Site of St Peter's Church, Fryston

Transcript and photograph of the war memorial

History of St Peter's, an extract from One Road In, One Road Out, a people's history of Fryston (pp 6,7) by David Waddington. (see bibliography for full details and isbn number.)

When they started sinking the pit, they put so many houses up for the people who were doing it. One of them must have had a daughter and she died. And of course, the nearest church was St. Andrew's, Ferrybridge. So, they set off with this corpse through Fryston Park, which was the quickest route to Ferrybridge at that time. Lord Houghton stopped them and asked them where they were going and why. When they told him, he said, "I'm not having this. I'll build you a church and I'll give you a cemetery." And that's how St. Peter's came into being in 1896. He also gave £100 for the vicar's stipend. £2 a week: it'd be a good wage at that time. (Ex-Fryston man).

St. Peter's, itself, was built by local workmen from the colliery. Land was given by Lord Houghton of Fryston Hall; roughly about four and a half to five acres of land, which incorporated the position for a war-memorial, which happened later, the church building itself and a small churchyard. It was built and dedicated for full use on the Feast of the Epiphany, 6th of January, 1896.

  The overgrown cemetery at St Peter's gets a £7,000-plus facelift over three months, starting 10 August 1983.
Pontefract Council for Voluntary Services and The Manpower Services Commission agreed to a request from the vicar, Revd Philip Sweeting and jointly funded the massive clear up. The improvements include the clear up of the churchyard and laying a new walkway round the church as well as improving existing paths and repairing a crumbling section of the churchyard wall.
Ten local men were employed on the scheme.

Steve Gledhill notes,

West Yorkshire Archives show the following on their website :-
Level Collection
Repository Wakefield Headquarters (GB 201)
Finding No D185
Extent 13 boxes
Title Airedale Holy Cross with Fryston St Peter, parish records
Date 1896-1984
Description Including baptisms 1905-1970, marriages 1927-1982, burials
1920-1947, interment register 1898-1956, banns registers 1958-1984, service
registers 1896-1981, confirmation register 1923-1958, terrier 1936,
Parochial Church Council minutes 1927-1986, electoral roll 1934-1970,
Airedale building committee fund minute book 1929-1934, and records and
plans re Jubilee Appeal 1984, baptisms 1971-1993, marriages 1982-1992,
services 1932-1993, vestry minutes 1931-1988, History of the parish 1994, St
Peter's Mission service register 1972-1991
Subject PARISH RECORDS
RelatedMaterial Register list only.
CatStatus Catalogued
Place Name /AIREDALE/FERRY FRYSTON/FERRY FRYSTON/YORKSHIRE WEST RIDING

  

Copyright Guy Etchells © 2001 All rights reserved.

Permission is granted for all free personal and non-commercial uses. It is my intention to make all data contained herein freely available for all private, non-profit and non-commercial uses. Commercial use of any portion contained herein is expressly prohibited.