The Church of St John the Divine, designed by
William Swinden Barber
William Swinden Barber Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA (29 March 1832 – 26 November 1908), also W. S. Barber or W. Swinden Barber, was an English Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival and Arts and Crafts movement, Arts an ...
,
was built as a mission church in 1892–1893 in the parish of St James, Chapelthorpe,
Crigglestone,
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
, England. It is Grade II listed. It was funded by local benefactor Mary Mackie in memory of her husband.
It is of
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...
and
Arts and Crafts
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
design. The exterior is small, plain and simple and the interior is
low church
In Anglican Christianity, the term ''low church'' refers to those who give little emphasis to ritual, often having an emphasis on preaching, individual salvation, and personal conversion. The term is most often used in a liturgical sense, denot ...
; nevertheless the interior contains a fine
scissor-truss roof which retains its original 1892 stencil paintings. The church closed in 2018. In 2020 the church was purchased.The church is destined to be converted into a 4 bedroom home now plans have been approved Wakefield council in 2024.
Location
The building is located just off Denby Dale Road in Calder Grove,
Crigglestone, on the south-west edge of
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
. At the time of construction, this was a coal-mining and rural area.
[Keith Wainwright, ''Crigglestone Backtrack 4: past reflections of a rural parish'' (ca.1996) pp.54–47, i]
Wakefield local studies library
Founders and benefactors
The building was commissioned in memory of her husband John Mackie, JP (1836–1891), by Mrs Mary Elizabeth Mackie (1844–1922) of Watford Villa,
New Mills
New Mills is a small town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and River Sett, Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a ...
, Derbyshire and of Cliff House, Calder Grove
Crigglestone. She also commissioned St James the Less Church and some
almshouse
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...
s in New Mills, designed by the same architect (W.S. Barber) in 1878–1880.
The two buildings are not dissimilar.
[Springbank Arts: the architect William Swinden Barber]
Retrieved 18 February 2014
John Mackie's father was Robert Jefferson Mackie, a rich local corn factor from a Scottish family, whose eldest son was
Robert Bownas Mackie,
Liberal MP for
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
1880–1885. R.J. Mackie's fourth son was John, who received an education at
Wesley College, Sheffield
Wesley College was a school in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, from 1838 until 1905, when it was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School to form King Edward VII School.
History
The school, whose mission was to educate the sons of th ...
plus the gift of Cliff House which carried attached benefits. Thus Mackie was a landowner, the owner of Cliff Colliery and of the Freeclay works in Crigglestone, and a local benefactor. In 1866 he married Mary Elizabeth Ingham, daughter of James Ingham, the owner of a
calico
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
print works at New Mills, Derbyshire.
Thereafter, the couple spent half their time in New Mills, and the other half in Calder Grove. Mackie paid for a new school at nearby
Painthorpe, completed in 1875. In Derbyshire in the same year he became chairman of the New Mill
School Board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...
, and later on was a council representative for New Mills and an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
on
Derbyshire County Council
Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...
. Back in Crigglestone in 1885, Mackie became chairman of the Liberal Association. While at Calder Grove, he served as a
Sunday school
]
A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes.
Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
teacher, was at one time a delegate to the
Diocese of Ripon, Diocesan conference, and in 1899 was elected Wakefield
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
's president. He died unexpectedly at the age of 54 after catching a chill at his and Mary's 25th wedding anniversary celebrations at Crigglestone. He was given a big funeral and buried in Derbyshire. A granite drinking fountain was erected at New Mills in his memory.
During her married life in Calder Grove, Mary Mackie organised yearly
soirees in the new schoolroom for the local working people, and founded the Criggleston Girls'
Friendly Society. Besides erecting the Church of St John the Divine, Calder Grove, in her husband's memory, Mrs Mackie also funded a stained glass east window in the Church of St James, Chapelthorpe in 1892; the window was destroyed by fire in 1951. She also built an institute in Dirtcar, Crigglestone, in 1904. This was dismantled and re-erected next to St John's in 1914 for use as a
church hall
A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the church, while on more restricted urban sites ...
, and demolished in 2014.
History
Plans were approved for a church in the "
Early English style of architecture" by the
Ecclesiastical Commission in April 1892 at a building cost of £1,300. The Wakefield Conservative
MP Colonel Albany Hawkes Charlesworth donated the land and gave £100 towards costs. The church was consecrated by the
Bishop of Wakefield
The Bishop of Wakefield is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a diocesan bishop in 1888, but it was dissolved in 2014. The Bishop of Wakefield is ...
on Tuesday 23 May 1893; his sermon was based on
John xvi.14, ''He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you''.
The congregation at the dedication service included Mrs Mackie, her brother in law and other relatives, people from "leading families in the locality" including Briggs, Thompson and Cartwright, and numerous local clergy. Some of the local gentry had already "contributed liberally" towards the cost of building, and the sum of £32 16s 11d was collected after the service.
