 Worksop
St Paul
History
An appeal was launched on Sunday 28 November 1954, by the Bishop of Southwell and His Worship the Mayor of Worksop, to raise funds to build a new church, dedicated to St Paul, in the Manton area of Worksop. The need had been highlighted after the colliery, which went into production in 1905, resulted in a gradual increase of the population by 10,000. By the 1950s people were mainly housed on a new council estate, known as Manton Colliery Village, in what had previously been open countryside.
The first church, already in place in July 1954, was described as 'a draughty builders' hut' and from a photograph of the period it appears to have been a simple wooden shed with corrugated iron roof located on rough ground at the south end of Furnival Street. It was loaned by the Worksop Corporation. Services were held on a Sunday from 25 July the same year at 9:30 am, 10:45 am, and 6:30 pm.
The aim was to raise £25,000 to build a church for worship, a church hall for meetings, youth activates, games, socials, plays and film shows, and a new parsonage.
A brick church hall was constructed in 1956.
The first, temporary church lay within the parish of Worksop Priory. This remained the case for some years until the new church was formally founded in 1963. In the following year discussions began in earnest with the Church Commissioners for the building of the new church off Cavendish Road and as late as 1967 discussions were ongoing between the church architects and the Commissioners on revisions for a new design. The foundation stone was finally put in place by the bishop on 9 July 1967 but the target needed to complete the project had risen to £100,000. The architects were Maskill & McCabe. The detached, skeletal tower was added by the same architects in 1970.
In 1967 it was mooted that St John should become a parish in its own right and this was duly enacted the following year.
In 2005 the church was in trouble when it was subject to shots being fired and the vicarage windows were shot out and catapulted.
In 2016 regular Sunday Mass was held at 11:30 am and on Wednesdays at 6 pm was a songs and fellowship service.
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