St Bede's Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, England. The

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

church, designed by Weightman and Hadfield, is situated on the corner of Station Road and St Bede's Road in

Masbrough Masbrough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was named as the west of Rotherham by the middle of the Industrial Revolution, namely that part on the left bank of River Don, South Yorkshire, Don. Historic counties of England, ...

near the town centre. Built from 1841 to 1842, it was opened eight years before the Restoration of the English hierarchy in 1850.

History

Foundation

The church was built on a piece of land donated to the local Catholic congregation by Benjamin Badger. In 1842, in ''The London and Dublin Orthodox Journal'', he was reported as saying, "Although a member of the Church of England, you know from long acquaintance that I am no bigot. As therefore you mention the great want of a place of worship for the poor Catholics of this place and their inability to purchase land ... I will give you 1,000 yards of the front land you think so eligible, and worth to me from £300 to £400, to present to your friends on condition that the chapel erected thereon be a respectable building so as not to deteriorate the land adjoining."History
from StBedesParishChurchRotherham.co.uk, retrieved 30 December 2015

Construction

On 29 July 1841, the foundation stone was laid by Benjamin Badger. The architects were

Matthew Ellison Hadfield Matthew Ellison Hadfield (8 September 1812 – 9 March 1885) was an English architect of the Victorian Gothic revival. He is chiefly known for his work on Roman Catholic churches, including the cathedral churches of Salford and Sheffield. Trai ...

and John Grey Weightman. They also designed St Bede's Church in Widnes and Church of St Mary of the Assumption in Burnley. On 5 October 1842, it was opened and dedicated by the

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

of the Yorkshire District, John Briggs. In the 1930s, a choir loft was added to the church.

Parish

Also in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of St Bede's is Forty Martyrs Church in

Kimberworth Kimberworth is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, about 2 miles (3.5 km) north-west of Rotherham town centre and 5 miles (7.6 km) north-east of Sheffield. Until 19 ...

, Rotherham.Catholic Directory
retrieved 30 December 2015 St Bede's Church has three Sunday Masses: 9:30am, 11:15am (in Polish) and 6:15pm. Forty Martyrs Church has a Sunday Mass at 5:00pm on Saturday afternoon.

References

External links

St Bede's Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotherham, Saint Bede Roman Catholic churches in South Yorkshire Saint Bede Gothic Revival architecture in South Yorkshire Gothic Revival church buildings in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1842 Matthew Ellison Hadfield buildings 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom