St
Barnabas’ Church
Clarksfield, Oldham
The history of St Barnabas’ Church
The first ever wedding at St Barnabas’ Church
Early years: before St Barnabas’ was a separate Church
It could
be said that St Barnabas Church or, ‘Mission Church’ as it was known then, had
two distinct beginnings. Its establishment as
a place for divine worship and religious instruction may be set down to the
year 1870. In that year the Revd John Goldie French, Curate of Saint James’ was
instructed to hold Cottage meetings in the Parish. French later became the
longest serving Vicxar in our sister Church of Holy Trinity, Waterhead. In fact, the site of the first Church wouldn’t even be
within our parish as it is today, as it was nearer to St James’. The area at
that time was full of mill cottages, so these meetings became known as ‘Cottage
Meetings’.
The Lees Road side of the Parish gave occasional hospitality
but it was not always easy to get a room, so after a conference with the Vicar
of Saint James’ he was authorised to rent a room in Marsh Street. There he
began regular Wednesday evening services, a harmonium was obtained and singers
enlisted, after a few weeks it became evident that there was scope for a Sunday
School, with Mr Joseph Holt as its first Superintendant.
A little later a regular Sunday Evening Service was
inaugurated, and good congregations were the rule.
In 1884 a new phase in the history was entered upon the
erection in Back Marsh Street of Saint Barnabas Mission Church, the foundation
stone of which was laid by Mrs T. H. Radcliffe and the opening ceremony took
place on Saint Barnabas’ Day, 11 June, 1884.
A new Church
Work carried on here for 28 years until 1909. Owing to the
growing of Saint James’ Parish to such large proportions, a scheme was inaugurated
by the then Vicar of Saint James’ (The Revd H.F. Walker, MA) whereby a new
Parish would be formed which would include the rapidly growing district of
Clarksfield. The boundaries of the new Parish were to be:– Lees Road, Cow Lane,
Dunkerley Street, Huddersfield Road, Spring Street, The Cemetery and
Clarksfield Road.
The site of the present Church, Parish Hall and Vicarage was
given by the Lees family of Clarksfield House. In 1910, a sum of £1,500 was
assigned for the building of a new Church School, which was the foundation of
the present Parish. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs John Ogden of Moorhey
House, on 25 November 1911 and on 20 July 1912 the new Church Hall was
dedicated by the archdeacon of Rochdale.
A Bazaar was held in November, 1913 towards a fund to build a
separate Church but the First World War interfered with this plan and—until
1924 Saint Barnabas was a Mission Church of Saint James’, served by Lay Readers
and Curates from that Church.
In 1924, Saint Barnabas was declared a Conventional District,
which meant that the Parish was separated legally from Saint James’. At the
same time, the Revd G. K. Knowlson joined the new Parish as its first
Priest-in-Charge.
The buildings that had served as a combined Church and Parish
Hall now became the Church and a new Parish Hall was built.
The present Church was dedicated by the Lord Bishop of
Manchester, Dr Guy Warman on the 27 February 1932. He was accompanied as
Bishop’s Chaplain by Canon Aeneas E. Mackintosh, the Rural Dean and Vicar of
Oldham. The Church wardens were Mr Fred Russell and Mr Eli C. Bayliffe, and the
Vicar was the Revd Sydney Cook. It was reported that the Church was full half
an hour before the start of the service, the Parish Hall next door was also
full and people were standing outside around the doors. In his address the
Bishop said he had been impressed by the fervour and enthusiasm of the people
of the new Parish and he felt confident of its future.
A house at 76 Clarksfield Road was purchased for a Vicarage.
To raise the necessary monies towards its cost, the church supported a levy
fund of a sixpence a week.
A new Parish
The new Parish quickly found its feet and took its place in
the life and work of the Deanery and Diocese. The Pews, Font, Altar Table and
Choir stalls came from the defunct Church of Saint Michael, Angel Meadow,
Manchester and other items of furniture came as gifts from friends. Indeed
throughout its life the Church has been fortunate in its benefactors, a list of
such gifts being too long to give in this space.
