St Joseph, Dinnington

Introduction

St Joseph, Dinnington, in Handsworth, in the Diocese of Hallam, was founded as a parish in 1912 and serves 18 villages. The church was opened and blessed by Bishop Cowgill in 1917. The original church is faced in red brick laid in English bond, with red terracotta details and a Welsh slate roof, in Lombard Romanesque style.

History

In 1904 a priest from Oldcotes rode to say Mass for people working on the sinking of the Colliery Shaft, with Mass said in a Nissen hut in Tin Town. In 1912 Father Angenant, a Dutch priest, was appointed first Parish Priest of St Joseph's by the Bishop of Leeds. The church was considerably enlarged to the west in 1956, with the architect not established. Following the 1981 fire St Joseph's was again reordered, and by 1989 a single-storey extension had been built to the north to provide parish rooms.

The original church was built to the designs of H. Blenkinsop & F. Scatchard in 1915. After the Second World War housing expansion continued and to accommodate the growing Catholic congregation the church was extended to the west in 1956. Historic photographs suggest that the sanctuary was also reordered and simplified at this time. A fire occurred in St Joseph's Church in 1981, after which the church was re-ordered. Parish rooms were added to the church in 1989.

Architecture and furnishings

The gabled west end is dominated by a single window in a wide Tudor-arched opening. The south side of the nave has three bays with semi-circular headed windows, followed by a two-bay projection under a catslide roof containing confessionals. The two-bay sanctuary belongs to the original work, with richer terracotta and brick details, including a Lombard frieze and semi-circular headed Romanesque-style windows. The east gable end has a moulded terracotta rose window and below this a horizontal band with seven blind quatrefoils above a blind arcade.

Inside, the most prominent feature is a wide semi-circular arch with plastered solid spandrels marking the third bay division. A semi-circular sanctuary arch frames the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the sanctuary, all dating from 1915. The arch is flanked by matching niches containing statues of Our Lady and St Joseph. The main feature of the east wall is the decorative rose window.

The font is placed centrally at the west end, behind which the large window has a cross and the dove of the Holy Spirit in a roundel over a fishy, watery scene. The north side has three rectangular single-light windows, and three pairs with segmental brick heads. Inside, the nave walls are plastered and plainly painted, the flooring is carpeted and the bay divisions of the nave are marked by the concrete frame. The sanctuary is raised by three steps and the tabernacle stand is up two further steps.

The forward altar and pews are modern, of pine. The Stations of the Cross are in high relief.

Music and liturgy

The parish maintains its own choir, which performs in church each year. Music is described as a key part of the parish's Mass and celebrations. A confessional Mass is held each month at the parish.

Parish life

The parish has a CAFOD Group, Caring Group, Youth Activities, Credit Union, and Brownies Wednesday Club for older parishioners. The parish's Reflection group invites the parish to take a year to make lifestyle changes to reduce impact on the planet and help poor and vulnerable people affected by climate change.

The parish has a Baptism Group to help prepare for and organise baptisms. The parish has a primary school, St Joseph's Primary, on Lidgett Lane. The parish has a chapel of ease, Blessed William Richardson, at Kiveton Park. The parish's chapel at Kiveton is the only Christian church in the village and engages with Anglican and Methodist churches in Wales, the next village.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Children in year 3 and above are invited to join preparations for First Holy Communion. Young people ages 12 and 13 are invited to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation. St Joseph's follows the Hallam Diocese Marriage Preparation Programme built around two major themes. A group of people visit older people and people with special needs, offering shopping, transport to church, and sacraments at home.