The following is an extract from Arthur Mee’s ‘The King’s England, Yorkshire, West Riding, first published in 1941.

A manufacturing town with a great trade in rag and wool, it has an imposing town hall and a peace memorial with a soldier looking down on the marketplace. Holy Trinity Church, rebuilt last century, is a lofty pile looking its best outside, its great central tower crowned with a spire. The quaint little house of 1684, near Storrs Hill road, would be a familiar sight to Benjamin Ingham*, the Ossett boy who began life in 1712, became an enthusiastic member of the Oxford group known as Methodists, and was a lifelong friend of John Wesley. He was with Wesley in Georgia, but when he came back he joined the Moravian settlement near Leeds, and afterwards formed a strange religious order of his own known as Inghamites.

 THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY AND UNDIVIDED TRINITY

Research by Anne-Marie Fawcett and Steve Wilson

Standing 226 feet tall and situated on a plateau some 300ft above sea level, the Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity dramatically dominates the skyline for miles around. A large impressive church, it is an important and instantly recognised landmark in the area and was afforded Grade ll* listing in May 1988. 

Ossett has been served by chapels and churches since around 1409 and this magnificent edifice replaced the original Trinity Church which had been erected in the Market Place in 1806 – which itself replaced an even earlier place of worship. The old church was largely financed by Reverend Edward Kilvington who ultimately became so big and heavy that he couldn’t get up the stairs of the pulpit. This led to the installation of a three-decker pulpit, which in reality was a primitive lift. Before the Sunday service, he got into his chair at the bottom of the pulpit steps and then the church sexton, by hauling a rope, slowly wound him up to the top level! The old church, which was said by some to have looked more like a courthouse and was described as ‘small, inconvenient and an obstruction to traffic’, was inadequate for the needs of the township; yet it was almost 60 years before a new church was provided.  

The old Chapel of Ease was sketched by JK Garlick, Ossett Borough Surveyor. To give us an idea of where it once stood Steve Mitchell has used the only photo known to exist of its demolition in 1866.

Born in Middlesex in 1825, Thomas Lee was the son of a gentleman and was said to be ’eminently suited to serving Ossett’. By the age of 28 he was the curate of St Mary’s in Bilston, Staffordshire. That same year, 1853, he married Harriet Ann Norman, the daughter of a stockbroker. Rev Lee was the first vicar of the new Holy Trinity Church.

In 1858 Ossett was declared a separate parochial district, having previously been in the parish of Dewsbury. In this year, Rev Thomas Lee was offered the living at Holy Trinity Church – but not the one with which we are familiar. This church was actually a chapel of ease and it was situated in the Market Place (still known then as Dale Street). The chapel was built in 1809 and replaced a much earlier place of worship but as the population of Ossett grew, the church became inadequate for the needs of the town and it was decided to build a new one.

In 1861 three acres of land on Field Lane was purchased and later that year a licence was obtained to use it as a burial ground. Joseph Wilson was the first burial there in December 1861 and today almost 16,000 people are buried in this graveyard which contains many Victorian monuments and 15 Commonwealth war graves. The new church was to be built on the adjacent land and subsequently the name of the thoroughfare was changed to Church Street. 

Rev Lee and his wife Harriet lived in the Vicarage on Dale Street with their son, Freddy. They were also to have a daughter but sadly she died in 1874 shortly after her first birthday. She was laid to rest in the churchyard of the new Holy Trinity Church, with her father leading the burial ceremony.

In 1877 Rev Lee moved his family to Islington, where he became the Vicar of St John the Baptist until 1883. Rev Lee died in October 1892 and Harriet died the following October. Their only surviving child, Frederick Bethune Norman Lee, also became a vicar. That’s a great name already but, in 1881 he changed it to ‘Frederick Bethune Norman Norman-Lee.’ He was ordained in 1883 and became Chaplain to the Forces.

Although it would seem that the service record of Chaplain/Colonel FBN Norman-Lee hasn’t survived I can tell you that, during the years 1883 – 1899 he served at Chatham, Aldershot, the Curragh in Ireland, Nova Scotia in Canada, Gosport and Portsmouth. In the South African War of 1899 – 1901 he was chaplain to the 6th Division and took part in the relief of Kimberley and the battles of Paardeberg and Bloemfontein. As if all that wasn’t enough, he also served during WW1. Rev Frederick Bethune Norman Norman-Lee died in 1921 in Hampshire. He left a widow but no children.

