St Barnabas Church, Oxford

Last updated

St Barnabas Church, Oxford
Jericho StBarnabas 2006-01.JPG
View of St Barnabas Church and its campanile
Oxfordshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
St Barnabas Church, Oxford
51°45′28″N1°16′11″W / 51.7578°N 1.2697°W / 51.7578; -1.2697
LocationSt Barnabas Street, Jericho, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6BG
CountryEngland
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Traditionalist Anglo-Catholic
Website Parish website
History
StatusActive
Founder(s) Thomas Combe and Martha Combe [1]
Dedication St Barnabas
Consecrated 19 October 1869
Architecture
Functional status Parish church
Heritage designation Grade I listed
Architect(s) Sir Arthur Blomfield
Architectural type Victorian, Romanesque, Italianate
Specifications
Bellstubular
Administration
Diocese Diocese of Oxford
Episcopal area Oxford Episcopal Area
Archdeaconry Archdeaconry of Oxford
Deanery Oxford Deanery
Parish Oxford St. Barnabas and St. Paul with St Thomas the Martyr
Clergy
Bishop(s) The Rt Revd Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford
Vicar(s) Fr Christopher Woods
Honorary priest(s) Canon Robin Ward
The Revd Prof Sarah Coakley
NSM(s) Fr Matthew Salisbury
Deacon(s) The Revd Canon Prof Sue Gillingham
Laity
Reader(s) Jenny Pittaway
Maggie Ellis
Director of music Dr Philip Burnett
Organist(s) Mr Martin Payne
Organ scholar Saralynn Culpepper
Churchwarden(s) Claire Herbertson and Paul South

St Barnabas Church is a Church of England parish church in Jericho, central Oxford, England, located close to the Oxford Canal. [2] [3]

Contents

History

St Barnabas, like many similar churches in the expanding towns and cities of Victorian England, was built to minister to the spiritual and practical needs of the poor and labouring classes. The parish was formed from that of St Paul, Oxford, in 1869; St Paul's was in turn formed from parts of the parishes of St Thomas and St Giles. The church was founded by Thomas Combe (1796–1872), Superintendent of the Oxford University Press close to the church, and his wife Martha (1806–1893), now commemorated by a blue plaque installed by the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board. [1] They were supporters of the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian movement). The first Parish Priest was Fr Montague Noel, SSC.

The architect was Sir Arthur Blomfield, a son of the Bishop of London, who had previously designed the chapel for the Radcliffe Infirmary. The architectural style is that of a Romanesque basilica, possibly modelled on San Clemente in Rome or the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello. St Barnabas has a distinctive square tower, in the form of an Italianate campanile, that is visible from the surrounding area. The church was built on land donated by George Ward, a local land owner and member of the influential Ward family (named as the donor in the land conveyance, etc. in the Oxford Diocesan Archives). George's brother William Ward was Mayor of Oxford on two occasions, 1851/2 and 1861/2. [4] It was consecrated in 1869 by Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford and the campanile was completed in 1872. The pulpit was added in 1887 by Heaton, Butler, and Bayne with the panels painted by Charles Floyce. [5] [6] This replaced a cylindrical timber pulpit with columns and a moulded cornice which is now at St Peter's, London Docks. [7]

It has a ring of ten, distinctive, tubular bells, and the hours and quarters are sounded on them.

An associated girls' and infant school for St. Barnabas's was built on a site in Cardigan Street in 1857. [8]

St Barnabas in literature

St Barnabas features in a wide range of literature, from Thomas Hardy through P. D. James. The poet John Betjeman wrote a poem about the church. [3] [9]

Present day

The church maintains the Anglo-Catholic tradition of its foundation. A parish magazine, Jericho Matters, was, until 2020, produced quarterly and distributed to all of the households and businesses in Jericho. The church hosts many events throughout the year, such as concerts, lectures and exhibitions.

In September 2015 the parish was united with the neighbouring parish of St Thomas the Martyr, to form the new parish of St Barnabas and St Paul, with St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford. St Barnabas is the parish church and St Thomas is the chapel of ease. The first vicar of the new parish was Fr Jonathan Beswick, SSC. [10] The current Vicar is Fr Christopher Woods, who until February 2019 was Vicar of St Anne's Hoxton in the Diocese of London.

Historically, resolution B (rejecting a woman as incumbent of the parish) had been in place at St Barnabas and all three resolutions at St Thomas. [11] Since 2018, the parish has received alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Oswestry (formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet), the traditionalist catholic provincial episcopal visitor for those who reject the ordination of women as priests and bishops: the reason given for this request was to "maintain the unity of the parish". [11] [12] [13]

In November 2022, the parish began a consultation as to whether or not to rescind this arrangement, and in January 2023 the PCC voted by a majority to welcome the ministry of women priests and bishops. [12] The Revd Dr Melanie Marshall was the first woman to preside at the Parish Mass and did so on 14 May 2023. [14]

Access

The church is open daily from 9am - 6pm.

A short guide to the building and its story is available from the church, as is the Emma Bridgewater 'Jericho' mug, commissioned specially for St Barnabas.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton</span> Catholic diocese in England

The Diocese of Clifton is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of the Holy Cross</span>

The Society of the Holy Cross is an international Anglo-Catholic society of male priests with members in the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, who live under a common rule of life that informs their priestly ministry and charism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Oxford</span> Diocese of the Church of England

The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford, and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains more church buildings than any other diocese and has more paid clergy than any other except London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jericho, Oxford</span> Human settlement in England

Jericho is an historic suburb of the English city of Oxford. It consists of the streets bounded by the Oxford Canal, Worcester College, Walton Street and Walton Well Road. Located outside the old city wall, it was originally a place for travellers to rest if they had reached the city after the gates had closed. The name Jericho may have been adopted to signify this 'remote place' outside the wall. As of February 2021, the population of Jericho and Osney wards was 6,995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Church of St Mary the Virgin</span> Church in Oxford, England

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is an English church in Oxford situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of university and college buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Martyrs</span> Three Anglican bishops burnt at the stake (1555)

The Oxford Martyrs were Protestants tried for heresy in 1555 and burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for their religious beliefs and teachings, during the Marian persecution in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Michael at the North Gate</span> Church in Oxford, England

St Michael at the North Gate is a church in Cornmarket Street, at the junction with Ship Street, in central Oxford, England. The name derives from the church's location on the site of the north gate of Oxford when it was surrounded by a city wall.

