Barnsley Sheffield Road Baptist Church History

BARNSLEY:
Barnsley Sheffield Road Baptist Church History up to 1912.

The Sheffield Road Church, Barnsley, provides an interesting history, the first page of which was written in 1845. In that year Mr. John Wood, a glass manufacturer of Barnsley, attended the Association meetings at Farsley and urged the needs of his town. This resulted in the coming of Rev. J. Burton, of Huddersfield, who brought with him a student-John Law-from Horton College. They provided themselves with a tent for their pioneering task, and Mr. Law preached in the town and on Worsbro' Common-a notoriously godless locality. The only christian family on the Common opened its cottage for services.

When the student returned to College, lay preachers from Sheffield, led by a Mr. Eady, continued the good work. Mr. Eady baptised nine converts in the river at Worsbro' Bridge, eight of whom met for Church fellowship in a room in New Street. This was in 1846, and in the next year a building fund was opened. Mr. Wood presented them with the necessary land, upon which, in 1849, they began to build. Rev. W. Cathcart who became, in 1850, their first pastor, enjoyed a successful though brief ministry of three-and-a-half years.

After three equally short pastorates the Church called, in 1861, the Rev. John Compston, who had the joy of celebrating the extinction of the debt in 1865, and of seeing the cause become self-supporting. He was followed (1871) by Rev. H. Watts, and (1873) by Rev. B. W. Osier. In 1881 the Rev. J. Young commenced the longest pastorate the Church has known, one of seventeen years; he was followed by Rev. D. Lindsay (1899-1904) and by Rev. J. E. Rowe, M.A., who resigned in 1907, and was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. A. Stock, B.A., B.D.