Saint John the Baptist Church, Penistone
Encyclopedia
Saint John the Baptist Church, Penistone Parish Church, or Penistone Church is a Church of England
church in the Parish
of Penistone
, near Barnsley
, in the United Kingdom
. The church is a Grade 1 listed building and is located in the centre of the town of Penistone.
cross building into the church walls, possibly indicating an even older Christian
involvement in the area. A further cross base and stump lie in the churchyard.
The 80 ft (24 m) tower is around 500 years old, having been erected around 1500.
The lychgate
entrance to the church yard was constructed in 1959 as a memorial to Rev. Canon William Turnbull who was vicar at the church 1855-1915, while the stainless steel weathervane on top of the tower, in the shape of a fish, was a handmade gift from a local resident in 1975. The fish is an early Christian symbol and its stainless steel represents local industry.
The church windows contain a large amount of stained glass
, much of it many hundreds of years old. Some, however, was created more recently, such as the window to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Penistone Grammar School
.
The church tower has two clocks, one on the west face and another on the south face, and boasts a total of 8 bells.
In 2006, the church was the location of a service attended by Mayors and civic heads from across Yorkshire as part of the Yorkshire Day
celebrations being hosted in Penistone. In addition 2006 has seen the creation of a new Heritage and Sensory Gardens (St Johns Gardens) in the lower end of the church yard, and includes millstones with local dates of historical interest and a memorial to Prof Nicholas Saunderson
.
Under the auspices of Revd David J. Hopkin, the church itself has seen new building work inside in 2006 with the creation of new community facilities.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
church in the Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Penistone
Penistone
Penistone is a small town market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 10,101 at the 2001 census. It lies west of the town of Barnsley and north east of Glossop, in the foothills of the Pennines...
, near Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The church is a Grade 1 listed building and is located in the centre of the town of Penistone.
History
There are records which show priests belonging to a church in Penistone from the year 1200. However, masonry work in the church indicates parts could be over 1000 years old. There are also remains of a SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
cross building into the church walls, possibly indicating an even older Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
involvement in the area. A further cross base and stump lie in the churchyard.
The 80 ft (24 m) tower is around 500 years old, having been erected around 1500.
The lychgate
Lychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
entrance to the church yard was constructed in 1959 as a memorial to Rev. Canon William Turnbull who was vicar at the church 1855-1915, while the stainless steel weathervane on top of the tower, in the shape of a fish, was a handmade gift from a local resident in 1975. The fish is an early Christian symbol and its stainless steel represents local industry.
The church windows contain a large amount of stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, much of it many hundreds of years old. Some, however, was created more recently, such as the window to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Penistone Grammar School
Penistone Grammar School
Penistone Grammar School is a comprehensive school and former grammar school in Penistone, in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1392 and its most notable alumnus is Nicholas Saunderson, the probable inventor of Bayes theorem, in the eighteenth...
.
The church tower has two clocks, one on the west face and another on the south face, and boasts a total of 8 bells.
In 2006, the church was the location of a service attended by Mayors and civic heads from across Yorkshire as part of the Yorkshire Day
Yorkshire Day
Yorkshire Day is celebrated on 1 August to promote the historic English county of Yorkshire. It was celebrated in 1975, by the Yorkshire Ridings Society, initially in Beverley, as "protest movement against the Local Government re-organisation of 1974", The date alludes to the Battle of Minden, and...
celebrations being hosted in Penistone. In addition 2006 has seen the creation of a new Heritage and Sensory Gardens (St Johns Gardens) in the lower end of the church yard, and includes millstones with local dates of historical interest and a memorial to Prof Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson was an English scientist and mathematician. According to one leading historian of statistics, he may have been the earliest discoverer of Bayes theorem.-Biography:...
.
Under the auspices of Revd David J. Hopkin, the church itself has seen new building work inside in 2006 with the creation of new community facilities.