The foundation stone of the new church was laid on June 30 1862 by Benjamin Ingham who was the nephew of the Ossett born Benjamin Ingham snr*; the founder of the trading dynasty of Ingham, Whitaker & Co. in Sicily. It is claimed that Benjamin Ingham snr was possibly the greatest tycoon England has ever known and when he died in 1861 he left a fortune of £12,000,000. That would now be the equivalent of more than £1 billion. He didn’t forget his Ossett roots and bequeathed £1,000 of his fortune to the Church Building Fund:- equivalent to almost £90,000 today.

The honour of laying the first stone of the new church fell to Reverend Lee. He also had the honour of being hoisted to the top of the church to lay the last stone on the steeple. He then unfurled a Union flag as a brass band played ‘Rule Britannia’!

The architect in charge, William Henry Crossland of Halifax, was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, whose Gothic Revival influence is apparent throughout. The main features include: a 226ft spire, one of the tallest in Yorkshire; a 16 bell Belfry, allowing a unique 15 bell peal; magnificent stained glass windows; an Isaac Abbott organ; an original four faced Potts turret clock; and significant Last Supper reredos, pulpit and stone carvings. Though initially estimated at £8,000, alterations and additions to the original plans meant that the final cost of construction amounted to around £16,000 (more than £945,000 today).

Such was the scale of the project that, during the consecration service of 14 July 1865, the Bishop of Ripon made reference to ‘this miniature cathedral’. Ossett stood in the Diocese of Ripon from 1836 until the Diocese of Wakefield was created in 1888. In 2014, following the dissolution of the historic dioceses of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds and Wakefield, Ossett became a part of the Leeds Diocese. Covering an area of around 2,425 square miles, and a population of around 2,642,400 people, this is one of the largest dioceses in the country and its creation is unprecedented in the history of the Church of England.

The Church of Gawthorpe St Mary the Virgin was built in 1899. It closed in 2002, largely because of diminishing congregations and a new road layout making access difficult for pedestrians. In 2007 planning permission was granted to convert the old church into a modern apartment block but this was deferred and the church stood empty for four more years. The fine old church was eventually demolished in January 2011 to make way for residential housing. The parish of Ossett & Gawthorpe was formed in 2002 with the amalgamation of Holy Trinity, Ossett and St Mary’s, Gawthorpe and Chickenley Heath and it was decided to adopt a new ‘working title’ to reflect the coming together of the two congregations. Trinity Church was decided upon, named after the church which was situated in Ossett town centre almost a century and a half earlier.

 

EXHUMATION OF BODIES FROM THE

OSSETT GREEN BURIAL GROUND

Around 1969 the old Burial Ground at Dimple Wells, The Green, Ossett was bought by a builder. The bodies were exhumed and moved to Gawthorpe Burial Ground

