Topic: St Andrews Church, Darfield
Topic Type: Place
On Sunday the 25th of November 1979, St Andrews was deconsecrated prior to the dedication of Trinity Church. Items of furniture which were of value to the congregation and of use in Trinity Church were carried in procession to the new church
ST ANDREWS DARFIELD On Sunday the 25th of November 1979, St Andrews was deconsecrated prior to the dedication of Trinity Church. Items of furniture which were of value to the congregation and of use in Trinity Church were carried in procession to the new church - they joined similar processions from the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. So ended one phase in the life of the Anglican congregation in Darfield and a new life began.
If St Andrews had remained it would have been one hundred years old in December of this year. It was opened and dedicated in the name of St Andrew on 21st December 1897 by Bishop Julius. The church was declared debt free at a vestry meeting on 10th April 1902 and consecrated by the Bishop on 29th November 1902. As anyone who has done even the least historical research knows, if you are relying on minute books, they are very frustrating, because they are strong on what the group intends to do but poor on what has been accomplished.
Of the items brought from St Andrews to Trinity Church, some we know a lot about and others little or nothing. The Hutton painting is well documented, but on the lych-gate, there is no information. The candle sticks and communion plate (the former from the Redfern family and the latter from the congregation) are well known but the distinctive cross on the altar, being beaten brass fixed to oak with an unusual Celtic pattern in relief, appears out of thin air!
We know when faculties were given (permissions to place something in a church) for the Jarman window (24th October 1919, the Knight window (16th June 1939) the "new altar of oak" (10th May 1925) the light associated with the lych-gate given in memory of Annie Jarman (llth September 1941) and various plaques, but there is no information on the lectern or prayer desk. The book stand for the altar was presented by Rev'd Jaspen Smyth in 1913.
If anyone has any information on St Andrews - written or photographic -we would be very interested in seeing it. "It is terrifying to think how much research is needed to determine the truth of even the most unimportant fact."
Stendal A GIFT TO TRINITY CHURCH
At the service on the 14th of December, the Anglican congregation will gift to the church a spotlight to illuminate the Jarman window. The window was given in memory of Frank Elworthy and Henry Nesslea Jarman who were killed in the first World War and James Herbert Jarman who died of wounds after the War. It was originally in the east end of St Andrews. When it was moved to its present site on the wall separating the chapel from the main body of the church, the light was not good enough to bring out its true magnificence. Our hope is that the new light will reveal the rich colouring latent in the window.