[''Leeds Times'' Saturday 27 May 1893: "Chat in the porch"]
Retrieved 21 April 2014[Mercury'' 24 May 1893: "The Mackie memorial church, Calder Grove"]
Retrieved 21 April 2014
Architect
William Swinden Barber (1832–1908) was a
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...
and
Arts and Crafts
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
architect based in Halifax and Brighouse, who had a long career in which he produced many churches and other buildings in the area.
Many of his works are now
Grade II listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. Some of his major designs which would have made his reputation and recommended him for this task are the mansion Spring Hall,
Halifax (1871), the Victoria Cross at
Akroydon
The Akroydon model housing scheme is a Victorian-era model village at Boothtown, Halifax, in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It was designed in the Gothic style by George Gilbert Scott in 1859 for the worke ...
(1875), and the large Church of St Jude, Savile Park, Halifax (1888).
Additionally, Barber had already designed Mrs Mackie's first funded church, St James the Less at
New Mills
New Mills is a small town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and River Sett, Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a ...
, Derbyshire (1880), which is of similar design to St John the Divine, and was dedicated to her parents. It is now a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
and the Springbank Arts Centre.
Building
The building is on the City of Wakefield Metropolitan Council, 2008, List of buildings, Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Buildings of Local Interest (p. 47). That is to say, it is locally listed, but is not
listed by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
.
1893 description
The building was described in Leeds newspapers in 1893 as "a
Mission
Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Mission River (Queensland)
Canada
*Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality
* Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* ...
church in the
Early English style." It is built of
Elland
Elland is a market town in Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is situated south of Halifax, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. Elland was recorded as ''Elant'' in the Domesday Book of 1086. It ha ...
stone with
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
stone dressing. The nave has an open-timberwork roof and at the time of the consecration it was long. The chancel was long. The original pews, which as of April 2014 had been re-varnished but were still in place, were of stained and varnished red
deal
In cryptography, DEAL (Data Encryption Algorithm with Larger blocks) is a symmetric block cipher derived from the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Its design was presented by Lars Knudsen at the SAC conference in 1997, and submitted as a proposa ...
. The east window, installed in 1893, is a memorial to John Mackie.
Exterior
This is a mature work by the architect who retired in 1898. The nave and chancel are combined structurally into one space with four walls, one roof overall, and no columns or aisles. There is a basic porch leading into the nave on the north side. A combined lean-to on the south side houses the organ chamber and vestry, which share an arched opening into the chancel. The exterior combines a simple
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
low church
In Anglican Christianity, the term ''low church'' refers to those who give little emphasis to ritual, often having an emphasis on preaching, individual salvation, and personal conversion. The term is most often used in a liturgical sense, denot ...
aspect using just the basics of
Gothic Revival architecture
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...
. Thus, apart from two small crosses on the apexes of the roof and porch, there are only two other decorations: the shaped drip moulding over the west window, and the minimal moulding at the base of the porch archway.
Interior
On entering this small and unassuming building, the unexpected glory of the interior for the visitor is the
scissor-truss roof, which after more than a century retains rare
stencil
Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object. The holes allow the pigment to reach only some parts of the surface creatin ...
paintings by Powell Bros of Leeds on the chancel beams. Beneath the paint on the plastered north and south walls of the nave are hidden stencil paintings and possibly spirit frescoes by the same artists, revealed in a pre–1914 photograph in the church archives. Although this building is too simple to permit a gallery of columns and bays, Barber has still managed to include a few small columns by recessing the three-light nave windows into the wall, and fitting a single slender supporting column into each recess.
There are four
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
windows in the chancel - in Gothic Revival style but without
tracery
Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...
. The east window of 1893, dedicated to John Mackie the husband of its benefactor, shows Jesus Christ and the
Lamb of God
Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...
. The two north chancel windows show
John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
(1908) and
John the Divine, probably of the same decade. The south chancel window shows the
Virgin and Child
In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...
, also of the first decade of the 20th century.
The church still contains fixtures and furnishings designed and commissioned by Barber. This includes the wrought iron bolt, and
door-handle plates on the porch door. It also includes the carved wooden
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
,
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
-front,
pews, and choir stalls, and the carved stone
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design.
For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
.
There is an early 20th century
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
. The bell gable incorporates the original bell of 1893 by
Mears & Stainbank Mears or Meares may refer to:
People
* Ainslie Meares (1910–1986), Australian psychiatrist and authority on medical hypnotism
*Anna Meares (born 1983), Australian cyclist
* Ashley Mears (born 1980), American sociologist
* Bob Mears (born 1933), A ...
.
[The Church of England: St John the Divine, Calder Grove]
Retrieved 19 February 2014 The bell rope passes through a hole in the roof and hangs inside the west window.
The building has a cut
bench mark on the exterior north side.
St John Calder Grove interior 031.jpg, The 1983 east window dedicated to John Mackie
St John Calder Grove interior 037.jpg, North chancel window featuring St John the Divine or John of Patmos
John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian; ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 1:9 states that John was on Patmos, an Aegean island off the coast of Rom ...
