4:20pm Saturday 27th February 2010
It is half a century since Barnoldswick’s new parish church was opened – the realisation of a 50-year dream. Here, Lesley Tate tells the story of how Holy Trinity represented a brighter future for the town.
On a Spring Saturday 50 years ago, more than 2,000 people gathered for the opening of Barnoldswick’s new parish church. They came from far and wide and crammed every corner of the “almost controversial” new church to see the Bishop of Bradford and dozens of senior clergy carry out the ceremony.
The completion of Holy Trinity Church was hailed as a major historical occasion for the town and the marking of a new brighter future for Barnoldswick. It replaced the ancient church of St Mary-le-Gill as the parish church.
The Gill church which, henceforth, was to be called the Ancient Church, had been built around 1160 – and more than 800 years had passed before the town was to get another parish church.
The opening of Holy Trinity was the culmination of a dream held for 50 years. The town had suffered badly from the collapse of cotton and the bright new church, which dominated the town centre and cost an “astonishing” £52,000, gave Barnoldswick new hope.
It was seen as a lasting tribute to all the local tradesmen who designed, built and furnished it and to all those who had dug deep and contributed to the cost.
The Bishop of Bradford, Dr Donald Coggan, who carried out the ceremony, paid warm tribute to Barnoldswick’s vicar, the Rev Phillip Green, whom he had charged with building the church.
He said the ceremony was the culmination of a long-held dream, but it was also a beginning, as the real work of the church began.
And with great prophecy, he warned that the church could become an empty shell if the congregation forgot its true purpose.
“It is your task to see that, in this church and in this town, there is a living congregation of whom people will say, God is among them,” he told the crowds.
Work had begun in 1957 when Canon John Calderbank had cut the first sod, but the idea of a new church had begun much earlier.
It was in 1936 that the Charity Commissioners held an inquiry into the trust which had been set up to build a new church.
It was stated that the trust had been established by a deed dated 1911, but that it had been much earlier – in 1897 – that the idea had first been mooted.
In 1936, the building fund stood at £18,000 – prompting the assistant commissioner conducting the inquiry to comment that time was “running on”.
Clearly, the impact of two world wars and the slump between the wars put paid to any costly project.
When the church opened on March 26 1960, just about all the work had been done by local people – even some of the timber used in altar rails and the pulpit panel came from trees felled at West Marton.
Architects of the new church were NM Barrett and Son, a family with strong connections to the Church in Barnoldswick. Mr Barrett was helped with the interior design by architect vicar the Rev W Lockett, while mosaic panels were designed and made by George Mayer-Marton, a senior lecturer at the Liverpool College of Art.
The church, described at the time as Modern Gothic, was built from Yorkshire stone from a Halifax quarry, while the roof was made from Westmorland slate.
Barnoldswick builders Blakeley and Son were responsible for the work.
All local men were employed on the job and most of the English oak furniture was made by Barnoldswick firm Briggs and Duxbury.
An iron screen, described as semi-traditional, was made by the relatively new Barnoldswick firm of Gissing and Lonsdale.
The interior was painted in colours “much brighter than one normally finds in churches”. The ceiling was powder blue and the walls a tasteful cream. The font featured a background of green waves symbolising the water of eternal life.
The church was also built to replace the church of St James, which was later demolished.
St James’s Church, in Church Street, was a “chapel-of-ease” and never licensed for marriages – which meant a special licence had to be obtained for weddings.
Once, a vicar forgot to get the licence and a special Act of Parliament had to be passed to make the marriage legal.
The grounds in front of the new Holy Trinity Church were laid out by Barnoldswick Urban District Council with seats provided by the council and also by Barnoldswick Secondary School.
The church’s organ was made by Liverpool firm Rushworth and Dreaper, was all-electric and cost £2,700. Mr AP Crabtree, organist at St James’s Church for 60 years, was the first to use it and declared its tone “beautiful”.
Mr Crabtree had first played at St James’s Church in 1900 when he was just 16. Every Sunday morning he would walk from Salterforth to St James’s for the morning service, walk home for lunch and return in the afternoon for the service at Gill Church. He would then go home again, before leaving once more for the evening service.
He played at a special service to mark the death of Queen Victoria, when St James’s was packed with 800 people. He played the Death March in honour of every dead monarch and also at thanksgiving services to mark the end of the two world wars.
Holy Trinity Church was open for two days before its official opening, when more than 3,000 people passed through its doors.
At the ceremony, several clergy assisted the Bishop of Bradford, including Canon Calderbank, who had cut the first sod in August, 1957. He had retired to Wales after helping to raise thousands of pounds towards the appeal.
Also there was Skipton MP George Burnaby Drayson, councillors and many civic leaders.
Special room was given to children and several hundred sat on the floor close to the steps leading to the chancel.
A hymn had been written for the opening by Canon Hugh Hunter, the Rector of Bolton Abbey.
Collections throughout the weekend raised £700 and more than 300 people attended the first communion service.
The Craven Herald reported that Barnoldswick probably had the unique distinction of having the largest gap between the building of two parish churches.
Gill Church would continue to be licensed for weddings and it was believed its appearance would continue to make it preferable for brides.
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