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HistoryCatholic life in Askern at the turn of the 20th century was Mass being said in various venues; such as the White Hart pub and the local cinema which was situated at the site now occupied by the furniture store next to the post office. Prior to this, Mass was said at Burghwallis in the private chapel of Major Anne, who kindly let catholic residents of the surrounding villages use this chapel. Older residents of Askern still remember going to Mass at Burghwallis in their pushchairs as there was a footpath which stretched from the top end of Sutton Road, across the field that lies south of the Anne Arms pub, to Burghwallis. With the advent of coal in 1916, life in Askern gathered apace and catholic life was given a boost through the introduction of a Chapel of Ease in the 1920's in a
converted army hut. Those who remember this era in our parish history do so with great affection as, despite its Services were held by priests from Woodlands, the most memorable being Fr Donkers, a priest of Dutch origin whom many of the older parishioners remember with great affection, some of whom were married by him. Two curates also paid regular visits and were involved in parish life at this time. The names of Fr Falvey and Fr Feely invoke a lot of happy memories amongst those who attended Mass in the hut during this time.
Geographically the hut was ideally
situated
on Mucky Lane in a field at the junction of Alfred Road and Sutton Road. The hut also lent itself to a host of social activities ranging from dances to regular whist drives. A stage
built by the patrons themselves, constructed with local timbers, was both sturdy and practical, providing an ideal altar base and a dais for the many bands that played at the dances held
there. No mention of the hut should go without reference to some of the characters that contributed to the religious life and social activity of that time, chief of which was "Little Alec". He was a diminutive person of enormous personality, a self appointed caretaker who kept the hut clean and was renowned for his great wit and humour. In 1929 Coalite came to Askern. The pace of life quickened and the face of Askern changed with it. What was originally a spa town boasting Palladian style hotels and hydros with a retail shop frontage that rivalled Harrogate for its fashion consciousness seemed to change overnight; the Hydro hotels were demolished and as the patronage of the spa waters diminished the bath houses that served this purpose went with it, thus the west side of the lake which had a row of houses was literally flattened for the expansion of the road. The life of our parish first began with the purchase of land in 1938. On this land stood a house by the name of "Hillcroft" which was owned by a Dr Hindlay. Some photographs of the period show the roof and chimney pots of this fine looking building that lay directly behind the furniture shop which still exists today.
The parish officially opened in 1953 with Fr Telford as Parish Priest who served until 1955 and was succeeded briefly by Fr Quinn. Fr Quinn was followed by Fr Francis Blanchfield in 1955, who was responsible for the introduction of prize bingo to augment the parish funds. He was a familiar figure in the village riding his moped, on which he performed his parochial visits. In 1962 the parish was taken over by Fr McCabe who acquired the house on Moss Road and was the first priest to use it as a presbytery, till then the priests were housed at Burghwallis and had to commute to Askern to perform their duties and say Mass. Next to arrive was Fr Edward McSweeney who, during his tenure of office, was responsible for gaining a full licence for conducting bingo for monetary prizes. He served Askern for 2 years and was succeeded briefly for a 1 year period by Fr Pete Walmslay, a quiet and spiritual man, who in turn was to hand over in 1971 to Fr Charles Homes. Fr Holmes served 4 years in Askern until 1975 when he handed over to Fr Gerald Burke. Fr Burke came to Askern after serving the the Third World and soon struck an empathy with a community going into decline owing to the rapid demise of the mining industry. Fr Burke reordered the church to reflect the local industry, hence the cable drum that serves as a base for the mahogany altar which depicts the crown of thorns in a magnificent piece of marquetry. The church was decked in some very original batiks which represented a variety of scenes from the bible interlinked with the miners life. Fr Burke was acquired the very impressive piece of Welsh slate which was set in place with enormous difficulty and served as reminder of the coal face and the rock of God. The youth of the 70's and 80's recall the parish outings made during this time with great affection. There were camping expeditions to the Lake District, Wales and the Yorkshire Dales where a lot of fun was had by all. One particular pilgrimage to Lourdes has remained etched in the memories of the participants for its incidents: The party set off in 2 minibuses, 1 driven by Fr Burke and the other by Hugh Cassidy. The outward trip to Lourdes went successfully and the visit to the Grotto was much appreciated by the pilgrims, most of whom found the spiritual experience uplifting and thought they would repeat it some time later in their lives. However, on the return journey owing to a breakdown of one of the minibuses coinciding with a public holiday in France, the party were forced to spend 2 days relying only on the rations that they had taken with them. The upshot of all this was that they all had to live on "Chicken Chasseur" for several days and even today the very mention of these 2 words spells anathema and instant loss of appetite lasting several days! Fr Burke was also quite an accomplished violinist and played regularly in duet with Alban Keane who played the organ. His talents did not end there, because he actually
made violins and repaired them, working from a room in a house on Campsall Road. Unbeknown to him through these activities he was known as Askerns' answer to Stradivarius. Fr Burke's tenure of office came to an end in 1990 after 15 years, when he took up the post of Parish Priest in the church of Our Lady and St Thomas, Woodseats, Sheffield. Fr Burke was succeeded by the present incumbent, Fr James Kennedy who brings to his office a sense of Irish humour coupled with a Gallic pragmatism that has invigorated the parish with a new spirituality and sense of renewal. But life has not been exactly easy these past few years, the closure of the pits has brought a sense of despondency and apathy, the soul makes of unemployment. Fr Kennedy has met these challenges head on and his sermons on Sunday and homilies at weekday masses have been a source of inspirations and an antidote to these twin evils. On a practical note, Fr Kennedy has proved a stickler for liturgical correctness and many of us have felt his gentle prodding's when we have tended to stray. Along with making various security, heating and painting improvements to the church and hall, and still managed to clear the parish debt! |
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size, it was a hive of activity in both a religious sense and social sense. There were regular processions in honour of Our Lady, particularly in
the month of May, when a May Queen was selected, crowned and taken in procession, along Alfred Road, Green Lane and Avenue Road.
It was on 25th March 1940 that the foundation stone was laid by the Bishop, and the building was
opened. By now the second world war had intervened but priests continued to come from Woodlands to say Mass at Askern. Askern village also served as a rehabilitation centre for
the European allies, notably the Dutch. Consequently there was a contingent of Dutch youths billeted in Askern with a priest in attendance who used to say Mass regularly a the English
Martyrs Church.