Description

LEEDS

SE2835SE VICTORIA ROAD, Hyde Park
714-1/70/879 (South side)
30/04/82 Bethel First United Church of Jesus
Christ
(Formerly Listed as:
VICTORIA STREET, Hyde Park
(South side)
Bethel United Methodist Church)

GV II

Church. 1886. Sandstone with gritstone dressings; brick and
timber with stone details on E and S sides, slate roof. Gothic
Revival style.
PLAN: a large church with a hemmed in but lofty street
elevation, the body of the church set on a splayed angle with
basement to rear.
EXTERIOR: 2-bay portal approached by steep steps, shafted and
pointed trelobe arches, applied gable with diaperwork and
rosettes. Large 5-light window above with quatrefoil tracery,
steep gable overall, flanking buttresses capped by tall
pinnacles. This centrepiece is flanked by very narrow
buttressed bays, that to NE abutted by a narrow square tower
with louvred bell stage, corner pinnacles and rising above, a
3-stage slated timber spire. The foundation stones, one at the
base of each buttress, are dated 28 July 1886 and were laid
by, from left to right: Mrs Harry Walker of Leeds, Mrs James
Mathers of Leeds, Richard Ellis Esq. JP Mayor of Harrogate,
William Mart Esq of Leeds, and Mrs James Wheatley of Leeds.
Right return: brick with flush ashlar 2- and 3-light windows
with trefoils, shallow roof below narrow clerestory which is
entirely timber-framed with quatrefoil lights; transept
crossing wing with 4-light mullioned windows with trefoil
heads to 2nd floor.
INTERIOR: the main doors open into a lobby with doors left and
right to gallery stairs and offices; steps up to an ornate
composite floor decorated with fleurs-de-lis, the coved
ceiling has raised panels of vine scrolls; a timber partition
with fine stained glass (bird and flower motifs) separates the
lobby from the galleried meeting room with cast-iron columns
and inserted ceiling. A stained-glass window in the E wall
commemorates William Mart, 1840-1897 one of the founders of
the church. Original pews and dais with carved Gothic Revival
style balustrade. Gallery not inspected.

Listing NGR: SE2875535460

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26547335

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)