St Aidan’s church in Leeds is well worth seeking out. It is not always open but has an informative website. It is a Romanesque, Victorian church, and rather forbidding externally. But inside you are amazed by the sumptuous furnishings, pulpit, massive font, carved capitals, organ case etc and above all the amazing unique mosaic of 1916. This consummate work of religious art was executed by Frank Brangwyn, and it depicts the life and works of St Aidan. It is huge. It fills the semicircle of the apse behind the high altar. It is a feast of detail and colour. After a century the colours remain vibrant. There are also very powerful and moving mosaics on two cancelli lower down. These depict what the Prayer Book calls all sorts and conditions of men. The people are bringing their frailties and afflictions to God. The mosaics are stunning.
Steps, alas, to the high altar and the St Aidan mosaic, but it and the other mosaics can be viewed from the floor. Park in nearby streets. Go at 11 on a Sunday – they will have finished their 10 o’clock service……. coffee, and a warm welcome from a cosmopolitan congregation.
