St. Peter-in-Chains - Doncaster at Chequer Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN1 2AA UK - The Diocese of Hallam - Part One

The Main Altar

Older than England, Younger than Everyone Our Catholic community in this region originates before Yorkshire was Yorkshire, before Derbyshire was Derbyshire and certainly before the nations of these islands became defined as they are today. But although Christianity in Hallam is much older than what we call "England", our Diocese is the youngest in the country! Born as recently as the 30th May, 1980, Hallam is entering its 21st year - a coming of age as the whole world celebrates the Lord of all Ages. What follows is a short history of those followers of Christ who have walked these local paths before us and who have entrusted to us the faith which has gathered us together this day. From Jerusalem to Hallam Pentecost Day is often described as the Birthday of the Church. The once fearful disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. They hid no more. They went out, they began to speak foreign languages to share the Good News of Jesus. They were anointed with fire! They travelled beyond Jerusalem, beyond Israel - often in mortal danger. They brought the message of Christ to Rome with courage~ for belief in the Lord often meant persecution and death at the hands of the authorities. Despite such dangers, the Word spread to the very edge of the Roman Empire - to the lands of Britain. Historical tradition has it that perhaps as early as 209, Alban was the first inhabitant of England to be martyred for the faith. Certainly by the turn of the next century there were a number of local "overseers" or "Bishops" from Britain present at a gathering in Aries, France. The Roman presence in our area at Doncaster and Templeborough is well documented and we can surmise from St. Bede's history of the Church that our region hosted small isolated communities of faithful Christians in those far off days. Conversions, Kings and Christianity At York in 306, Constantine the Great was proclaimed Roman Emperor. Just six years later he embraced Christianity in 312. Suddenly it became possible for the faith to flourish openly throughout the Empire. Although the Romans gradually abandoned Britain, the faith diffused throughout the British Isles, becoming particularly strong over the next two centuries in Western Celtic parts of the mainland and Ireland. As the Celtic missionaries began to evangelise the tribes of the North of England, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine from Rome in 597 to cover the southern Angles. From Canterbury, Augustine and his followers evangelised northwards. Meanwhile, inspired by St. Patrick, Aidan, Cuthbert, Hilda and others raised the banner of Christ high in Cumberland and Northumbria. The most famous missionary in our area at this time was Paulinus, a priest also sent by Pope Gregory in 601. Paulinus baptised many people in our region and Bede mentions that a huge number of converts were baptized in the river Trent at "Tiolf Ingercestre" on the boundaries of our diocese between Gainsborough and Newark. Moreover, Paulinus affords us one of the earliest specific dates we have in our Christian history through his baptism of the pagan king of Northumbria, Edwin, at York in 627. Paulinus was appointed Bishop of York and set about building a stone church there. In our own area the remains of early churches at Littleborough, Bradwell and Bolton on Dearne date from this period. Celts, Canterbury, York and the Invention of School! As communities of the Celtic and Canterbury traditions began to rub shoulders, a great gathering at Whitby took place in 664 to harmonise feast days and customs. In the century that followed, the Church flourished. The diocese of York became more and more important, comprising the whole of the present counties of South, East, West and North Yorkshire. Archbishop Egbert founded the famous school of York and among its famous scholars was Alcuin. An able liturgist and historian, Alcuim later became royal advisor to Charlemagne, and is credited throughout Europe for reviving the schooling system! The Archbishops founded four great Minsters: York itself, Ripon to the West, Beverley to the East and Southwell (beyond Mansfield) to the South. What is now the diocese of Hallam was within the compass of their work. The Minsters were served by secular canons and were centres of missionary and evangelistic activity in the country round about. The Marvel of the Monastries As the first Christian millennium gave way to the second, our region became increasingly rich in religious communities. As well as being fountainheads of the faith, monasteries were an important part of the social and economic life of the region. The largest Abbey, Roche, was founded by Richard De Bully of Tickhill and Richard FitzTurgis for the "White Monks" or "Cistercians." This community followed the monastic life developed by St Bernard and to this day, the local High School is dedicated to his honour. Roche is situated just east of Maltby, at the Northern end of an area once covered by Sherwood Forest. It is mentioned in legend as a place where Robin Hood went to Mass. Substantial remains of the Abbey Church still survive and a diocesan pilgrimage is still made there on Trinity Sunday. The Original Caring Service and Drop-In Centre Monasteries served as hospitals, centres