The parish of Tong was formed from the parish of Birstall^[1]. Until 1867 the church was a parochial chapel, but then became a vicarage. It had paid £2 to the Vicar of Birstall for synodals, and 5s. to the church wardens ("rogues money"). By William Cudworth's time (1876) the living had been much increased, and was worth between £700 and £800 a year^[2].

The stone built church, not far from Tong Hall and near the gates of Tong Park, was rebuilt in 1727 by Sir George Tempest of Tong Hall. However, traces of Perpendicular work remain and Craddock, writing in 1933, suggested there had been a restoration in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. He also thought that there may have been a "rude chapel on the spot before the Norman Conquest. Certain is it that one was built there in Norman days. To this the high arch and piers of the Tower .... still bear witness. Perhaps we may date it 1140-1150"^[3].

Interestingly, evidence to back this up was found in 1979 when the then vicar, Rev. Alan Kitchen, decided to deal with damp in the church. There were some remarkable finds underneath the floor, including some pre Norman Conquest discoveries. Two burial grounds were found, one dating back to the 17th century and perhaps into the 16th. A Norman nave and chancel, dating from possibly 1140, were uncovered and underneath was evidence of two single cell churches, thought to be pre 1066 in date^[4].

Cudworth thought the church, with its square tower, was a plain building. He did recount a touching story about one of the men who built it. John Nelson, the Birstall Methodist preacher, wrote in his journal—"The first time I ever saw my wife was at Tong, where I was going to build the new church. I did not know who she was, or where she came from ; but, at first sight, I said in my mind, 'That is the woman I asked of God in prayer;' and I fully determined, if I got married, I would live in his glory^[2]."

To the right of the church gates are the eighteenth century stocks whilst the mounting stone is just out of the shot on the left of the gates in the top image. Ball-head finials top the gate piers. The church door, with an arched fanlight above it, is directly opposite the gates. The windows of St. James' are of plain glass and are also topped by a rounded arch.

Inside the Church.

When a historical society visited the church in 1991 Rev. Gordon Dey spoke about its history, telling the group that it was one of the few churches which still had high box pews and a three-decker pulpit^[5]. Arthur Mee mentioned the box pews in 1936 ; a high one for the squire complete with fireplace and lower ones, with iron latches, for the rest of the congregation. A three decker pulpit rises above them^[5]. "The pulpit and pews are of fine black oak, and ... many of the seats of the latter are made out of carved panels of oak taken from the old hall^[2]." There had been an earlier hall at Tong, which unfortunately had burnt down, although some of the panelling had survived.

The two postcards, below, provide good views of the sanctuary and part of the nave.

Photographic postcard taken before 1918. "The Altar is almost hidden from the Nave by the Lord's square pew on the north side of the Chancel. Till recently (1933) it was two or three feet above the floor level, the oak-work being highest on the Altar side. It contains a fireplace and a set of hanging pegs[3]."

Craddock also tells us that opposite the Lord of the Manor's pew, "on the south, is a square pew for the Hall maid-servants. Adjoining this, just outside the Chancel, is a " three- Decker," of which the highest floor was used for preaching, the next for reading prayers, and the lowest by the Clerk. On either side of the Sanctuary were two long forms, which used to be placed in front of the Altar rails for the scholars, who sat with their backs to it.^[3]." We can also see a priest's chair within the sanctuary in the first image of the interior.

The church was then lit by gas. However, what helps to provide a time frame for this photographic card are seven composite Tempest achievements, painted on wood, above the Lord's pew on the north wall. Six have the Tempest motto, "Loywe as thow fynds," and the seventh: "Re-surgam" (I shall rise again)^[3]. In the photograph there are at least five of them above the pew, with the furthest one above a door.

However, in 1919 Mrs. Tempest, then Lady of the Manor, placed a large marble monument in the Jacobean style on the same wall. It was in memory of Sir Robert and Sir Tristram Tempest, her father and brother. The seven Tempest achievements had to be re-arranged in a sort of diamond shape, which we can see in the second view of the interior, below. The monument itself is on the far side of the Lord's pew.

View of the chancel from the nave, showing the set of three steps that the Tempest family needed to climb to reach their pew[2]. In 1950 the extra higher box pew for the squire was "protected by a shiny brass knob and lock"[6]. "The rest of the Church is furnished with high pews, fitted with doors[3]."

Just below and to the right of the hymn board is a curious object, an almost heart shaped piece of oak with two wooden pegs mounted on it; the one at the top is the larger of the two. It was described by Cudworth as "a relic of the cocked-hat period"^[2].

Some comments about Tong's Registers

The church registers date from 1550. They begin with the marriage of "William Stringfellowe and Marie Pickard were married the third of May Anno predicto" [the year aforesaid]. The first baptism is of "Elizabeth Walker the daughter of Walker was baptised the xviiith of March Anno predicto"^[7].

