United Benefice of Thornhill & Whitley Lower
Serving our local communities
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Whitley Lower Parish Church
dedicated to St Mary and St Michael and situated in the delightful village of Whitley.
We are part of the United Benefice of Thornhill and Whitley.
Service of Holy Communion at 11.15 each week
we hope that you can come, not that you should come.
Whitley Church is open every Thursday and Saturday
10am-4pm*
Please come in and see this peaceful and beautiful building
Rector - Revd Debbie Nash
Contact Churchwarden 01924 499833
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Every 3rd Saturday 2024
an initiative from both our churches
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Coming Soon to Whitley
events for Whitley are included in the Pew Sheet and
feature on the What's on Page in the main section of the site
For full details of services and events in the Benefice please check the News Calendar and Services page
view of interior showing new toilets and entry lobby at top right
view of interior showing restored East end**
Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults
We take this issue really seriously and our policies, approved by the Church of England and our Diocese, are designed to underpin this.
Our church safeguarding officer is Heather Fielden 01924 491104 for Whitley
Please find Church of England policy for safeguarding here and more information from the Diocese of Leeds safeguarding can be found here
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If there are immediate serious concerns about the safety of a child or
Adult you should contact the Kirklees Safeguarding Team
KIRKLEES : Child day 01484 456848 OUt of hours 01484 414933
Adult Day 01484 221000 Out of hours 01484 414933
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News Archive
Whitley Parish Church Saturday 7th September 10-12 Join us for our fabulous MacMillan coffee morning. We'll be serving lashings of tea, buckets of coffee, crispy crumpets, marvellous muffins and heavenly home-made cakes, all with the Whitley Welcome!
Harvest at Whitley
Whitley enjoyed their Harvest service These photos show some of the lovely floral displays decorating the beautiful church for this special day
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One of the highlights of the calendar at Whitley is our Christingle service held on Christmas Eve at 4.00 p.m.
We are often very lucky to welcome Jeremiah the donkey along with Mary, Joseph and the angel Gabriel
(with the help of our enthusiastic volunteers) into church this year
The Local Area
With a population just below 500, the parish of Whitley Lower is set around the two villages of Briestfield and Whitley bordering the larger parish of Thornhill. It is mainly a rural farming area with little industry or commerce except a haulage depot near the church and an Ice Cream Parlour. The local pub in Whitley - the Woolpack is thriving and serves excellent food and drink.. There are no shops in either community which means travelling at least 5 miles for major shopping. Whitley has an hourly bus connection to Thornhill, Dewsbury and Wakefield, but there is no service for Briestfield.
Whitley and Briestfield formed a part of the ancient parish of Thornhill and became a parish in its own right in 1847, with the building of St Mary and St Michael’s.