Menu
We are the Anglican parish church for the older part of Worksop north of the town centre to where new building starts. Over 150 years we have been here for our community for their rites of passage, supported them through two world wars and many difficult periods including the Depression, miners’ strikes and the closure of the pits. From early days the church has a long standing history of community involvement and mission.
There have been many different groups for all sections of the community. Ours was the first Mothers’ Union branch in the diocese and our uniformed groups, young people’s and toddler group are long established. We have strong connections with local schools.
Through the years this church has stood to share and show the good news of God’s love for all. In 2019 we celebrated 150 years of faithfulness – God’s faithfulness to us and the faithfulness of all those who have worshipped and served in many different capacities over the years.
Our celebration service was full of past and present worshippers and some previous clergy.
Richard Neill representing – Canon Robert Neill
Vicar 1962-73
Canon Ed Mitchell
Curate 1974-77
Ruth Brown representing – Canon Albert Brown
Vicar 1974-80
Canon Ted Crofton
Curate 1977-81
Rev. David Clayden
Curate 1976-79
The Venerable David Bailey
Curate 1980-83
Rev. Neil Hogg
Vicar 2000-2011
Rev. Captain Tim Stanford
2013 – 2024
In 2021 we were deeply shaken when we understood the seriousness of the condition of the spire. We started fundraising and we are so grateful to our generous congregation and local community who have given and supported our fundraising events and between them by August 2022 had raised £25,000.
After many meetings of our Grant group, discussion, and prayer we applied to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a grant to repair our Spire and to fund a Heritage Activity programme to promote and celebrate our church’s heritage and that of the community we serve. We sent our 10,000 + word application in August 2022 and were delighted to hear in the Autumn that we were successful.
Our Project ran from March 2023 to September 2024. At our weekly coffee mornings our Heritage Worker gathered stories and memories of growing up and working in Worksop, its changing face and many different connections to the church, including researching names on the War Memorials.
There have been occasional talks on a range of local heritage topics including the history of Shireoaks Colliery, the Chesterfield Canal, the Railway, Worksop’s VC hero and Mr Straws’ House.
"It has been a delight to work with the members of the church and the wider community to discover, explore and celebrate the fascinating heritage of St John's and the areas of Worksop that it serves. The stories people have shared with us about living, working and growing up in Worksop reveal so much about the bigger story of the town and the role that St John's has played, and continues to play in their lives.”
One important area of our project has been to work with children and young people.
Our local school, Redlands, has taken part in heritage activities. In the summer of 2023 Year 6 children created willow spires connected with their topic of “Believe to Achieve.” Year 1 children made clay tiles picturing local landmarks for their topic work on “The Wonders of Worksop.”
Pinnacle Conservation held an open morning for adults and children to see some of the work of the stonemasons in the restoration work and to have a go themselves under the guidance of the experts.
In the Autumn of 2023, we took part in the Inspire Libraries Fun Palace event with around 100 children making a stained-glass effect window, a collage and dressing up in Victorian clothing.
The church’s Scout and Guide uniformed groups and children’s group took part in an Arts heritage project in January 2024 to produce a stained-glass effect scene of the Church in Worksop inspired by the famous church days out from the turn of the 20th century. A miner from the latter days of Shireoaks Colliery completes the scene which is populated by self-portraits of all those who helped with the Art project. The scene looks splendid with the light shining through as it is mounted on the Overend Road window of the Church Hall.
In July 2023 work started on the restoration of the Spire. A specialist conservation company, Pinnacle, were contracted to complete the work which was completed in December 2023. We were pleased with the high quality of the stonework and can be confident the Spire will stand tall in the town for generations in the future.
Display boards have been installed in the North West corner of the church, and there are new leaflets and trails for visitors to the church, and a large bank of resources for school visits.
The research on the War Memorials, commemorating the fallen from the parish in both wars, makes fascinating reading of the details of their lives and their service for their country. This has been collected into folders and is available to browse by the two memorials. There is also the poignant story of Tom and George Foulds, father and son, who lost their lives in succeeding wars.
The church grounds have been tidied up after the building work. In partnership with the United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund, based at Crown Place Community Centre on Sandy Lane, a team of volunteers has built three new planters by the West Entrance to the church.
These have been filled with sensory and colourful plants. The Kids Church have also planted three containers by the North Door with bright, welcoming plants. The Guides have hung bird and bug boxes decorated beautifully in the grounds.
In the autumn of 2024, the work on the grounds will be completed by planting some Hawthorn hedging plants along the South Border, which will provide blossom in the Spring and edible berries in the Autumn to attract wildlife.
While the Spire has been repaired, the condition of the lower South and North roofs have been deteriorating so the church has gained a water feature every time we had heavy rain! At the end of 2023 we therefore applied to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for an extension to the project. We are very grateful for an additional grant.
Pinnacle Conservation were again commissioned to carry out the roof repairs which started in January 2024 and finished in June 2024. We are thrilled to have a completely watertight church building.
The weekly “Tuesdays @10” coffee mornings are continuing, and all are welcome to come and share photos, memories, family histories, or just chat over a drink and make new friends.
Please also visit and look around the church which is open on Tuesday mornings between 10 and 12 and on Saturday mornings from 11-12 for a “Quiet Hour” – an opportunity to look round, sit in peace, listen to the organ, light a candle, say a prayer…
Sunday services are at 10:30am for Morning Worship with a creche and Kids Church for 4-11 year olds, and at 6pm for a more informal cafe style service in the church hall lounge.
For further information please see our facebook page – St John’s Worksop Memories.
To contact the church please email – office.worksopstjohn@gmail.com
For details of What’s On in our church please visit:
office.worksopstjohn@gmail.com
St John’s Church,
Overend Road,
Worksop,
Nottinghamshire,
S80 1QG
