St Mary's Church

St Mary’s Church stands in the centre of Harrogate, a Grade II* listed building designed in 14th-century English Gothic style by Walter Tapper. It replaced an earlier parish church built in 1824 on land bought by local ratepayers, including a £500 grant from the Million Act. The new church opened in 1916 and once held a ring of eight bells cast by Taylors of Loughborough. A stone-vaulted south chapel contains the tomb of Richard Chapman Lofthouse, a Crimean War surgeon who founded the original church. After closing in 2007, the building was restored as Kairos Church, now meeting nearby in Westcliffe Hall. The church’s interior includes an organ installed in 1919 by Harrison and Harrison, replacing an earlier instrument from 1895. Organists such as J. E. W. Lord and A. Beaumont once played here before the building was declared redundant. The tower once housed the heaviest bells, now removed to a Dutch church where they form the heaviest ring on the European mainland. The south chapel’s memorial to Lofthouse records his service in the Indian Mutiny as well as the Crimean War. Visitors find the church’s tall Gothic windows and stone vaulting striking against the Harrogate streetscape. The south chapel remains largely unchanged, with its original memorial and tomb preserved. The organ’s case stands in the chancel, its pipes still used for services. Outside, the churchyard borders Westcliffe Hall, now home to Kairos Church’s congregation. The building’s plain exterior gives little hint of the intricate Gothic details within.