St James' Parish Church, Wetherby

St James' Parish Church
Parish Church of St James
53°55′47″N 1°23′11″W / 53.9298°N 1.3864°W / 53.9298; -1.3864Coordinates: 53°55′47″N 1°23′11″W / 53.9298°N 1.3864°W / 53.9298; -1.3864
Location	Wetherby, Leeds, West Yorkshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Website	St James Wetherby
History
Dedication	St James
Administration
Parish	Wetherby
Deanery	Wetherby
Archdeaconry	Leeds
Diocese	Leeds
Province	York

St James' Parish Church is an Anglican parish church serving the parish of Wetherby with Linton in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England.

Wetherby was a chapelry in the ancient parish of Spofforth until its parish church was built in 1842. Before then the chapel of ease was served by clergy from the mother church in Spofforth. A chapel was mentioned in 1301 and again in 1546. A dilapidated thatched chapel in the Market Square was demolished in 1760. It was replaced by another in 1763 and that too was demolished in 1845.

Curate, William Raby of Spofforth came to Wetherby in 1833 and embarked on two building schemes, St James' Church and Wetherby Town Hall. On 3 April 1838 a meeting of civic and ecclesiastical figures agreed to build a church with a graveyard. The backers included two brewers, two surgeons, two solicitors, two innkeepers, the curate, a wine and spirit merchant, a farmer, a craftsman, a non provincial dealer, a postmaster and a 'gentleman who between them owned 21% of the land in Wetherby and leased another 25%'. Each subscribed at least £20.

The site for the church occupied three roods of barley field provided by Edwin Greenwood of Keighley, the principal non-resident purchaser at the great sale of Wetherby in 1824. An access road was provided from the market place and Great North Road on land provided by John F. Barlow of Aldfield House.

The first stones were laid on 1 April 1839 by Quentin Rhodes who contributed significantly towards the initial cost of £4000. The church was built from stone quarried at Collingham. The church was consecrated by Longley, Bishop of Ripon on 1 February 1842 and cost of £4,300. The 1877 the church was refurbished at a cost of £1000 raised by local subscriptions.

Not long after completion, 60 residents petitioned the Bishop of Ripon complaining about the curate, Raby, and his allocation of pews and other abuses by his 'masterful hand'.