of learning, and medieval "drop-in" centres. Communities of monks were the equivalent of medieval social services and they were well represented throughout our area. Work sop Priory, founded by William de Love tot in 1103, was established for a community of Augustinian Canons. This still serves as the Anglican Parish church of Worksop and has kept its beautiful 12th century nave and exquisite 14th century Gatehouse. In the same vicinity, Welbeck Abbey, near Worksop, was founded by the Premonstratension canons in 1153. Welbeck now houses an army Sixth Form College, its Catholic Chaplaincy being served from St. Mary's Worksop. The same community founded Beauchief near Sheffield in 1175 and dedicated it to the martyr, St Thomas a-Becket. Again the present day Catholic Church of Our Lady of Beauchief and St. Thomas honours their tradition. An Unusual English Innovation Blyth Priory near Retford and Monk Bretton near Barnsley were both founded by French Benedictine monks.Benedictine nuns lived at Wallingwells in the present parish of Oldcotes and small Hospitals were given by Norman Overlords to the parishes of Blyth, Bawtry and St Leonard's Sheffield. The most revolutionary order of the time was founded by Gilbert of Sempringham. The Gilbertines had a community at Mattersey, built on the banks of the river Idle near Retford. They were the only medieval order to be founded by an Englishman and were unique in that nuns and canons shared the same houses, even if they were separated by a wall in church! Mystery and Misery The Medieval period is sometimes thought of as a golden age of the Church in our region. The main towns of the district which we know as Hallam, Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley, Chesterfield and Worksop were served by large parish churches. Exemplars of this period would be the Church of St Peter and St Paul that is now the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Sheffield and the "College of Jesus" which the new Archbishop of York, Thomas Rotherham built to grace the town of the same name in 1480. As the number of Catholics became more populous, so methods of communicating the faith became more and more imaginative. A wonderful feature of this era were the Mystery Plays which sought by drama to teach the truths of the faith through street theatre performed in village squares. Happily, as exemplified by our Pageant of Faith, this tradition has been revived in our own day. Defender of the Faith? The reign of Henry VIII which saw the break with Rome began in 1509. Hitherto, England in general, and Henry in particular had been very faithftil to Catholic tradition. Walsingham was the most popular Marian shrine in Europe and Henry had been accorded the title "Defender of the Faith." However, between 1527 and 1533, in his efforts to gain a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Henry eventually decided to challenge the papal authority of Clement VII. The Pope in turn excommunicated Henry after his marriage to Anne Boleyn was solemnized by Thomas Cranmer. The clergy meanwhile were intimidated by accusations of "praemunire" that is, breaches of royal privilege in favour of the Papacy. They were pardoned on payment of a fine and acceptance of the King's authority over the Church. Time of Turmoil The whole community of faith was thrown into confusion, and subsequent decades saw violent religious convulsions of society which all Christians can regard with sorrow from our contemporary vantage point. Monasteries were destroyed and their communities dispersed or murdered. Henry's son, Edward VI rejected Rome but when Mary came to the throne she reversed the persecution. Elizabeth 1(1559-1603) chose a compromise whereby she repudiated the authority of Rome, but retained much of the pattern of Catholic Liturgy. At this time England was almost constantly at odds with Catholic Spain, hence those loyal to Rome were readily accused of treason. By the middle years of Elizabeth's reign, West and South Yorkshire possibly had no more than 1,000-2,000 adult Catholics. Fines, confiscation of property and, after 1570, the threat of imprisonment and execution, discouraged all but a few from the practice of the Faith. Local Heroes John Anne and William Richardson Although vocation to the priesthood has always involved personal challenge, it eertainW became a perilous calling in those days. Since it was no longer possible to train for the priesthood here in England, newly created seminaries at Douai, Rheims, Valladolid and Rome were established for the English mission. The first martyr from this area was a man named John Amias (alias Anne) of the family of that name of Burghwallis and Frickley. He was executed on the Knavesmire at York on the 16th March, 1588. A widower who had been engaged in the clothing industry, John Anne was captured by the "Pursuivants" (priest catchers) in Cleveland. The last priest from our area to suffer the penalty of death for exercising his priesthood in the reign of Elizabeth I was William Richardson alias Anderson. He was a native of Wales, near Kiveton Park. Richardson was possibly a convert who later trained for the Priesthood at Rheims and at Vallado lid. He was apprehended whilst working in London and was executed at Tyburn on 17th February 1603, a week before the death of Queen Elizabeth herself. Continued in PART TWO

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