The Church of St Helen is the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activities, ...

in the village of

Treeton Treeton is a village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is located about south of the town of Rotherham and east of Sheffield City Centre. History There is evidence of Mesolithic and N ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

, England. It is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

church in the

Diocese of Sheffield The Diocese of Sheffield is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. The Diocese of Sheffield was created under George V on 23 January 1914, by the division from the Diocese of York (along with that pa ...

. The building is Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and dates back to at least the 12th century AD. It is a prominent feature within the village, and can be seen from all directions.

History

There was a church on this site at the time of the

Domesday survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

in 1086, one of only 15 in what would become the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of South YorkshireHistory of the Churches in Treeton: St. Helen's Parish Church
''Treetonweb'', from ''The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal'', Vol. XVII. Treeton, South Yorkshire, England. Accessed 9 June 2012. The current building was originally constructed c. 1175 to c. 1200, after the previous church, in the Norman style, was demolished and re-built. Only the arches, which are clearly Norman, and a single child's coffin, remain from the original church. It was dedicated to Christian Saint Helen. The lower half of the square tower that remains today, was constructed in the 12th century, and of rubble walling. It is on the westernmost edge of the church. A 13th-century effigy of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, the first in the area and commonly referred to as "Sir Gilbert", a reference to the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

, is built into the western wall. Unfortunately, the shield of the knight is too worn for the identification of any

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

that could verify the historical accuracy of this belief. The building was remodelled in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, and restored in 1869 and 1892. There were also several additions in the 15th century, including the present

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

roofing, the southern porch, the south chapel, and the western part of the nave. Although the lower half of the tower was constructed in the 12th century, the upper half, which is made of a noticeably different stone and is surrounded on all sides by

crenellations A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

with a small upright spire in each corner, was also constructed in the 15th century and contains six bells, three of them not installed until 1892. A clock face can be seen on the eastern side of the tower. On 29 March 1968, it was listed as a Grade I building, and has remained so ever since.British Listed Building
St Helen's Church, Treeton
retrieved 27 May 2012

Notable rectors

* 1660-1664: Shorland Adams

Theft

The church is still in use by the congregation of the village of Treeton. In 2008, police found three youths on the church roof, wearing masks, balaclavas and gloves, when over £100,000 worth of lead had already been stolen previously in 10 separate raids, but they were released without charge because they "might be there just for the view". No evidence was found that the youths were planning to steal the lead, even though some had been rolled up on the roof.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Treeton, Saint Helen Grade I listed churches in South Yorkshire Church of England church buildings in South Yorkshire 12th-century church buildings in England 12th-century establishments in England