IN THE parish of St Mark’s Longwood, on land donated by the Holroyd sisters of Stainland, a small building was erected and opened in 1865 for use as a mission church and day school.
In 1978 with the building of the M62 the parish boundaries were altered and the association of St Mary Magdalene’s Church with St Mark’s in Longwood was severed.
St Mary’s now became part of the parish of Stainland, and a new partnership was formed with St Andrew’s Stainland.
In 1984 the Sunday School was sold and the money used to turn St Mary’s into the dual-purpose building in use today.
In 2002, after 91 years of worship and service, St Mary’s was finally consecrated as a parish church.
The parish was renamed, becoming the ‘Parish of Stainland with Outlane’.
The church’s centenary will be celebrated on the anniversary of its dedication in May, but an exhibition of photographs and other mementos will be combined
with a gift weekend on Saturday and Sunday, March 5 and 6.
The Outlane School (Longwood Board) was founded in 1885 and occupied the original Church School premises until the completion of a new school building in 1886.
The Parochial Church Council finally decided that the old mission should be replaced with a larger church.
The foundations were laid in 1910 and on May 13, 1911 the new church was dedicated by the Bishop of Wakefield, Dr Eden.
It was constructed in 14th century style and cost £1,200. As the new building was not to be used exclusively for public worship, it could only be dedicated, not
consecrated.
