Kate Taylor, MBE (1929–2015) was a member of the Wakefield Court Rolls committee of the YAS for more than two decades, latterly serving as its publicity officer and organiser of the symposia which accompanied the launch of many of the volumes in the series. Publicity and Wakefield were indeed the twin themes of her busy and fruitful life. Whilst reading English at Oxford she worked during the vacation for the Yorkshire Post and this predilection for journalism remained a major aspect of her life. This life was spent in Wakefield, where she attended the Girl’s High School and after St Anne’s College returned to teach, later taking posts at teacher training colleges nearby.
She immersed herself in local life with considerable vigour and became a prominent figure in the life of both the Unitarian and the Anglican Churches (her funeral was held at the Westgate Unitarian Church, her memorial service at Wakefield Cathedral), in constituency politics and in the local history and the environment of Wakefield. Wakefield Historical Society, the Friends of the Wakefield Bridge Chantry, and the local Gissing Trust were only three of the bodies which benefited from her abundant energies. She also found time to write prolifically on the architecture and history not only of her own town but also of Barnsley and Doncaster.
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