A Short History of St. Joseph's Catholic Church
In 1876 Fr. Charles James Locke who was priest of the Secular Mission at Elsecar wrote to the Bishop of Beverley suggesting a church be built at Wath “FOR THE BETTER ATTENDING TO, AND LOOKING AFTER THE CATHOLICS”. In that letter he sought approval for a scheme proposed by Mrs. Margaret Cadman of Cross House to convert a Billiard room in her garden to accommodate approximately 50 people into a chapel for the Catholic community to meet and hear Mass. Three years later on May Day the 1st May 1879 the Church was opened by Bishop Cornthwaite of Leeds
The Church was designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style by M.E. Hadfield & Son architect’s of Sheffield. The Church & Presbytery were financed by the Cadman family and another wealthy Wath family the Nicholson’s
The church is in a similar style to St. Joseph’s at Handsworth based on late fifteenth century churches in the area and was built to accommodate 300.
In 1876 Fr. Charles James Locke who was priest of the Secular Mission at Elsecar wrote to the Bishop of Beverley suggesting a church be built at Wath “FOR THE BETTER ATTENDING TO, AND LOOKING AFTER THE CATHOLICS”. In that letter he sought approval for a scheme proposed by Mrs. Margaret Cadman of Cross House to convert a Billiard room in her garden to accommodate approximately 50 people into a chapel for the Catholic community to meet and hear Mass. Three years later on May Day the 1st May 1879 the Church was opened by Bishop Cornthwaite of Leeds
The Church was designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style by M.E. Hadfield & Son architect’s of Sheffield. The Church & Presbytery were financed by the Cadman family and another wealthy Wath family the Nicholson’s
The church is in a similar style to St. Joseph’s at Handsworth based on late fifteenth century churches in the area and was built to accommodate 300.
The Tablet described the church in the following terms:
A fleche or spirelet of stone marks the division between the nave and chancel and rises to a height of 70 feet and in it are hung 2 fine toned bells (still there but sadly no longer in working condition). A picturesque porch with a niche and figure of St. Joseph holding in his arms the Infant Saviour is a pleasing feature of the front and leads to massive oak doors into a well proportioned interior which consists of a nave 61 feet by 24 feet and a chancel 24 feet long with a organ chamber on the north side, and with oak benches or Choir stalls (these benches were removed when the church was reordered in 1981). The eastern window consists of 5 lights , the centre light is the crucifixion with the figure of The Blessed Virgin and St. John. The other 4 lights are figures of St. Agustine, St. John of Beverley, St. Ann and St. Mary Magdalen, the window was a gift of Miss Cadman (Mrs. Gerrard Young) as the inscription records, the window along with the 2 side windows were made by the firm of Lavers, Barraud, and Westlake.
There was a large stone carved font with an oak spire shaped cover in the north west corner of the nave but this also was removed along with the rails separating the nave and sanctuary when the church was reordered in 1981 The nave is laid with blue and red Staffordshire quarries and in the chancel there is a pavement of Goodwin’s encaustic tiles all of these are now carpeted over (which made the church much warmer and quieter).
A high altar and reredos were added in 1886. The reredos extends across the east end of the chancel and there are niches of Beer-stone which contains the statues of St. Peter and St. Joseph, the panels on either side of the Tabernacle are in high relief and depicts the death’s of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin.
A fleche or spirelet of stone marks the division between the nave and chancel and rises to a height of 70 feet and in it are hung 2 fine toned bells (still there but sadly no longer in working condition). A picturesque porch with a niche and figure of St. Joseph holding in his arms the Infant Saviour is a pleasing feature of the front and leads to massive oak doors into a well proportioned interior which consists of a nave 61 feet by 24 feet and a chancel 24 feet long with a organ chamber on the north side, and with oak benches or Choir stalls (these benches were removed when the church was reordered in 1981). The eastern window consists of 5 lights , the centre light is the crucifixion with the figure of The Blessed Virgin and St. John. The other 4 lights are figures of St. Agustine, St. John of Beverley, St. Ann and St. Mary Magdalen, the window was a gift of Miss Cadman (Mrs. Gerrard Young) as the inscription records, the window along with the 2 side windows were made by the firm of Lavers, Barraud, and Westlake.
There was a large stone carved font with an oak spire shaped cover in the north west corner of the nave but this also was removed along with the rails separating the nave and sanctuary when the church was reordered in 1981 The nave is laid with blue and red Staffordshire quarries and in the chancel there is a pavement of Goodwin’s encaustic tiles all of these are now carpeted over (which made the church much warmer and quieter).
A high altar and reredos were added in 1886. The reredos extends across the east end of the chancel and there are niches of Beer-stone which contains the statues of St. Peter and St. Joseph, the panels on either side of the Tabernacle are in high relief and depicts the death’s of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin.
Beneath the Tabernacle is a sculptor of the dead Christ with the head and feet supported by angels and was carved in polished white alabaster by Mr. Frank Tory who was a student of the Sheffield School of Art, He also carved the figure of St Peter. The rest of the reredos was from the chisel of Mr. Wall of Cheltenham who carried out the work from the drawings and under the supervision of Messers. Hadfield of Sheffield.
The reordering done in 1981 also involved the removal of the shrine to Our Lady which was sited between the confessional and the entrance to the sacristy, all the reordering work was carried out by Ormsby of Scarisbrick.
The Parish Priests of St. Josephs:-
Rev. Charles James Locke 1877 to 1903
Rev. Daniel Murphy 1903 to ?
Rev. William Henry Morrisey ? to ?
Rev. Willibrord Donkers ? to 1952
Rev. Thomas J. O’Kane 1952 to 1978
Rev. John Tomblin 1978 to 2006
Mgr. Peter Moran 2006 to 2008
Rev. Kieron O’Connell 2008 to 2015
Rev. Evangelist Ohaejesi 2015 to 2019
Rev. Martin A. Trask 2019 to present
The reordering done in 1981 also involved the removal of the shrine to Our Lady which was sited between the confessional and the entrance to the sacristy, all the reordering work was carried out by Ormsby of Scarisbrick.
The Parish Priests of St. Josephs:-
Rev. Charles James Locke 1877 to 1903
Rev. Daniel Murphy 1903 to ?
Rev. William Henry Morrisey ? to ?
Rev. Willibrord Donkers ? to 1952
Rev. Thomas J. O’Kane 1952 to 1978
Rev. John Tomblin 1978 to 2006
Mgr. Peter Moran 2006 to 2008
Rev. Kieron O’Connell 2008 to 2015
Rev. Evangelist Ohaejesi 2015 to 2019
Rev. Martin A. Trask 2019 to present