Built in 1826, St Paul’s is the original Parish Church of Shipley, a former mill town in West Yorkshire, now part of the Bradford Metropolitan District. In 1818, the vicar of Bradford, Mr Henry Heap, along with a group of Shipley residents, obtained a grant from the ‘Million Act’, which provided £1m nationwide to fund the building of churches. This enabled the building of St Paul’s Church, which was designed in the Gothic style by John Oates of Halifax, and constructed between 1823 and 1826.
The interior of the church was originally plain with seating in the form of box pews which had high sides and a door into the aisle. These were rented by families. However, St Paul’s also had free seats in the galleries to the north, west and south. The windows were of plain glass, there was no heating and only a single candle for the preacher to see his notes. There was also no organ – instead, music was provided by a small choral society and “an odd admixture of instrumentalists”. In 1828, Shipley became a parish and Mr Thomas Newberry was appointed as the first of 15 vicars (to date) on £50 per year. A year later, in 1829, an organ was installed at the west end of the church. In 1859 the first stained glass window was erected by Francis Barnett of York. Over the next few years, further stained glass windows were added, along with gas lighting and the installation of a clock in the tower.