Chantry Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin: The Yorkshire chapel which stands in the middle of a busy road bridge

Chantry chapels were built for the purpose of special services to celebrate the dead, and it was commonly believed these liturgies might help atone for sins and reduce their time in purgatory.

However, during the Reformation, the Abolition of Chantries Acts brought about their closure.

The Chapel of St. Mary survived only because it was such an integral part of the medieval bridge on which it still stands.

Built in the mid-14th century, the building measures just 50 feet (15m) by 25 feet (8m) and is 36ft (11m) high.

After services were forbidden in the mid 1500s, the chapel was used mainly for secular purposes, including as a cheesecake shop, library, corn merchant’s office and tailors.

Its restoration as a church came in Victorian times when the Oxford Movement revived interest in medieval buildings.

A new front was designed by the noted church and cathedral architect, George Gilbert Scott, and it reopened for worship in 1848.

Since then, air pollution has caused extensive damage to the carved facade and it had to be replaced.

A Friends of Wakefield Chantry Chapel group was formed in 1991 and raised £100,000 to pay for numerous structural repairs as well as new lighting and heating.

Since the year 2000 it has been cared for by the Dean and Chapter of Wakefield Cathedral.

Services are still held there, including Holy Communion on the first Sunday of the month and evening worship on the third Sunday of the month.