A BOOK charting the trials and tribulations of the Diocese of Wakefield has been launched at Huddersfield University.
Written by historian Kate Taylor, the book was commissioned by the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Rev Stephen Platten, to mark the 125th anniversary of the diocese next year.
The Rt Rev Platten said: “I am delighted with this book. It shows the diversity of the life of the church and celebrates the breadth and depth of our common life.”
Kate, a lay canon at Wakefield Cathedral, spent four years researching the book which examines the diocese from its planning stages in the 1870s and its creation in 1888 to the present day.
The former Wakefield Girls High School pupil and Oxford graduate writes about the growth of the diocese and its period of retrenchment from the 1970s with the uniting of parishes and church closures.
She notes the change from churches being open just for worship on Sundays to their being open for much of the week for social and community use and examines the contribution made by the two religious houses, the Convent of St Peter at Horbury, and the Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield.
The book was launched with a lecture on the history of the Church Of England by a former Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev Richard Harries.
The book, usually priced at £12.99, is available from the Cathedral shop or Church House at Church House at Wakefield for the special price of £10 or three for £25 before Christmas.
Contact reception@wakefield.anglican.org or call 01924 371802.
