Welcome to Our Lady and All Saints Catholic Church, Otley

Our Catholic Faith community, drawn together from the town of Otley and its neighbouring areas, is centred round the Church of Our Lady and All Saints, which was built in 1851 to the design of the York-born architect, Charles Francis Hanson. Situated in the grounds of his home, the Manor House, the church was built at the expense of local solicitor, Thomas Constable and his sister, Mary Anne Constable, for the benefit of the growing Irish population of the town who had fled famine in their native land. Within a few short years, the church was extended to accommodate the growing number of local Catholics. In addition to this the Constables provided the Catholic children of the town with St. Joseph’s School, then located on Crow Lane, near to where many of the Irish families lived.

In the spirit of the original welcome, hospitality and kindness offered to our forebears in the Faith by the Constable family our Parish community today endeavours to live out what it celebrates on a daily basis in both Sacrament and Word.

As well as being firmly rooted in the traditions of the Catholic Church, the Parish has close links with the other Christian communities within the town and beyond, as part of Churches Together in Otley.

Adjacent to the Our Lady and All Saints Church is St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary Academy, which welcomes children from Reception to Year 6. This is a school within the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust (BWCAT) which embraces Catholic primary and secondary schools in North Leeds and North Yorkshire. Details of the school’s life and prospectus can be found on their website: www.stjosephsotley.org

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Nicholas Hird
OurLadyAllSaints.Org