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A History Of St John’s Church and School. A History Of St John’s Church and School.
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A History Of St John’s Church and School The date was 1803. On the ground were St John the Baptist Church now stands there was nothing but open fields were people strolled to eat picnics beside the beautiful River Calder. However, in an upper room above a building in Wyre Street, in a plumbers worskshop called “Job Pollards” the early Roman Catholics used to gather to hear Holy Mass.
In those days most other people used to walk to St Mary’s Church Burnley, or St Mary’s Church Clayton le Moors. However, during the 1840’s numbers in Padiham increased with people moving from Ireland, from the Yorkshire Dales and the Ribble Valley to work in the growing coal mines, and cotton industry. Later lots of people came to work in the chemical works in Hapton.
A Railway line from Rosegrove to Great Harwood and Blackburn was built and Padiham Grew and Grew. Reverand Father Tomas Joseph Flanagan was sent from St Mary’s Burnley to start a mission here, and it was he on 11th May 1863 who laid the foundation stone, next to the cemetery, for a new church.
Father McDermott Roe was the first parish priest appointed in 1868 and in those days Catholics were still teased and called names from which he suffered a lot. He was responsible for building the presbytery. • Due to the work of Father Henry Jones the church was finally completed in 1881. It was much smaller in those days. Father Jones was so loved that during his funeral all the shops in Padiham closed.
Father Jones also built a school and in 1896 the first two classrooms were brought into use. At this time the school housed all age groups of children as old as 16 years of age. This is now our Key Stage 1 and Foundation
This is the oldest surviving photograph of St John the Baptist. It comes from the early 1900’s. It shows the much smaller church, a detached priests house, and the small school. This was taken across the road called Lane Side view which in 1914 became St John’s Road. Notice that at this time there is no school hall and no rear buildingsbut there is a community centre.
From 1892 to 1901 the parish priest was Father Goetgeluck who founded St Augustine’s Church in Lowerhouse. After him came Father Heart who improved the school and parish immensely. He was helped by two of the greatest headteachers for St John’s School Mrs O’Shaughnessy and Mr Berry. This was a golden age for St John’s School and Parish. Both are at rest in Padiham Cemetery. In fact Mr Berry retired to Yorkshire were he died but loved Padiham so much that he was laid to rest there in 1973. Parish Priest of St John’s Father Heart 1891-1931 Mr. Berry Head of St John’s from 1910 to 1943. The longest serving headteacher of St John’s to date
Father Baron arrived in 1928 and hence began a new ‘Golden Age’. He built the hall with the intention of using it to hold functions to raise money to extend the school. The hall was a centre of entertainment for the whole of Padiham, with dances, plays, musical performances and of course bingo. It must have raised money really fast because the rest of the school was opened within 4 short years in 1932 by Bishop Henshaw. Father Baron with three of his devoted builders
Father Baron also saw to an extension of the church to the size and shape we know it today and this bigger church was opened in 1937. Father Ramsdale followed Father Baron. During his time another parish sprung up from St John’s , St Philips which was founded in 1956. Father Connolly served as parish priest from 1940 to 1960. Father Ramsdale and some children of the parish at his 50th Anniversary. St Philip’s as it is today.
For many years after Father Ramsdale St. John’s had a series of assistant priests until Father Connelly in 1960 who carried out much needed repair work to the school. He retired in 1977. Many grandparents still remember Father Connelly with great love.
In 1981 Father Jennings was appointed parish priest. He took an enormous interest in the development of the school and put the school on a firm footing for future success. One local authority adviser described him as a ‘lion’ who protected the school.’ No one, but himself, could criticise St John’s Parish or School. He was very clear on the fact that St. John’s had to have the best behaved children and the best curriculum. In his time as PP, as was befitting the man, he achieved both. During Father Jennings time he took seriously his role as Chairman of Governors and appointed Joe Galvin, a parishioner to help maintain the buildings. During a seven year period Joe renewed much of the rotting woodwork in St John’s School and in the Year 2000 the school was sandblasted to look like new for the new millennium.
In the Year 2003, the newly appointed pupil school council decided that it was time to replace the old fashioned and ‘smelly’ toilets with brand new ones with showers and to begin a programme of modernising classrooms. Including a new ICT suite which finally arrived in 2005.
Father Peter arrived in 2003 with his lovely humour and wonderful thought provoking sermons. He has brought new life to our masses and liturgies. In 2006 he became Dean.
In January 2005 the school extended the ‘old school’ to provide a new Foundation Unit for our Early Years children. In 2006 2007 the school received a massive grant of £250,000 to refurbish the school and give it a new interior including a new meeting room, modern classrooms and a complete new office area and outside gardens. This was completed in September 2008.
