Beer festival to celebrate 150th anniversary of Leeds church

The Bishop of Ripon declared St Chad’s Church in Far Headingley open for worship as a parish church on January 11 1868.

Hundreds of people are set to attend celebratory services at the church at 10.30am and 5.30pm this Sunday followed by a torchlit procession in the evening.

Rev Tom Lusty, priest in charge of St Chad’s, said a series of events with a ‘150 theme’ are set to take place this year.

A sponsored bell ringing will take place for 150 minutes from 5pm on Thursday. (January 11)

And ten riders are due to take part in a 150 mile sponsored bike ride in aid of church funds from Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire to St Chad’s on Friday June 22 and Saturday 23.

The cyclists will be able to get a refreshing drink when they arrive at St Chad’s Broomfield Cricket Club Far Headingley Beer Festival.

The beer festival will be held on Friday June 22, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 at the parish centre.

Rev Lusty said: “Most Far Headingley residents will be familiar with the parish centre but may not have set foot inside the church. We are aiming to open up the church for 150 extra occasions this year which we will try to publicise widely.”

Yorkshire cricket legend Brian Close’s memorial service was held at St Chad’s in November 2015.

And St Chad’s, which is used as a rehearsal space by Leeds Festival Chorus and Leeds Symphony Orchestra, may be familiar to TV viewers.

It featured in Kay Mellor’s recent ITV show ‘Girlfrields’ and was extensively used for TV show ‘Fat Friends’. For more information go to www.stchads.co.uk