The foundation stone of St. Barnabas’ Church was laid on June 11th (St. Barnabas’ Day) 1884 by Mrs. Mark Firth of Sheffield. The church opened for public worship during the following November. Firth School was at the time being used for meeting before the church was built but was becoming inadequate, so a separate church for New Whittington (at the time still part of the parish of St. Bartholomew’s Old Whittington) was built. The Rev Clement Clover Ward was appointed Curate-in-Charge from 1882 onwards, and it was mainly due to his whole hearted efforts that the church of St. Barnabas was built.
Rev. L. P. Sayles was the first to reside in St. Barnabas House (now the current Vicarage) which was a gift from Maurice Deacon, Civil Engineer who was Managing Director of the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company Ltd.
The Consecration of the Church was on Wednesday 4th May 1927 by the Lord Bishop of Southwell (no Derby Diocese then).
The Induction of the new Vicar Rev. T. W. Thornber was on Thursday 28th July 1927. It was a “well attended service with a high spiritual tone” and was followed by “Tea in the New School”. The New School was the old Church Hall opposite The Forge, it was built just before the Church was consecrated.
A list of Vicars to the present day follows:
W. T. Thornber 1927 – 1939
V. Genders 1940 – 1944
T. Jones 1945 – 1947
G.S. Howarth 1947 – 1955
W. A. Colley 1956 – 1958
P. H. Heath 1958 – 1966
G. Bromby 1967 – 1978
J. K. Rollinson 1978 – 1982
(held with St. Bartholomew’s, Old Whittington)
W. Wheeldon – 1983 – 1986
J. Pinder-Packard 1988 – 2004
J.V. Lewis 2004 – 2010
J. Bebbington Babb 2010 – 2012.
J. Morris 2013 – present day
Left to Right, from the Back – Messrs Norris, Ackroyd, Grennell, Leigh, Hemmings., Vickers, Esland, Cavill, Revd. A.E. Crompton, Shipp and Wilkins.
Left to Right, from the Back –Mr Adcock, Keith Redfern, Raymond Walker, Brian Greenhough, Kenneth Roseberry, Douglas Wood, Arthur Green, Harold Moore,Douglas Thurgood, Mr Greenhough., Alan Vowles, Lewis Bradley, Gerald Vowles, Stanley Lord, Samuel White, Eris Turton., Mr Stanley Sadler, Miss May Allan, Mrs Gertrude Harvey (Organist), Revd. William T. Thornber, Miss Mary Vowles, Mr Reginald Edwards.
