All Saints Church, Silkstone, will hold its ‘Wonderfully Made in Yorkshire’ craft fair on the 13th and 14th November with over 40 artists showcasing their arts and crafts.
Graham Tooke, a member of All Saints Church, said: “The fair gets more people into the church and strengthens our place in the local community.”
With artists who are keen to show their expertise and display their wide range of home-made crafts, the event is set to be a wonderful community-wide event, complementing the church’s rich and creative heritage.
All Saints is a Grade I listed building built in the 12th century and was originally known as ‘The Minster of the Moors’ and the 'Mother Church' of the Staincross Wapentake, attracting church-goers from Barnsley and other surrounding parishes.
Heritage Silkstone was founded in 2010 to preserve the heritage of the village and joined with the PCC of All Saints to run the Project 'Silkstone Reflects on the Church Heritage' in which the church went to great efforts to restore and renew parts of the building, creating a new gallery and educational resource space, (the Bramah Gallery), and visitor information boards to help tell its stories. The church is open every Tuesday and Wednesday and receives many visitors keen to discover more about the church, the local area, and past generations.
The church contains many stained glass windows, including the modern Huskar Memorial Window, along with centuries old screens, one mounted with the Royal Coat of Arms carved on both sides with a Lion and Unicorn; memorials such as that of the Huskar Pit Disaster and of Sir Thomas Wentworth - the Knight in Armour from 1675 - with Grace, his wife, are popular visitor attractions.
Vicar, Reverend Maureen Browell said “We are always delighted to welcome visitors old and new, and our craft fairs have consistently attracted large numbers of people who enjoy finding a wide range of good quality, superbly made arts and crafts in such beautiful surroundings – not to mention the excellent home-made refreshments that are always available! “Wonderfully Made in Yorkshire” is an event not to be missed!”