Rotherham Minster
previously the Parish Church of All Saints'
Rotherham Minster previously the Parish Church of All Saints is open every day. Obviously services take place Sunday and Feast Days so these are not the times to be wandering around. On other days the church is freely open from 9am - 1pm and 2pm - 4pm, not Wednesday or Saturday afternoons.
The church is kept open by volunteers, so due to illness or holidays it might be closed at short notice. As far as I am aware there no guided tours around the church itself and the last time I visited in there were no leaflets or guidebooks available about the history of the Church, only a children's 'hunt the monument' game. Actually it was good fun!
August 2003 guidebooks to the church were on sale in Rotherham Visitor Centre price £2.50.
In the back corner of the church is a permanent interpretive display charting the history of the church and town, including the work of Thomas Rotherham. There is a café that serves tea and snacks.
The historian Nicolas Pevsner decribed the church as "...One of the finest examples of medieval Perpendicular architecture in the country..."
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The History of the Church
The Saxon population of Rotherham built the first Christian church on a hilly site well clear of the flood plain of the Rivers Rother and Don about 937 AD. The Saxons usually built in wood so little of this church remains.
The church was further developed through the Middle Ages as the town became richer and more populous. The late 11th Century Norman Church, built in 'Rotherham Red' the local red sandstone had a nave, chancel, north and south transepts and a short central tower. The Norman Font erected about 1190 can still be seen.
The manor of Rotherham passed through various wills and transactions to the Abbey of Rufford who ended up owning half the church (the other half belonged to the Abbey of Clairvaux), the market and the fair. Clairvaux later relinquished its rights in the advowson for £20. Rotherham the town had neither walls nor castle but because it was a religious property neither town nor church seemed to have suffered unduly during the wars that ravaged the Middle Ages.
During the 14th and 15th Centuries the church was modernised and added to in the style called 'Perpendicular'. In 1409 work started with the tower which was topped with an 180 ft. spire and gilded weathervane.
Much of the present building dates from the 15th Century including the Chapel of Jesus founded by Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York in 1480. Construction and reconstruction work continued and with the addition of the Clergy Vestry in 1540. The altar was removed during the reign of Edward VI (1547 - 1553), a communion table was set up and the brightly painted murals whitewashed over. In 1547 the Act for Suppression of Chantries and Gilds was passed and the various gilds which had maintained chapels in the church were abolished, as was the College of Jesus. Altar and gilds were briefly restored during the reign of Catholic Queen Mary I (1553 - 1558) but disappeared again after the accession in 1558 of the Protestant Elizabeth I.
In early Victorian times the graveyard above the Square was coming to be regarded as a public disgrace, with skulls and bones clearly visible on the surface, and in 1854 it was closed to new burials. Most of the existing burials and memorials in the churchyard were moved and reburied elsewhere - I believe in the 1960s. There are still a few gravestones (horizontal view), some with sad annotations like 'Cholera Victim 1834' - not even a name to be remembered by.
In the churchyard, and outside the south transept of the church you will find the last surviving gas lamp that lit the town in the 19th century.
Over the centuries changes and additions were made to the church but a complete restoration took place in the 1870's under the direction of the architect, Sir Gilbert Scott using sandstone from the nearby Canklow quarries. The stonework was cleaned and repaired and the oak roofs cleaned, polished and, in some places, replaced, whilst internal galleries were removed. During the restoration the font which had stood outside for about 200 years, and was known locally as the 'Round Stone' was moved back inside. Scott recognised the historical importance of the 15th Century Chancel stalls which include two misericords and several Poppyheads which are the oldest examples of carved woodwork in the Church.
There are many interesting features to discover including a Saxon coffin lid believed to be that of a knight, ancient carvings on the back of a 17th century memorial (Yes they were into recycling in those days) and over 30 'Green Men', carvings which linked Christianity with the older faiths. Then there are the misericords, tilt-up seats which allowed the monks to lean but not to sit down during long services. Sorry Brother but if you fell asleep the whole thing came crashing down and everybody else knew you had nodded off. I suppose with practise you could nod off leaning. There is a 15th Century sedilia, many fine tombs, a Jacobean pulpit and my particular favourite - the stained glass windows. The glass has no venerable history and some of it is relatively modern but it is still impressive.
In November 2004 the parish church was officially designated a minster church. I don't exactly know what this means but it sounds good. It joins the likes of York Minster in this status. I have found out that the term minster can apply to any church founded by missionaries so it is very appropriate to a church as old as Rotherham's.
Rotherham Minster Photographs (8 Images)
Visit the website at for Rotherham Minster www.rotherhamminster.org.