NAMES OF BODIES EXHUMED & DATE BURIED

1	Samuel Mitchell	2nd March 1835
	Martha Mitchell	30th March 1840
2	Nancy Riley	20th May 1837
3	Elizabeth Butterfield	20th May 1837
4	William Ellis	9th December 1826
	Joseph Ellis	6th March 1828
	Hephzibah Ellis	8th April 1830
	Henry Ellis	24th January 1838
5	Thomas Saxton	2nd February 1822
	Robert Saxton	27th January 1828
	Nancy Saxton	11th October 1840
	Eliza Saxton	9th September 1884
6	Robert Saxton	16th May 1849
	Susannah Saxton	6th February 1859
7	Susannah Saxton	6th December 1859
	Benjamin Saxton	8th May 1888
8	Mary Ellis	12th June 1840
	Joshua Ellis	2nd November 1852
9	Hannah Scott	19th October 1811
	Charles Scott	13th January 1826
	Martha Scott	19th May 1853
	Mary Scott	29th August 1833
10	Thomas Mitchell	17th November 1830
11	Joshua Mitchell	30th September 1828
	Enoch Mitchell	4th December 1829
12	Mary Mitchell	14th December 1828
	Thomas Mitchell	18th November 1829
	Martha Mitchell	30th August 1844
13	George Pickard	7th March 1852
	Sarah Pickard	14th May 1857
14	Hannah Walshaw	23rd.April 1837
15	Philip Dews	7th March 1861
16	Mary Moss	11th February 1851
17	John Archer	1st November 1822
18	Sarah Wilson	23rd September 1834
	John Wilson	23rd January 1848
	Nancy Wilson	2nd January 1843
19	Nancy Grace	16th February 1841
20	Frederick Mitchell Briggs	8th March 1850
21	Seth Mitchell	14th October 1839
22	Joseph Mitchell	13th January 1835
	2 children in infancy
	Nancy Mitchell	2nd September 1838
23	Hannah Mitchell	27th November 1845
	Nathan Mitchell	10th August 1870
24	James Briggs	10th August 1839
	Mary Ann Briggs	28th May 1840
25	Henry Kenyon Ambler	18th August 1877
26	Grace Wilby	4th December 1821
	Judith Scott	14th May 1830
	Frances Wilby	22nd February 1848
27	Eliza Ward	23rd March 1883
	Henry Herbert Ward	5th October 1862
28	F. W.Clegg	7th August 1844
	Mark Clegg	23rd March 1849
	Jemima Clegg	13th June 1867
29	Ann Mitchell	13th March 1827
	Samuel Mitchell	18th March 1833
	Sarah Mitchell	7th July 1836
	David Mitchell	18th March 1885
30	Philip Oakes	16th November 1853
	Thomas Edwin Oakes	28th October 1881
31	Jane Oakes	31st Januaryl837
	Charles Oakes	14th June 1837
32	Nathan Oakes	21st April 1830
	Benjamin Oakes	22nd April 1828
	Edward Oakes	4th April 1836
	Benjamin Oakes	25th February 1846
	Nancy Oakes	29th December 1860
33	Nancy Ellis	13th August 1874
	Philip Ellis	7th January 1878
	Emily Jane Ellis	4th November 1892
	Eli Ellis	26th April 1894
34	Samuel Oakes	27th May 1851
	Nancy Oakes	19th January 1851
	Jane Oakes	27th June 1855
	Alice Oakes	18th May 1858
	Benjamin Oakes	23rd April 1851
35	Joshua Briggs	4th November 1858
	Hannah Briggs	29th January 1874
36	? Charles	May 1858
37	Susannah Clegg	1st February 1865
	Emma Clegg	14th July 1861
38	Mary Brook	26th July 1857
	Thomas Brook	8th August 1857
39	Hannah Archer	2nd August 1852
	Abraham Archer	21st January 1867
40	Philip Brook	1st August 1855
	Eli Brook	28th March 1856
	Simon Brook	9th June 1850
	Sophia Brook	28th August 1862
	Harriett Brook	14th August 1876
	J.C. Brook	27th May 1885
41	Francis Giggal	18th May 1856
	Mary Giggal	15th May 1887
42	Harriett Jenkinson	13th November 1871
	Joseph Jenkinson	10th February 1873
43	Joseph Haigh	11th October 1864
	Sarah Haigh	30th April 1900
44	Elizabeth Audsley	18th November 1830
	Mary Audsley	29th December 1819
	Hannah, Martha, Isaac & Ann   – In infancy
	Joseph Audsley	4th February 1862
	Sarah Dews	8th January 1889
45	John Audsley	13th December 1830
	Joseph Audsley	27th July 1859
46	Benjamin Banes	11th March 1830
	Martha Banes	12th July 1833
47	Margaret Giggal	1st March 1830
	David Giggal	16th April 1835
48	Millicent Ellis	8th May 1847
49	Sarah Ellis	29th March 1834
	Samuel Ellis	7th April 1846
	Mary Ellis	24th April 1856
	Ann Bennett	10th July 1852
	Mary Ellis	24th April 1856
	Philip Ellis	17th July 1877
50	Thomas Pawson	4th February 1837
	4 children in infancy
	Rachel Pawson	17th December 1865
51	Joshua Moss	11th July1830
	George Moss	26th May 1872
52	Benjamin Mitchell	22nd June 1844
53	John Boothroyd	30th December 1862
	Susannah Boothroyd	20th June 1876
54	?
55	Jabez Radley
	Hannah Radley	2nd October?
	Jabez Radley	23rd March 18?
	Martha Radley	17th August 1871
	George Radley	23rd February 1896
56	George Saxton	21st June 1865
	Martha Saxton	19th November 1882
57	Mark Pickard	7th July 1865
58	Hannah Pickard	25th April 1862
	Andrew Pickard	18th September 1890
	Hannah Pickard	29th June 1891
59	George Pickard	10th June 1892
	David Pickard	6th July 1882
	David Pickard (Jnr)	17th February 1878
60	Sarah Clafton	February 1859
	? Clafton	12th April 1859
61	Mary Ellis	24th April l853
	John William Ellis	18th May 1863
62	Susan Ely	1st June 1853
63	Elizabeth Ely	9th November 1851
	Martha Ely	19th June 1853
	Thomas ?	11th June 1879
64	Edmund Dews	7th July 1829
	John Archer	17th July 1852
	Ann Dews	12th May 1855
	John Archer	17th July 1832

 Information courtesy of Lawrence Son & Thorp (Solicitors) Ossett

(Supplied by the late Jean Crabtree)

More information about the Ossett Green Burials and other material can be obtained from wdfhs.co.uk