These are the history pieces which appeared in the Batley St. Mary of the Angels and Birstall St. Patrick’s bulletin during September 2026. As the parishes are jointly administered and a single bulletin produced, the history pieces are not solely focused on St. Mary of the Angels, although St. Patrick’s was not formed as a separate parish until 1905. Prior to that it was part of St. Mary’s.
As part of the St. Mary of the Angels One-Place Study I have written in more detail about some of these events, and where this is the case the link to the fuller piece is included.
05/06 September 2026
On 06 September 1953, after 12 months in the parish of St. Patrick’s, Rev. Father Patrick Creed left to take up an appointment in Sheffield. From County Tipperary, he had been a priest for 14 years, and initially served at St. Joseph’s, Castleford. His cousin (and namesake) was St. Mary’s parish priest, Father Patick Creed.
Jane Roberts – Parish Historian, Website: https://pasttopresentgenealogy.co.uk
12/13 September 2026
Following decoration and restoration of the church, Sunday services resumed at St. Mary’s on 14 September 1952 for the first time since the end of July. The work also included repairs to the slates and roofing. All but the work to the sanctuary was now finished, with the mosaic and marble work there expected to be completed at end of October. One of the most outstanding features of the decorating was said to be the lettering of the of the Magnificat about the top of the walls, and the Hail Mary, which made an unusual dado. Whilst the church was out of action, services had taken place in the Parochial Hall. For more about the early history of the Parochial Hall click here.
Jane Roberts – Parish Historian, Website: https://pasttopresentgenealogy.co.uk
19/20 September 2026
The Requiem Mass for Councillor Patrick Higgins took place at St. Patrick’s on 20 September 1938, following his death four days earlier from double pneumonia. He served on Birstall’s District Council for nine years, and whilst Chairman in 1935-36 he proclaimed the accession of King Edward VIII. Following Birstall’s amalgamation with Batley in 1937, he was one of Birstall’s representatives on Batley Town Council. A former coal miner, he was heavily involved with work for the unemployed. Integral in securing a branch of the County Library for Birstall, he played a prominent role in Council education matters. This included as Chairman of Birstall Education Committee, and latterly as a member of the Batley Education Committee. He was heavily involved with St. Patrick’s Church and Schools, of which he was manager. He was active with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, was vice-president of the Heavy Woolen District Catholic Action, a vice-president and life member of St. Patrick’s Church Young Men’s Society, and chairman of the recently formed sports club. His greatest social interest was the Birstall Boots for the Bairns Fund, providing footwear for school children whose families could not afford them.
Jane Roberts – Parish Historian, Website: https://pasttopresentgenealogy.co.uk
26/27 September 2026
On 26 September 1900 St. Mary’s teacher Mary Ellen Leach, daughter of Forester’s Arms landlady Mary Leach and her late husband John, married Batley plumber Harry Wood. In what was described as a smart Irish wedding at St. Mary’s, the bride – who was given away by her brother, Thomas – wore a dress of white moiré silk trimmed with pearl and Honiton lace, and a veil of Brussels net topped with orange blossom. Her chief bridesmaid, Miss Cissie Brennan, wore a cream corduroy dress and a picture hat. Her three young nieces, Annie and Ellen McDonald and Mary Leach, wearing heliotrope dresses, acted as train bearers. The reception was held in the Masonic Hall, St. James Street, where supper was also provided, along with dancing late into the night. The couple honeymooned in Larne, County Antrim. Amongst the wedding gifts, the bride gave the bridegroom a gold hoop, and he gave her a diamond and ruby ring and cheque. Other gifts included a crucifix, shells, cigars, a gent’s gold watch, a gallon copper kettle, a silver basket, a silver tea service, a fire screen and masses.
Jane Roberts – Parish Historian, Website: https://pasttopresentgenealogy.co.uk
