page_title: St Mark's Church, Huddersfield
section_title: Structure
hierarchical_section_title: St Mark's Church, Huddersfield / Structure
caption_attribution_description: Former Church of St Mark, Old Leeds Road, Huddersfield, North Yorkshire, England. Built 1887, designed by architect William Swinden Barber. View, looking north, of Huddersfield Broad Canal with the former church in the background.
context_page_description: The former St Mark's Church, Old Leeds Road, Huddersfield, was an Anglican parish church in West Yorkshire, England. It was previously known as St Mark's, Leeds Road, before the road name was changed. This building was designed in 1886 by William Swinden Barber when the parish of St Peter's was split and a new building was required to accommodate a growing congregation. It was opened in 1887. Among the vicars posted in this benefice were the very popular Canon Percy Holbrook, the notoriously unfortunate Reverend Jonas Pilling who was involved in a standoff with his congregation for many years, the sociable Reverend Robert Alfred Humble who died in mysterious circumstances, and the eloquent preacher Reverend Joseph Miller, who had previously been a Congregational minister. The building was sold by the Church of England in 2001, and it has been converted into a block of offices.
context_section_description: In the face of limited funds and a large congregation to be roofed over, the building was designed to be as plain as possible.  Therefore, a mission-church style was chosen, having no clerestory, and with plain detail. The building occupied all of the available ground from west to east, leaving only a narrow margin between it and the canal. The Huddersfield Chronicle described the west end of the building: 
  "The principal external feature is the west elevation which abuts on the Leeds Road, and whatever interest may attach to it is due rather to outline than to any elaboration of detail. A central buttress of slight projection separates the long two-light windows, and from this buttress there rises a bold cross built into the wall, the termination of the arms being formed of blocks on which are to be carved the emblems of the evangelists, the main gable being crowned with a plain bell turret."
   In the event, by 1887 the centre block in the cross carried an image of a suffering Jesus, and the bell turret carried a bell made by Mears & Stainbank. Due to its proximity with Huddersfield Broad Canal, the foundations of the east wall were deep and made of concrete.  The canal company's engineer had to draw off the canal water twice during the building's groundwork, before the foundation stone was laid.
caption: This stretch of canal was emptied to allow building of foundations
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