, pulpit, altar, and an elaborate Gothic reredos with a mosaic picture. The church is built of ashlar and has pointed lancet windows, with new east and west ends.

In 1915 a new high altar and reredos was built, with two large mosaic panels showing Moses and the Israelites fed with manna and the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. The reredos has niches with large statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and four smaller statues of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint William of York and Saint John the Evangelist. The front of the altar has three mosaic panels showing Isaiah, Saint John the Baptist and Melchisedech. The church contains a statue of Saint Anthony, two large statues of Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph, and a copy of the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

The original altar of the church has the Pieta set in the front and above it a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The chapel of Our Lady is on the left of the sanctuary, the Sacred Heart chapel on the right, and further right is the statue of Saint Anne with her daughter the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Visiting

The church is situated in the middle of town, just down the road from the library and opposite the Picture House cinema in North Street. The church is a 10 minute walk from the railway station, with direct trains from Leeds, Bradford and Skipton every 30 mins and a regular service from Carlisle. The bus and coach station is a five minute walk from the church, with bus services throughout West Yorkshire and beyond.