Mount St Mary's Church Leeds AKA The Famine Church: UK March 2015

The abandoned Mount St Mary's Church or The Church Of The Immaculate Virgin Mary was designed in a Gothic Revival Style by the architect Joseph Hansom and construction started in 1853. However the building work was never completed and only the nave and side isles were built. The architect Edward Pugin completed the design working on the chancel and transepts. Finally with construction complete at a total cost of £8000 the church opened in 1866.

Once completed this large church must of been stunning. Even though it has now been mostly stripped so much intricate details remains in the guise of grand arches and multiple sculptures. Everything here is big at length of 50 metres and a width of 30 metres its no small church and all the features are big too. The last image is one of myself to give you a sense of scale. If you can even spot me!!

Being set on a hill the church is exposed to strong winds and various repairs were needed. During renovation work in 1953 access to an old coal mine was discovered.

Due to the development of Leeds and a large rehoming project the parish population declined. With repair work estimated to be around £1.5million, it was deemed not feasible to keep the church open and it closed in 1989.

It was later sold to a housing trust who have yet to make any progress with whatever plans they have.