Holy Trinity Church, Leicester

Holy Trinity Church is an Anglican parish church in Leicester, England.

Holy Trinity Church, Leicester
Holy Trinity Church, Leicester
Holy Trinity Church, Leicester
Location within Leicestershire
52°37′43″N 1°7′51.4″W
LocationLeicester
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipCharismatic Evangelical
Websiteholytrinityleicester.org
History
DedicationHoly Trinity
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade II listed[1]
Architect(s)Samuel Sanders Teulon
Completed1838 (rebuilt 1871)
Administration
ParishHoly Trinity with St John the Divine, Leicester
DeaneryLeicester[2]
ArchdeaconryLeicester
DioceseDiocese of Leicester
ProvinceProvince of Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)The Revd Elaine Sutherland
Assistant priest(s)The Revd John McGinley and The Revd Jitesh Patel
Curate(s)
The Revd Chris Szejnmann
AssistantAlex Scott, Simon Braker and Stephen Gorton
Holy Trinity Church, 19th Century

Background

The Victorian building is situated on Regent Road to the south of the city centre, close to the University of Leicester, De Montfort University and the Leicester Royal Infirmary. Holy Trinity is an Evangelical, Charismatic and Anglican church. Elaine Sutherland was appointed as Vicar in March 2020 and John McGinley is the Associate Vicar. Jitesh Patel was appointed as Associate Vicar in March 2018.

History

The Church Building Act of 1818 provided funds for two new Leicester parishes, one of which was Holy Trinity. The church was built in 1838 to Sydney Smirke's classical design as the city expanded, and formed part of a new suburb. The new parish, also established in 1838, was created out of part of the parish of St Mary de Castro Church.

In 1872, Holy Trinity was completely redesigned by Samuel Sanders Teulon in a High Gothic style, with spire and side turrets in red-purple brick with limestone decoration.

During the 19th century the church had wooden pews and a single central aisle, with balconies on both sides of the church; the central aisle was occupied by the middle classes and the balconies by their servants. Access to ground floor was via the main church entrance, with two side entrances for the balconies.

Vicars
  • William Hill 1838 - 1865
  • Edmund Davys 1865 - 1876
  • James Arthur Faithfull 1878 - 1882
  • Edward Grose-Hodge 1890 - 1894[3]
  • W. Jeffry Thompson 1894[4] - 1906
  • Frederick Papprill 1905 - 1921
  • R. Chalmers ca. 1939
  • John Aldis 1980 - 1989
  • Roger Morgan 1990 - 2008
  • John McGinley 2009 - ????
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Buildings

A significant building project was carried out in 2018–2019, resulting in a reordered building, including main worship space, and entrance area that incorporates a coffee house. The existing balcony has been extended with new stairs within the Chancel, and the stage area has been reordered.

The chancel end wall has five arched stained glass windows featuring contemporary designs of the Parable of The Sower (see Matthew 12:1-24), above which there is a more traditional floral design including an emblem of the Trinity, with smaller windows featuring "The Truth" and "The Life", but there is not a window depicting "The Way" (see John 14:6). The chancel marble end wall also features a depiction of the Last Supper.

The pipe organ was transferred to a church in the Netherlands in mid-2018.

The church and nearby buildings are now part of the New Walk conservation area.

Present

Holy Trinity is a Mission-Shaped church, where church members belong to mid-sized Mission Shaped Communities (MSCs) based around geographical locations, social networks or interests. Holy Trinity states that its vision is to "be a community that glorifies God by transforming Leicester and beyond."

The church community is made up of a range of different ages, including many children and young people and a large population of University Students. Holy Trinity is also connected with the ministry of the Charismatic Evangelical movement New Wine and John McGinley, the Vicar, is New Wine's designated leader of Church Planting.

The church is actively involved in outreach into the local communities in Leicester including an expanding ministry to the city's Homeless called "Triangle".[5] Holy Trinity runs the Alpha course throughout the year as well as a multimedia and arts table-talk style event called "Questions", pioneered by the previous vicar, Roger Morgan.

The Sunday services follow a theme during each term. The morning services are family-oriented with music by a live band, and the evening tends to attract more students and young adults. At each service the sermon is recorded and later made available as a podcast; sermons can be downloaded individually from the church website in MP3 audio format. Average attendance at the Sunday services totals 500.

Organ
The organ of 1901, by J. Porritt of Leicester

The organ was removed in May 2018. A specification of the pipe organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[6]

Organists
  • Edwin John Crow 1861 - 1866[7] (later organist of Ripon Cathedral)
  • James M. Morland ca. 1873
  • Walter James Bunney 1884 - 1905 (afterwards organist of St Peter's Church, Leicester)
  • Vincent Dearden ???? - 1913[8]
  • James William Wilson 1913 - ???? (formerly organist of St Matthew's Church, Leicester)
  • Dennis Arnold Smith 1932 - 1938
  • Alec McGregor 1977 - 1995
gollark: Or rather consumerism day.
gollark: Have an expensive capitalism day!
gollark: Have an enjoyable religion- and culture-neutral winter solstice celebration!
gollark: I knew unstar was a good idea.
gollark: µønæðß

References
  1. Historic England. "Church of Holy Trinity (1074807)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  2. "Leicester Holy Trinity". Archbishops' Council. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  3. "Canon E. Grose Hodge". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. Leeds. 3 April 1928. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  4. "The new Vicar of Holy Trinity". Leicester Journal. England. 22 June 1894. Retrieved 1 February 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Homeless Outreach – Triangle". Holy Trinity Leicester. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  6. "National Pipe Organ Register". British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  7. Humphreys, Maggie; Evans, Robert (1 January 1997). Dictionary of Composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland. A&C Black. p. 80. ISBN 9780720123302.
  8. "Local News". Leicester Daily Post. England. 29 July 1913. Retrieved 1 February 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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