---
title: "Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield"
description: "Located in Wakefield, Yorkshire. Built c.1350; west front a C19 reproduction. Diocese of Leeds. Grade I. Decorated Gothic style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Yorkshire","Wakefield","Grade I","Decorated Gothic","Bridge Chapel","Chantry"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/chantry-chapel-st-mary-virgin-wakefield"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T03:02:30.223Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-09T12:31:23.762Z"
location: "Wakefield, Yorkshire"
country: "England"
county: "Yorkshire"
town: "Wakefield"
address: "Chantry Bridge, Wakefield, Yorkshire, WF1 5DJ"
postcode: "WF1 5DJ"
built: "c.1350; west front a C19 reproduction"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Mary"]
diocese: "Leeds"
grade: "I"
style: "Decorated Gothic"
materials: "Ashlar; parapet of ogee blank arcading (C19 restoration)"
website: "https://www.chantrychapelwakefield.co.uk/"
openingHours: "The chapel is open every Bank Holiday weekend, and every Saturday from June to September from 11am to 3pm."
parish: "Wakefield All Saints"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1258242"
gridReference: "SE 338 201"
accessNotes: "Accessible toilets nearby. Level access to the main areas"
---

# Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield

The Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I chapel on the east side of Wakefield Bridge, Kirkgate, projecting from the central arch over the River Calder, in the Diocese of Leeds and the parish of Wakefield All Saints.

## Overview

Historic England records a three-bay chapel of about 1350, resting on a high blank undercroft founded in the water. The fabric is ashlar, with a parapet of ogee blank arcading restored in the nineteenth century. Large square-headed windows have chamfered reveals, head-stopped drip moulds and flamboyant tracery, with octagonal corner pinnacles. The west front is a reproduction of the decayed original, which was removed to Kettlethorpe Hall. Five narrow bays hold three doors with traceried panels between; crocketed ogee arches sit within ornamented gables. A tall parapet has five relief panels from the lives of Christ and the Virgin. The five-light east window matches the side tracery.

The interior has a rebuilt roof of old timber, with panelled borders and bosses and applied tracery in the east bay, leafy carving on the tie beams, a small newel stair at the north-east corner, a crocketed spirelet above a replaced saint on the east wall, and a piscina with a crocketed ogee head. Wikipedia notes that this is the only survivor of four medieval chantries in Wakefield and the oldest and most ornate of the surviving English bridge chapels. The medieval bridge is a scheduled monument.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1258242](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1258242)
- [British Listed Buildings: Chapel of St Mary on Wakefield Bridge](https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101258242-chapel-of-st-mary-on-east-side-of-wakefield-bridge-wakefield-east-ward)
- [Wikipedia: Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, Wakefield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantry_Chapel_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin,_Wakefield)