| The Church of St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The Church of St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene | |
| OS grid reference | SE 46352 04559 |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Anglo Catholic[1] |
| Website | Parish of Goldthorpe and Hickleton |
| History | |
| Dedication | St John the Evangelist andSt Mary Magdalene |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Alfred Young Nutt |
| Administration | |
| Province | York |
| Diocese | Sheffield |
| Parish | Goldthorpe |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Rt. Revd.Stephen Race SSC (AEO) |
| Priest | Fr C. R. Schaefer SSC |
St John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene Church is aparish church in theChurch of England Diocese of Sheffield inGoldthorpe, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England.
The Church ofSt John the Evangelist and St Mary Magdalene, inGoldthorpe, nearBarnsley,South Yorkshire,England was built in 1916. It is an early example of aferro-concrete building and is now a Grade IIlisted building.
Commissioned byCharles Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax, a former owner ofHickleton Hall, it was designed byAlfred Young Nutt in 1914. Nutt had been recently forcibly retired asSurveyor to theDean andCanons ofSt George's Chapel, Windsor.[2] Its strangeItalian style is unique in this part ofSouth Yorkshire and is distinctly odd for aDearne Valleymining village.
It was the first large church in England to be built almost entirely in reinforced concrete, including all the principal internal furnishings within the church (which are of finely-finished concrete), thePresbytery, which is attached to the church, and even the boundary walls.[3] The experimental nature of this construction, however, meant that the composition of the concrete allowed acidic water to leach through and rust the metal core of the walls. By the 1990s the church structure was showing significant signs of degradation and had to be substantially reinforced, with theHeritage Lottery Fund part-funding the repairs. The church was re-hallowed in June 2002.
The Church consists of a South West Tower, Porch, West Gallery, Nave, North and South Aisles and aChancel withApse. There is aLady Chapel on the south side of the chancel, withvestry on the North side.
Viscount Halifax was a prominentAnglo-Catholic layman and his taste in church adornment is reflected in the Italianate detailing, classicalbaldacchino altar canopy and simpleRoman CatholicBasilica church plan withcampanile.[4] The baldacchino canopy is supported by four black pillars with gildedcapitals, under which there is a largeCrucifix in black with burnishedhalo - a copy of a work byDonatello.
Thetower is a Venetian-styled campanile, above which there is a four faced clock, each face six feet in diameter.[4] To the clock were attached bar-bell chimes which could be rung independently of the mechanism, but these fell into disuse and were removed in the 1950s.[5]
According toPevsner, the pulpit bought by the church in 1931 is 18th-centuryFlemish.[6]
The church formerly had achapel of ease dedicated toSt Michael, based at the neighbouring village of Highgate. This was closed in 1983 and the altar and crucifix installed under the tower.[7] In 2006 astained glass window was installed commemorating the village'scoal mining heritage.[8]
There is a side-chapel dedicated toSt John andSt Mary on the south-east corner of the church. During the refurbishment of the church in 2002, two pictures which hung above thealtar were discovered to be works by Sienese master,Sano di Pietro. Valued at about £300,000, these were removed to the safe keeping ofYork Minster.[9]
The church is joined in pastoral care withSt Wilfrid's Church,Hickleton.
53°32′08″N1°18′07″W / 53.535600°N 1.301920°W /53.535600; -1.301920