The Church of St Paul the Apostle, Old Town, Barnsley.
St Paul’s Church, situated just off Greenfoot Lane in Old Town, is sadly less well known than St Mary's and is one of Barnsley’s hidden gems. It is a fascinating Art Deco building from the 1930s where many family memories have been made. We celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2016. Apart from Sunday mornings, St Paul’s is usually open on Tuesday and Friday mornings before and after services when visitors are more than welcome to pop in.
The church is used by various groups from time to time. In particular we are delighted that 3 choirs use our church. The Cafe, Coffee Choir meets on Thursdays at 2.00pm; the We Can Survive Choir meets on Wednesdays at 6.00pm and the Ilesha Ladies Choir performs two concerts each year - one in the summer and one at Christmas. (See our Events Calendar for further details). We also occasionally host two local resident's groups - the Old Town Residents Association and The Willowbank Partnership who will be holding their Carol Service in St Paul's on the 11th December at 6.30pm.
St. Paul’s Church – A Brief History
A Curacy House belonging to St. Mary’s Church existed in Old Town as early as the year 1600, but it wasn’t until 1887 that a Sunday School was established in a two-roomed bungalow cottage in School Street.
In 1890 the Church purchased the “Old Church”, which had been shared by the Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists, when the Methodists built a Chapel in Cutty Lane.
By 1907 it was apparent that a new St. Paul’s Church would be needed to minister to the area’s growing population. Sir Hickman Bacon, a founder member of the Lincolnshire Automobile Club, gave a piece of land to the Church but it was so undermined that it would not support such a heavy building and the site had to be abandoned. With Sir Hickman’s permission the land was sold and the present site was purchased from the Barraclough family.
Finally the building was begun and the foundation stone laid “amidst great excitement and thanksgiving”. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Sankey, had been invited to lay the foundation stone but was unable to be present due to illness so Mr. Ralph Frederick Pawsey, senior partner at Newman and Bond Solicitors in Barnsley, deputised and laid the stone in the presence of the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt. Revd. “Jimmy” Seaton.
By October 1938 the building was ready. In the original plan the nave extended a further 30 feet to the west, but funds ran out and it was decided to complete the Church with a flat West Front instead of one echoing the architectural ornamentation of the other three sides. It had cost £10,000 to build, £3,000 of which was still to be found. St. Paul’s was consecrated on 29th October by the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt. Rev. Campbell Hone.