Parish Church of St. John the Evangelist, Balby
Location/Address
Corner of Balby High Road and Greenfield Lane, Balby, Doncaster
Type
Description
Grit-stone church built in 1847 to cover the parish of Balby with Hexthorpe, which was formed in 1846. The church has a graveyard surrounded by a stone wall with many graves of notable Balby residents including 3 War Graves. There is a lychgate which was added in 1951.
The living was endowed by Miss Elizabeth Banks of St. Catherine's Hall and the architect was Mr Frederick John Francis. This Victorian church was built in local grit-stone in the style of Gothic Ecclesiastical of the early pointed period. It has a bell turret containing a bell of about 4cwt by Mears of London. The interior is plastered and originally seated 220. The church was enlarged in 1870s with an aisle to the north side of the nave and linked by 3 spacious arches resting on finely worked pillars. All the stained glass in the church was by Mr. Camm of Smethwick near Birmingham.
Sources of Information for this entry:
The Buildings of England – Yorkshire West Riding Sheffield and the South, R. Harman & N. Pevsner, 2019
Yesterday, Today Issue 41 Local History Review. Doncaster Libraries and Information . August 2003. St John's Church, Balby by Geoff Elvin
www.parksandgardens.org. Howick-Alnwick
Doncaster's Rural Heritage Colin Walton Doncaster Free Press July 1980
"About Us" Church of England/Diocese of Sheffield/Balby Saint John the Evangelist 2021. https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/17631/about-us/
accessed 2nd December 2021.
The church is in a reasonable state of repair and is still in regular use within the community as both a church and a distribution area for a food bank. There is a nearby Church Board School that was built in the same period and links closely with the church.
Statement of Significance
Asset type
This building has been used as a parish church has been in continuous use by the community since it was built in 1848. It has always stood as a prominent building on the corner of a road connecting Balby with Hexthorpe.Age
The parish of Balby, with Hexthorpe was formed in 1846. The building was built in 1848 in Victorian Gothic Style. North aisle added 1876-7. Additions planned 1908 but not completed due to costs. ( See the bricked up arches on the south side of the church.) Less costly extension completed 1911.Architectural and Artistic Interest
The parish church is built of grit-stone, obtained from the neighbourhood and the interior is plastered. The style adopted by Mr Francis, the architect, was of Gothic Ecclesiastical of the Early Pointed Period, as adopted in the latter part of the 12th century. The bell turret contains a bell of about 4cwt by Mears of London. The architect is referred to in publications as John Francis . This was probably Frederick John Francis, who, the following year, redesigned a church at Howick in Northumberland. Pevsner describes the Balby church as Lancet style. There are lancet windows. At the west end there is a bell turret or bellcote. The north aisle was added in about 1876. Pevsner says the architect for this work was by Herbert Athron but this is unlikely as he was then only 16 years old. If the Athron family did have involvement then it may have been constructed by the building firm of Athron Bros and Gill which included John Athron, Herbert's father. Some stained glass windows are by Thomas William Camm trading as T.W.Camm and installed in 1897. Plans for a major extension to the church were made in 1908 but not properly realised due to the high cost. Nevertheless an extension to the church, of 60 feet, was consecrated in 1911. The architect was Temple Moore. The bricked up arches indicate where it would have extended to the south. There are modern interior fittings of interest but these are not described here as it was not certain that they were considered as part of the scheme. .Group Value
Next door to the Church is the National Church School, which was built in the same year as the new parish was formed (1846) - the school (the old Church Hall) was built as a memorial to Mr George Banks of St Catherine’s Hall. by his sister, Miss Elizabeth Goodman Banks. The school was discontinued as a public elementary school in 1901, on the opening of the Board School at the top of Sandford Road. The school was held by the vicar and churchwardens as trustees since 1910 and used as a church hall, it was built in the same grit-stone as the church in Gothic style. There is a WWI war memorial sited near the lych gate.Historic Interest
The parish of Balby, with Hexthorpe was formed in August 1846, containing 486 inhabitants. The town council of Doncaster appropriated five roods of land for the site of the proposed church, which was at the point where the lane leading from Hexthorpe joined the turnpike road at Balby. The parish church was built in 1847 by subscription with the living endowed with £150 per annum by Miss Elizabeth Goodman Banks of St Catherine's Hall. The account of the services of the laying of the Foundation Stone and Consecration of the church were detailed in a copy of the Doncaster, Nottingham and Lincoln Gazette for the appropriate dates (available in the Doncaster Archives). The foundation stone was laid on 20th April 1847 by Captain Frank Ramsden in the presence of the incumbent, the Reverend William Green, the Mayor and Corporation of Doncaster, the architect Mr John Francis , the Vicar of Doncaster, Dr. John Sharpe, the builders and a vast crowd from the area. Before the stone was laid a document, which bore a record of the erection of the church, was placed in a bottle and put in a cavity beneath the first stone of the chancel along with some coins. The silver trowel and rosewood mallet used in the ceremony were presented to Captain Ramsden of Hexthorpe Hall. The National Church School next door to the church was built as a memorial to Mr. George Banks of St. Catherine's Hall by his sister Miss Elizabeth Goodman Banks. The cost of the church was £1,071: the yard wall £84 and together with other expenses the total cost was £1,337. The original church had a seating capacity of 220. The population of Balby and Hexthorpe increased during the ensuing years and it was necessary only 30 years later to enlarge the original church. The enlargement consisted of the erection of an aisle on the north side of the nave, thus increasing the accommodation of the church to about 300. Communication from the old part of the church is by three spacious arches resting on finely worked and substantially formed pillars. Heating was also included in the refurbishment which meant gas had to be laid on. The total cost of this work came to over £1,000. The idea also occurred at this time that there ought to be a good organ for the building. For this purpose the ladies of the parish commenced fund-raising and their efforts resulted in the purchase of an organ costing £170. The church was re-opened in October 1877 and the Archbishop of York preached. In 1908 an ambitious scheme was launched by the vicar, the Reverend A M Bolland and his churchwardens for a large scale extension of the church building. This was to include the extension of the nave and north aisle, provision of a large south aisle, side chapel and new vestries, at a cost of over £3,000. A great effort was made at the time to raise this money but it was unsuccessful and therefore the south side extension was abandoned until a date in the future. This resulted in the bricking-up of the south side which is most conspicuous and causes much comment even today. The Archbishop of York, Dr Lang, consecrated the new extension on February 1911. The length of the church had been extended by 60 feet and the seating capacity had been considerably increased. Mr Temple Moore of Hampstead, an eminent ecclesiastical architect was responsible for the plan and the cost was in the region of £2,400. An appeal was launched in 1934 by the vicar, the reverend L Webster for certain furnishing and decoration work to be carried out. During the latter part of the decade a new chancel and sanctuary furnishings, choir stalls, alter, rood cross, communion rails and panelling were completed and dedicated in 1939 by the bishop of Sheffield. The oak panelling and rood cross were memorials to the clergy and laity who had worked and worshipped at Balby. The Lych Gate, given by Mr W Lister and made at this workshops. (achurchnearyou.com)Landmark Status
The Parish Church is a significant landmark in the area. It stands at the corner of Balby High Road and Greenfield Lane, which connects Balby to Hexthorpe (this was a combined parish in the past). The church is visible on a multitude of photographs taken of the area from the 1850s onwards and even today is a significant landmark.Images and Documents
Date Listed
14 Aug 2023
Last Updated
14 Aug 2023
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