St James' Church, Midhopestones
St James’ Church, Midhopestones is situated in the small rural hamlet of
History
Origins
St James’ church was founded by the Barnby family of Barnby Hall,
The church was owned by
1705 restoration
The church was restored in 1705 by Godfrey Bosville who became Lord of the Manor in 1690. Bosville undertook a partial rebuilding of the east and west ends and added the porch, Minstrels' gallery, box pews and a bell cupola. Bosville had his coat of arms along with his and his wife Bridget's initial carved above the porch door as a sign that he regarded the church as his personal family chapel, a move which upset many local residents.
Until 1847 services at St James’ were performed by clergy from the nearby
Modern developments
In 1967 a trap door was discovered between the pulpit and the altar by a joiner doing repairs, this led to speculation of an ancient tunnel connecting the church to the old manor house. However no evidence of a tunnel was found and it is now believed that it was a place where the church silver was kept safely in the past. In 1978 renovations took place which included lowering the pulpit to its present height, replacing brass candlesticks and cross with wrought iron ones and the removal of the front box pews and using the oak wood to make inner doors and a desk and chair for the priest. A large ancient stone altar was discovered in the south wall during the 1978 renovations; this is now used as the altar in Saint John the Baptist Church, Penistone.
References
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1132872)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 September 2009. Gives details of listed status and architecture.
- ISBN 1-84306-080-9, Says Thomas de Barnby was likely founder of chapel and gives other historical information.
- ISBN 1-84306-049-3, Gives historical information.
- ^ "Church booklet", No author or ISBN, Gives most of church‘s history.
- ^ "Welcome To St James‘ Church, Midhopestones", No ISBN, Gives historical information.