History of St. Augustine's

Scissett Parish was formed out of the ancient parish of High Hoyland and at that time included the village of Skelmanthorpe. The building of the Church started in 1838 and it was consecrated in 1840 by Bishop Longley of Ripon, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. The Church then consisted of only the tower, the nave and the west gallery. There was no organ. The Singing Pew contained the musicians, a violin, a cello, a flute and about six singers.

The first person to be baptised in the Church was Mr. Benjamin Norton, who afterwards gave the present font in memory of his baptism.

In 1880 the chancel of St Augustine’s Church was added to the nave, square and high backed pews were removed and a three decker pulpit was taken out. Between 1898 and 1903, during the incumbency of Rev. B. Browning, the present vestry was built.

The beautiful wrought iron screen designed by Mr. Hodgson Fowler, the Durham Cathedral architect, was given by Mr. J. Waites, one time organist, in memory of his wife.

Following recent re-ordering work, the pews were removed and replaced with chairs to provide a more flexible interior to the church.

Stained Glass Windows

In St. Augustine’s Church there are some beautiful stained glass windows. One is particularly magnificent and has been of keen interest to researchers; this is the one by Henry Payne, a famous artist and stained glass window maker.

Henry Arthur Payne (1868-1940) was born in Birmingham; he trained at Birmingham School of Art where he studied watercolour and frescoes. Through the 1890's Henry Payne studied stained glass and in 1904 established his own business manufacturing stained glass for churches. He was elected a member of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1920. He moved to Gloucestershire in 1909 where he continued producing work in fresco and stained glass.