The loyalty of the congregation was to be put to the test
when on the night of 29 May 1958, the Parish Hall was completely gutted by
fire. The alarm was first raised by the Signalman on duty at Mumps Railway
Station, he notified the Fire Brigade that a large fire had broken out in the
Clarksfield district but the fire was too far advanced for the building to be
saved. The Fire Brigade did however prevent the flames from spreading to the
Church and other adjacent buildings. One window in the Church was damaged in
addition to minor damage from smoke and water. The fire was to prove the
Christian spirit prevailing amongst the various denominations in Oldham who
offered to help in the loan of premises in which to hold meetings and social
functions.
On 2 June 1958 a special meeting of the Parochial
Church Council was called at which it was decided to found the Saint Barnabas
Church Fire Fund with a target of £15,000 with Mr Harold Sutcliffe as
Treasurer. All efforts were directed towards the building of a new Parish Hall
and within a year £7217 had been received. Mr Harold King was appointed as
Architect and submitted plans were accepted by the PCC. A loan of £1,000 for
ten years, free of interest was made by the Diocese. Tenders were invited and
the work on the building to Messrs. Whitworth Whittaker of Oldham. Building
commenced and on Sunday 11June 1961 Saint Barnabas Day, the foundation stone
was laid by the Lord Bishop of Hulme, (The Rt. Revd Kenneth Ramsey, MA.) after
he had celebrated at the Family Communion. The Hall was opened on January 20
1962. One of the older members of the congregation, Mr. Alfred Holt, had
accepted the invitation to perform the opening ceremony but died only a few
days before the event. In his place, Mrs. Willett (whose husband, Canon
Willett, the Rural Dean, dedicated the building) was invited to open the Hall.
The day was one of great rejoicing for the parishioners, making as it did, the
culmination of a great endeavour. The new Hall was packed to capacity for the
Social Evening afterwards.
As the work on the building of the Hall finished, the
construction of the new Vicarage commenced in front of the Church at a cost of
£6,500. The first occupier was the Revd Frank E. Baldwick.
The Induction of the Revd G. Herman Nuttall, BA. Dip. Theol.,
took place on October 28, 1965 he was Inducted by the Archdeacon of Rochdale,
The Ven. L. G. Tyler.
At the time of the Centenary in 1970, the old property in the
vicinity of Spring Street and Raper Street had been demolished to make way for
a new Council Estate, providing the Parish of Saint Barnabas with a new field
of evangelism among the incoming tenants of the new housing.
The only
way this could have been achieved was through the tremendous fund-raising
activities of its parishioners. We may not have the prettiest Church but we are
extremely fortunate and proud of the people that attend Barnabas. The way we
pull together in times of crises and the way we celebrate our successes are
second to none.
We have
recently linked the two buildings together, which has given us excellent
disabled access. This gives us a tremendous opportunity to reach out to even
more of the local community than we do at present. Our Church services are well
attended and can be lively affairs, which the children particularly enjoy, with
lots of visuals and musical instruments for them play.
The Vicars of St Barnabas’ Church (and the
year that each started office)
|
Sydney Cook |
1931 |
|
Henry Park |
1936 |
|
Joseph Palmer |
1946 |
|
Philip Leigh |
1951 |
|
Arthur Newall |
1955 |
|
Frank Baldwick |
1960 |
|
Herman Nuttall |
1965 |
|
Donald Gilbert |
1970 |
|
Edwin Bennett |
1974 |
|
Jim McManus |
1979 |
|
Stephen Harrop |
1984 |
|
Frederick Corbin |
1989 |
|
Douglas Oates |
2001 |
|
Team
Vicars |
|
|
Douglas Oates |
2006 |
|
Paul Monk |
2009 |
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posted 16 October 2011