St John & St Mary
Goldthorpe, Yorkshire
The church was built by the 2nd Viscount Halifax, keen to inspire the local community and encourage their spiritual wellbeing.
There was a church here when Edward the Confessor built Westminster Abbey, before the Norman Conquest.
The church has examples of five periods of architecture. The nave is on the site of the original Anglo Saxon church and the bottom part of the wall is certainly Saxon. There is also a rare Saxon window and a genuine Norman window. The north aisle has lovely 12th century pillars and the tower is 16th century perpendicular.
There is much to see including a Jacobean pulpit with inlaid panels, memory cloth and recent painting ‘The Baptism of Christ’.
There is no stained glass, which is unusual for an ancient church, but means that there is a wonderful sense of light and space.