St John Calder Grove interior 059.jpg, Pews designed by Barber (re-varnished)
St John Calder Grove interior 017.jpg, Choir stalls designed by Barber (re-varnished)
St John Calder Grove interior 029.jpg, Altar-front designed by Barber
Repairs and re-ordering
* In 1903 the east end of the chancel collapsed, having subsided into old mine-workings below. The chancel was rebuilt to Barber's original plans, re-using the same materials. The stencils on the east wall were lost at that time.
* If one compares the original plans of 1892 to photographs of the existing building in 2014, it can be seen that the stone cross intended for the roof gable above the chancel has been at some point removed to the porch gable. The metal cross which was originally fixed atop the bell gable is now fixed on the roof over the chancel. ''(illustrated below)''
St John Calder Grove plans 1j.jpg, Planned metal cross on bell gable
St John Calder Grove 039.jpg, Bell gable cross now on chancel roof
St John Calder Grove plans 1i.jpg, Planned stone cross on chancel roof
St John Calder Grove 017.jpg, Stone chancel roof cross now on porch gable
* As of 2014, the interior plaster on the west wall has been replaced several times due to dampness possibly caused by inadequate flashing between the bell gable and roof tiles, together with the fact that the bell rope must pass through a hole in the roof. This means that any original stencils beneath the later paint on the west wall are now gone.
* During a 21st-century interior re-ordering, Barber's original altar was dismantled, and only its carved wooden front remains, standing against the east wall. At the same time, Barber's designed and commissioned dark-varnished pews and choir stalls were stripped and re-varnished in a light colour.
* As of April–May 2014 a major re-ordering is planned, so as to adapt the building for dual use as a church and a hall for hire to raise funds. This means that Barber's original pews are to be sold, and a new position must be found for the font. The planning application states that two windows will be removed on the south side of the nave, the sills will be dismantled, and the openings are to be retained for a kitchen serving hatch and an entry point for the extension. It is not known whether the toilet and kitchen, necessarily visible from the road, will be of sympathetic design. Barber's original polished deal floor, which still exists, may be replaced with other flooring. The church is expected therefore to lose its present completeness of original structure and furnishing by a major local architect. Because the new extension will necessitate re-plastering the western half of the south wall, any remaining original interior wall paintings still hidden under paint will be lost. Planning application no.13/00146/FUL for the extension was submitted on 18 January 2013 and has been granted. When the application was submitted, the Church Architect did not know of the building's date, its architect or its history.
[Wakefield Council planning and building control applications no.13/00146/FUL]
Retrieved 23 April 2014
Curates
The first curate appointed specifically to this benefice was Charles Oldroyd (1859–1806), who served from January 1896 to April 1898, then went on to the Church of St Philip and St James in
Scholes, Cleckheaton. Oldroyd died in Somerset in 1906 at the age of 46.
Oldroyd was followed in January 1899 by Walter Charles Gosling (1869–1952), who stayed until November 1908. Gosling attended
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
, attaining his
BA in 1894, and his
MA in 1897; he was ordained priest at Ripon in the same year. He had been chaplain of the Church of St John the Evangelist at
Oulton from 1896 to 1898.
Next came Thomas Hadfield (b.1857), who officiated from October 1910 until March 1912. The last curate to be appointed before
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
was Charles David Day (b.1885), serving from June 1912 to June 1914. During the war it was William Lesswaine Brambston (1875–1959) from July 1915 to June 1920.
There were five curates between the wars, beginning with Robert Clement Owen (b.1884) from May 1921 until July 1925; he spoke both English and Welsh. Then it was George Goode, December 1925 to September 1929. After him came the youthful James Albert Kings (1906–1987), serving under the economically devastating conditions of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
from June 1930 to April 1934. Fred Herrington carried on this work from December 1934 to November 1937.
It was Philip Melville Berry (1915–1962) who was in office when
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
started.
[Death cert: June 1962, Berry Philip M., 46, ]Dewsbury
Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...
, 2b/317 He served from September 1938 to June 1942 when Ronald Ernest Helm took over as curate.
[List of former curates of St John the Divine, Calder Grove, compiled by Keith Wainwright, in the church archives]
Services and events
As of 2014 the curate is Canon Ian Michael Gaskell who holds the Chapelthorpe benefice. There is a Sunday communion service with hymns and sermon.
There used to be after-service refreshments served in the church hall next door, but that building, which used to be hired out for events, was pulled down in 2014.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Crigglestone
References
Bibliography
* {{Cite book , editor1-last= Felstead, editor1-first= Alison , editor2-last= Franklin, editor2-first= Jonathan, editor3-last= Pinfield, editor3-first= Leslie , year = 1993 , title = Directory of British Architects: 1834–1900 , publisher = Mansell Pub , place = British Architectural Library , isbn = 9780720121582
External links
The Church of England. A church near you: St John the Divine, Calder GroveRetrieved 22 April 2014
National Archives: Calder Grove St John's and Chapelthorpe St James' parish recordsRetrieved 22 April 2014
Arts and Crafts architecture in England
Gothic Revival church buildings in England
Calder Grove
Churches completed in 1892
William Swinden Barber buildings
Grade II listed churches in North Yorkshire