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Foreword

There has been a good tradition of both cathedrals and dioceses producing histories of their development. With those dioceses established in the past 150 years, this tradition has been less universal. Wakefield is but one good example of this. The diocese was set up in 1888 as a rather tardy response to the Industrial Revolution in this part of West and South Yorkshire, formerly part of the West Riding. Since then there have been notable developments and transformations both within the Church of England and in wider society. In these pages Kate Taylor charts this history with the twin skills of a scholarly mind and an attractive style.

The year 2013 marks the 125th anniversary of the Diocese of Wakefield, and in these potently nostalgic days even such an apparently inauspicious anniversary plays its part. It seemed appropriate, then, on this anniversary, to commission a history. This is now still more appropriate with the possibility that the three dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds, and Wakefield will all lose their individual identity if the proposals of the Dioceses Commission are implemented.

I would like to give my warmest thanks and pay tribute to Kate Taylor, who has gained some distinction as a local historian, particularly in the field of theatre history. She has completed this history as ‘a labour of love’ with enormous energy and great skill – not to mention fun. Her visits to Bishop’s Lodge to read through records have been a pleasure for us all. We offer this history both as a contribution to this coming anniversary and also to the wider knowledge of the growth and development of the Church of England in this part of West and South Yorkshire.

+Stephen Wakefield

Easter 2012