Come and Join us! What's on this month...

The village church of All Saints’, Clayton West is celebrating 150 years since it was first consecrated in 1875 with a church and village exhibition during the national Heritage Weekends of 13/14 and 20/21 September.

Come along and see what’s ‘through the keyhole’ in this lovely building and enjoy a welcoming cup of tea.

On display will be the community WOVEN quilt - a part of the Connecting Communities project which celebrates local textile history and current creativity in the communities which make up Denby Dale Parish Council. Around 100 fabric squares depict local communities and what is important to those living there.

All Saints’ Church is a grade II listed building and was built to serve the needs of an expanding population which had previously had to walk to All Hallows Church in High Hoyland to worship (often twice a day.)

The exhibition contains memorabilia and photographs of important events and the life of the church in the village over 150 years. A famous memorial is situated on the rear wall of the church dedicated to Captain Charles John Wintour who was killed on his ship, HMS Tipperary, at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Captain Wintour was born at High Hoyland and was the son of the first rector of All Saints’, Fitzgerald Thomas Wintour.

The exhibition looks back to the building of All Saints’ with copies of original documents from the West Yorkshire Archives; this includes information about the people involved, putting ‘faces to names’.

Many of the stained-glass windows in the church were designed by a Victorian-era designer and manufacturer of stained glass – Charles Eamer Kempe. Kempe’s maker’s mark is a wheatsheaf so come along and see how many of his windows you can discover. You may find windows with both a wheatsheaf and a tower – come and find out what this signifies – and take the opportunity to see more about what stories the windows tell.

All Saints’ will be open on 13/14 and 20/21 September 2025, Saturdays between 10:00am and 4:00pm and Sundays between 10:30am and 4:00pm.