St Barnabas’ Church
Clarksfield, Oldham

 

The history of St Barnabas’ Church

History of the building

List of St Barnabas’ Vicars

St Barnabas’ Church, Clarksfield

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. 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.

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 was interfered with this plan and until 1924 Saint Barnabas was a Mission Church of Saint James’ served my Lay Readers and Curates from that Church.

In 1924, Saint Barnabas was declared a Conventional District, which meant that the Parish was separated from Saint James’; and the Revd. G. K. Knowlson became the first Priest-in-Charge of the new Parish.

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 A. E. Mackintosh, the Rural Dean. 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.

The 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.

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.

Vicars of St Barnabas’ Church (and the year they 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

Ed Bennett         1971

Jim McManus       1979

Stephen Harrop   1984

Fred Corbin         1989

Doug Oates         2001

Paul Monk           2009


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Page posted 22 November 2009