St Mark's Church, Leicester

St Mark's Church, Leicester
52°38′34″N1°07′42.4″W / 52.64278°N 1.128444°W / 52.64278; -1.128444
Location	Leicester
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Dedication	St Mark
Consecrated	25 April 1872
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II* listed [1]
Architect(s)	Ewan Christian
Groundbreaking	1870
Completed	1872
Closed	1986
Specifications
Length	99.5 feet (30.3 m)
Nave width	31.5 feet (9.6 m)
Spire height	168 feet (51 m)

St Mark's Church, Leicester is a Grade II* listed ^[1] former parish church in the Church of England in Leicester, Leicestershire. ^[2]

History

The foundation stone was laid in 1870 by the Bishop of Peterborough. The church was the gift of William Perry-Herrick and built to the designs of the architect Ewan Christian. The contractor for the foundations was Firn of Leicester, Osbourne of Leicester constructed the building. The clerk of works was James Nichols. The bells were supplied by Taylor of Loughborough, and the clock was from Moore of Clerkenwell, London.

The church was consecrated on Saint Mark's Day, the 25th of April 1872 by the Bishop of Peterborough. ^[3]

The stained glass windows inserted at the time of the consecration in the chancel were by Ward and Hughes. Later additions include windows in the south east chapel by Henry Holiday in 1893 and in the north east chapel by Charles Eamer Kempe in 1895.

The west end was completed in 1903 by Ernest Charles Shearman.

The apse contained a painting by James Eadie Reid dating from 1910 “The Triumph and Apotheosis of Labour”.

Redundancy and subsequent use

The church was made redundant by the Church of England in 1986 after which it remained vacant until being converted into a conference and wedding venue known as The Empire Banqueting Hall in 2005.

Incumbents

• Canon H.J. Burfield 1872 ^[4] - 1883 (formerly vicar of St James’ Church, Bradford)
• John N.B. Roodroffe 1883 - 1896 (formerly vicar of St Mark’s Church, Peterborough, afterwards vicar of King’s Cliffe)
• Frederick Lewis Donaldson 1897 - 1918 (later Archdeacon of Westminster)
• Albert Linwood Wright 1918 - 1946 ^[5]
• John Fielder 1946 - 1954 ^[6] (afterwards vicar of Knighton)
• Harold A. Raymond 1954 - 1957
• Charles J.E. Stephens 1957 - 1976
• Peter Farrell

Organ

The pipe organ was built by William Hill & Sons in 1871. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. ^[7]

References

1. Historic England. "Church of St Mark, Belgrave Gate (Grade II*) (1300759)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 July 2015.
2. The Buildings of England. Leicestershire and Rutland. Nikolaus Pevsner. Yale University Press. ISBN   0300096186
3. "Consecration of St Mark's Church, Leicester". Leicester Chronicle. Leicester. 27 April 1872. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
4. "Presentation to the Vicar-Elect of St Marks, Leicester" . Leicester Journal. England. 12 April 1872. Retrieved 9 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "Canon Linwood Wright Canon Missioner" . Leicester Daily Mercury. England. 21 August 1946. Retrieved 9 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Rural Dean is New Vicar of Knighton" . Leicester Daily Mercury. England. 12 January 1954. Retrieved 9 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "NPOR [N04500]". National Pipe Organ Register . British Institute of Organ Studies . Retrieved 27 July 2015.

External links

• The Empire Banqueting Hall