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CHANGE OF USE
(This article was written in the 1970's when the church was sold)
It is quite common in these days to read about churches all over the country being made redundant for
worship. In very many cases the population, or the .major part of it, has moved some distance away and those who remain cannot support a priest.
High Hoyland is one of these redundant churches which is to change its use. From -the middle of May it
will open ,as a centre for mentally and physically handicapped children and, also be available for use by Church groups of all kinds.
This former church has been for more than eight hundred years a landmark, seen from all points of the
compass and thankfully it is to continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
Why was it built there in the first place? The answer is something of an unsolved question but slowly
the story is piecing itself together. _aerial photographs reveal marks on the ground that indicate that this was an Iron Age settlement more than 2,000 years old. The primitive road track, from the church
across the top of Hoyland Bank to Winterhill farm, is an Iron Age and Celtic road leading over to Denby and Penistone. Here would be established a pagan worship centre, for hill tops were favourite sites for
these.
When St Aidan and his monks brought the Christian faith into this area they set up a preaching station on
this spot. Early Christian missionaries were encouraged to build Christian shrines on the site of the old pagan centres. The cross head which was stolen from the church some time ago was dated about 800AD
so Christian worship had been taking place there long before a church was built.
When the first church was built we do not know, nor ever shall know, for William the Conqueror came north in
1069 to put down a rebellion. There had been an independent kingdom of York under Eric Bloodaxe in the tenth century and northerners tended to look to the Danes for help, hoping to restore this old
kingdom. William had other ideas and in his journey through the north anything was destroyed that would offer shelter to an invader. The land lay desolate and was for a long time.
About 1150 Adam fitz Swain, lord of Cawthorne, who was a great church builder erected a new church at High
Hoyland and dedicated it to All Hallows or All Saints. It was built from local stone and was larger than the present building. He presented the first parish priest, one Herbert whose surname do not know,
to be followed by John and Simon.
When Adam died in 1159 , he is buried at Monk Bretton, the right to present the living was divided between
his two daughters, Amabel and Maude and from 1200 to 1807 it had two rectors. We know all their names and you will find these on the list rectors inside All Saints Church. Some of them were famous
people in their day.
In 1804 the church built by Adam fitz Swain was demolished to erect a larger one. What appeared was a
horrible building four walls and a roof looking very much like a barn. A century later this was in poor shape and was again pulled down and the present one built. During rebuilding several memorials and
cross heads of the period 800-1000 were unearthed and are built into the walls. These can still be seen.
In 1977 a redundancy scheme came into a force and again changes were made, this time to preserve the
building while adapting it to serve a practical use as a Christian centre for the less fortunate. The long story of this ancient site has Yet to written and hopefully someday it will be.
Next time you visit the place see if you can find "a mason a carpenter halfway up a wall." Use your
eyes and you will soon find the names.
Dr John Addy
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