There are several early burials, the first three being:

"Se. xpopher [Christopher] the sonne of Willim Stringfellow was buried ye xxxth [30th] of May 1551"^[7]. [Se. or S. are abbreviations of Sepult - i.e. buried.]
"S. uxor [wife] Johannis Morwell sepulta erat xviith [17th] die Octobris Anno 1551"^[7].
"S. uxor [wife] Ric. Goodall of pnew Sepult xviiith [18th] January Anno dm 1551"^[7].
[Assuming the burials are in order in the register, and they may not be as they were copies from an earlier book according to Craddock, this could be 1552 as the record is immediately after the two previous entries and would have been an old calendar date.]

The registers also record the 1681 burial of "Walter Hoole Senr who had been Clarke at Tonge 60 years was buried June the 6th"^[7].

Occupations are often given in the 18th century register, with the most common being that of labourer. We also find occupations one would expect in a thriving village: agricola, barber, blacksmith, carpenter, collier, farmer, husbandman, innkeeper, joiner, maltster, mason, miller, nailer, roper, tallow chandler, tanner, shoemaker/ cordwainer, wheelwright, and yeoman. Others reflected local industry so there were card makers, clothiers, linen weavers, stuff weavers and stuff makers whilst some were perhaps higher up the social scale as they were described as gamekeepers, gentlemen, ministers and school masters^[3].

The web mistress has a personal interest in Tong, as many Stead and Hargreaves ancestors as well as a few Walkers were christened or married in the church; they were eventually buried in the churchyard.

Perhaps the most notable burial, because he was one of the longest lived, was that of Richard Stead, Yeoman, buried here in 1816 aged 91^[7]. His great grand daughter, Rhoda Dorcas Stead, was christened in the church two years before. The earliest record for a member of the Stead[e] family in Tong is that of "Robert Steade who was buried the xviijth [18th] of Aprill Anno Domini 1572"^[7].

In 1590 we find "John Wilson and Lettice Hargreave were married the xxth [20th] day of September in the year above written"^[7]. In 1800 "Laurence Hargreaves Sadler Aged 75 June 25th Buried"^[7]. Laurence was the last of Ann's direct Hargreaves ancestors to be buried in the churchyard.

Richard Stead held 3 seats in the 6th row of the middle aisle in 1731, alongside John Newton and Jane Hutchinson who were both allocated 2 seats^[8]. His son, Richard, served as one of the two Chapel wardens for six years between 1786/7 and 1791/2. Lawrence Hargreaves was a Church Warden in 1784/5^[9].

Some of their descendants, including Rhoda Dorcas, were buried in Tong Cemetery, which opened in 1859^[10]. Others were interred at Westgate Hill Wesleyan Methodist^[11], Pudsey St Lawrence and a few at Pudsey Fulneck.

References:

^[1] Kelly's Directory of Yorkshire, 1881

^[2] Cudworth, William (1876) "Round About Bradford", Thomas Brear, Bradford. Also with thanks to Anne Hennessy.

^[3] Rev. H. C. Craddock M.A. "A History of the Parish of Birstall" (1933) SPCK

^[4] "Bradford Telegraph and Argus", 1979, by Peter Dobbie. Again, with thanks to Anne Hennessy.

^[5] "Huddersfield Daily Examiner", 19 June 1991.

^[5] Mee, Arthur Mee, Arthur (ed.) (1936) "Yorkshire - The West Riding", The King's England Series, Hodder and Stoughton Limited, London. Extract from the late Alice White of New Zealand, like the web mistress a former Stead ONS member.

^[6] "Halifax Evening Courier", 11 July 1950.

^[7] Tong St. James' Registers published on microfiche from the Wakefield Archive. Their ref 50D90 1/1/1 Tong St. James Registers for the earliest records shown above. In addition, Dr. Don O Asquith of California carried out a very considerable amount of research of the Stead family, using the Tong Bishops Transcripts, when we both began researching our respective ancestors in the parish. Please note that for many years the registers used the Old Calendar where January, February and March were counted as being in the previous year. See About the Baptisms and Burials, (under Matlock).

^[8] Allocation of Pews in the church, 1731, from the PR.

^[9] Wakefield Archive Reference 50D90 1/1/1, fiches 11 and 12, Tong St. James Register. Both Richard and Lawrence were the 5 x great grandfathers of the web mistress. Note the use of the old calendar dates still in use in the registers, mentioned in ^[7] above. Other members of both families had also been wardens.

^[10] Part of the cemetery, covering 3½ acres, was partly consecrated (from "White's Directory of Bradford, Halifax ...," 1887).

^[11] Westgate Hill Wesleyan Methodist burials from research by the late Kenneth Hargreaves.