St. John the Baptist

Introduction

Saint John the Baptist Church in Normanton stands on the Newland Site, originally part of the land of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, where Newland Hall was built over a chapel and house for the Knights.

History

In 1845 the Byrne family of Irish Row opened their home for Mass. In 1867 a Mass Station was opened at Whitwood, served from Pontefract and first mentioned in the 1870 Directory of the Diocese of Beverley. In 1870 a committee was formed at the Rising Sun Inn, Whitwood, to draw up plans for a School Chapel at Normanton Common, probably completed that year. In 1871 a Chapel of Ease opened in Whitwood, with services led by Dutch Jesuits from Pontefract and later Wakefield.

After the Restoration of the Faith, the area was part of the Jesuit Mission at Pontefract. In 1885 the last Jesuit priest reported that the Whitwood Mission covered 55 square miles, with 177 households and about 800 people, and the school housed 350 children. The parish was established in its own right and welcomed its first parish priest in July 1885. Father Frederick Herfkens took up residence as first parish priest in 1885.

In 1888 a new school chapel was built at Newland Lane end, followed by a presbytery and a club. Father Joseph Imkamp, a compatriot and friend of Fr Herfkens, succeeded him in 1911 and had served as curate to Fr Herfkens. Father Terence O'Connell, who succeeded Fr Imkamp in 1936, was remembered for clearing the parish's large debt. Canon O'Grady died in July 1982 after 25 years as parish priest. In 2018 a new parish priest arrived, becoming the current parish priest.

Architecture and furnishings

The Dutch stained glass throughout the church was commissioned with funds raised in Holland. In October 2013 the High Altar was installed, having originally served as a side-altar of the Sacred Heart in Saint Mary's, Bradford.