Charles Fuge Lowder was a priest of the Church of England. He was the founder of the Society of the Holy Cross, a society for Anglo-Catholic priests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Combe</span> Printer and patron of the arts

Thomas Combe was a British printer, publisher and patron of the arts. He was 'Printer to the University' at Oxford University Press, and was also a founder and benefactor of St Barnabas Church, near the Press in Jericho and close to Oxford Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Enraght</span>

Richard William Enraght was an Irish-born Church of England priest of the late nineteenth century. He was influenced by the Oxford Movement and was included amongst the priests commonly called "Second Generation" Anglo-Catholics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford</span> Church in United Kingdom

St Thomas the Martyr Church is a Church of England parish church of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, in Oxford, England, near Oxford railway station in Osney. It is located between Becket Street to the west and Hollybush Row to the east, with St Thomas Street opposite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claydon, Oxfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Claydon is a village and former civil parish, now in Claydon with Clattercot, in the Cherwell district, in Oxfordshire, England. The village is about 6 miles (10 km) north of Banbury and about 417 feet (127 m) above sea level on a hill of Early Jurassic Middle Lias clay.

Frank Ernest Howard was an English architect who worked exclusively in the area of ecclesiastical furnishings and fittings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Barnabas' Church, Morecambe</span> Church in Lancashire, England

St Barnabas' Church is in Regent Road, Morecambe, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Lancaster and Morecambe, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Barnabas Bethnal Green</span> Church in London , United Kingdom

St Barnabas Bethnal Green is a late 19th-century church in Bow in London, England. It is an Anglican church in the Diocese of London. The church is at the junction of Roman Road and Grove Road in the Bow West ward of London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Prior to 1965 it was in the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Gabriel's Church, Walsall</span> Church in United Kingdom

St Gabriel's Church is a Church of England parish church in Walsall, West Midlands. Its parish includes Fullbrook, Caldmore, Bescot, The Delves, Palfrey, and Tamebridge and Yew Tree.

The Bishop of Oswestry is a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Lichfield who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mark's Church, Huddersfield</span> Church in West Yorkshire, England

The former St Mark's Church, Old Leeds Road, Huddersfield, was an Anglican parish church in West Yorkshire, England. It was previously known as St Mark's, Leeds Road, before the road name was changed. This building was designed in 1886 by William Swinden Barber when the parish of St Peter's was split and a new building was required to accommodate a growing congregation. It was opened in 1887. Among the vicars posted in this benefice were the very popular Canon Percy Holbrook, the notoriously unfortunate Reverend Jonas Pilling who was involved in a standoff with his congregation for many years, the sociable Reverend Robert Alfred Humble who died in mysterious circumstances, and the eloquent preacher Reverend Joseph Miller, who had previously been a Congregational minister. The building was sold by the Church of England in 2001, and it has been converted into a block of offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Reading</span> Church in Reading, England

Holy Trinity Church, also known as the Church of the Holy Trinity, is a Church of England parish church in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated on the Oxford Road some 500 metres (1,600 ft) west of the town centre. It is a Grade II listed building.

Paul Richard Thomas SSC is a British Anglican bishop who has served as Bishop of Oswestry, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Lichfield and the provincial episcopal visitor for the western half of the Province of Canterbury since February 2023. From 2011, he was vicar of St James's Church, Paddington.

References

  1. 1 2 Warr, Elizabeth Jean (2011). The Oxford Plaque Guide. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. pp. 39–41. ISBN   978-0-7524-5687-4.
  2. Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "St Barnabas, Church of". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford . Macmillan. p. 378–379. ISBN   0-333-39917-X.
  3. 1 2 "Oxford: St Barnabas, Oxford". The Church of England. 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  4. "William Ward: Mayor of Oxford 1851/2 and 1861/2". Oxford History: Mayors & Lord Mayors. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  5. "New Pulpit". Jackson's Oxford Journal [1809]. 6 August 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 8 October 2020 via British Library Newspapers.
  6. "New Pulpit for St Barnabus". Oxfordshire Weekly News. 3 August 1887. p. 6.
  7. "CHURCH OF ST PETER, Non Civil Parish - 1065844 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  8. "Education Pages 442-462 A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 4, the City of Oxford". British History Online. Victoria County History, 1979. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  9. "St Barnabas Church". Jericho Living Heritage Trust. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  10. "Contact details". St Barnabas Church.
  11. 1 2 "THE PARISH OF ST BARNABAS AND ST PAUL, WITH ST THOMAS THE MARTYR: "Unity and Flourishing"". stbarnabasjericho. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Ministry of Women Priests in our parish: an open letter". St Barnabas Jericho. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  13. Williamson, Catherine. "St Barnabas, Jericho". The See of Oswestry. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  14. Birte [@bf10002] (14 May 2023). "On a train in Germany. Lovely to combine visits to friends and family but sad to have missed this wonderful occasion: Mthr Mel celebrating Mass @SBarnabasOxford" (Tweet) via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Further reading