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Holy Trinity is a Victorian Church with a well maintained churchyard. We hold two evening services per month with a very small but friendly, welcoming congregation. We hold a group service on the third Sunday of each month, rotating across the Benefice.
We have three stained glass windows at the Holy Trinity, one the east window fitted in the 1920’s in memory of one of the old village families; the west window was fitted to commemorate the millennium and our medieval window, by the pulpit, was repaired and renovated this year.
Sykehouse is a rural farming village, the longest village in Yorkshire. It is bordered by the Rivers Went and Don with the Junction Canal running through. It is very flat and ideal for walking and cycling.
Architecturally it is a mixture of traditional and modern with a windmill, now a house, and an ex-toll bridge crossing the Went. The village pub ‘The Old George’ is very popular and serves very good food for both individuals and village functions. We are within 12 miles of Goole and Doncaster and within easy reach of motorways to Sheffield, Leeds or London.
We have a well-equipped Village Hall, used for Yoga, Line Dancing, Ladies Social Circle, Bingo, Hobbies Club, coffee mornings and a Community Library. It has a licensed bar and fully fitted kitchen. It also has a playing field where the cricket team meet and a children’s playground and is available for hire for parties and other functions.
Sykehouse holds a very well attended agricultural show each year on the first Sunday in August. This year, 2017 would have been our 132nd show but was cancelled due to bad weather. The three churches together staff a tent where everyone is welcome to sit, chat and picnic; and we are there as a church if anyone wishes to talk.
November 2017 Services at Holy Trinity Sykehouse
Sunday 5th: No service at Sykehouse - 09:30 Family Service - at Fishlake St Cuthbert bring the children
Sunday 12th: 18:30 Remembrance Holy Communion
Sunday 19th: 11:00 Benefice Service - Holy Communion
Sunday 26th: 18:30 Evening Prayer
Where there is a fifth Sunday in the month, a Southern Mission Partnership Service is held at one of the Deanery Churches - please ask your Churchwarden for details
Sykehouse Holy Trinity – church description
Sykehouse is the longest village in Yorkshire. It is virtually surrounded by river and canal on all sides and the name means 'house on the stream'. There is some evidence of a chapel having existed here toward the close of the 12 century which fell into disuse. The earliest definite reference there is to a chapel here is in a licence dated 20 December 1425, granted to Edmund Fitzwilliam Esq of 'Sikehowses in Balne' in the parish of Fishlake. It was for the celebration of divine offices and was probably little more than a room in his own house, to which his neighbours were invited.
A few years later in 1433, an agreement was entered into between the inhabitants of Sykehouse and the Prior and Convent of Durham (Patrons of Fishlake Church). The people of Sykehouse were allowed to build a chapel at their own expense. They had to maintain the building in good repair and pay for the cost of a priest. The priest had to promise submission to the Vicar of Fishlake and do nothing that would affect the rights of the mother church. He was instructed to minister no sacrament to anyone except holy bread and holy water, without the special permission of the Vicar, unless in cases of urgent necessity.
The new chapel was called the Chapel of the Holy Trinity. The people of Sykehouse still had to attend Sunday services at Fishlake, unless hindered by bad floods, bad roads or other lawful causes. Baptisms, weddings and funerals could only take place at Fishlake. William Waller, who was buried in Fishlake in 1578, is the last known minister of this chapel.
After the Reformation this chapel, like other similar chapels, became totally neglected and fell into disuse. In 1616 the church was rebuilt and an endowment was granted to Nicholas Waller of Balne Hall. From that time, an incumbent of the chapel was regularly appointed by the Vicars of Fishlake
At the beginning of the 18 century, the chapel collapsed under the weight of the thick stone-tiled roof. Some repairs were undertaken, including the construction of a brick tower in 1724. The tower contained one bell. Without a doubt the hero of Fishlake and Sykehouse is Revd Canon George Ornsby, Vicar of Fishlake from 1850 to 1886. He not only restored Fishlake Church to its medieval glory but was also the instigator of the new church, vicarage and school at Sykehouse.
In 1856 a new school was built by subscription and the old one became a village hall. In 1863 a new vicarage was added and at the beginning of December 1867, Canon Ornsby laid the foundation stone of the new church. At the ceremony he told the people that they owed the achievement of their work chiefly to the generosity of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, though he was glad to see, on looking over the subscription list, that nearly all the parishioners had contributed according to their means. The church was built by J Young of Goole, from the designs by C Hodgson Fowler, architect to the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The style is of the 13th century and it cost £1200 to £1300. The brick tower of 1724 was largely retained with a new belfry and slated spire.
On the 7 March 1870, Sykehouse became a separate parish and Revd J W McKinley Milman was appointed as the Priest-in-Charge. For the first time in its history, Sykehouse people were able to worship, be baptised and to marry in their own parish church, and be buried in their own village soil.
Over the next 80 years Sykehouse had six Vicars, but on the retirement of Revd R H Atkin in 1950, the parish once more came under the wing of Fishlake. In 1987, the United Benefice of Fishlake, Sykehouse and Kirk Bramwith, Fenwick and Moss was created. This meant that Sykehouse again had its own Vicar, even though they were to live in Fishlake. In 2000, Revd Eve Atherfold was appointed Priest-in-Charge, and later Incumbent, of the Benefice until her final retirement in 2015.
The font is medieval and came from the original chapel.
Millennium WindowThe Millennium Window comprises of six roundels, some depicting scenes relating to the local area. The ‘MM’ commemorates the Millennium and the three interlocking circles represent the Trinity. The middle left detail shows Durham Cathedral and Sykehouse Church. The local scenes show a windmill, canal and farming. The Yorkshire Rose is seen in the small window above.
The OrganThe organ was built in 1849 for Hatfield Parish Church by Forster & Andrews of Hull. In 1908, Hatfield bought a new organ and the old one was sold to Sykehouse. There is a kitchen and toilet area behind the organ, added in the 1990s.
Benefactors BoardWalk down the north aisle towards the vestry door. There is a small altar here. In the vestry you will see a benefactors’ board. They are common in churches and list gifts of money given to the church and local charities.
This tapestry shows the Last Supper and was made by the Church Ladies Social Circle for the Millennium.
The fine east window was given in 1927 by the Duckitt family. You can see a credence table and sedilia built into the south wall of the sanctuary. Also in this area is the carved Bishop’s chair and the Paschal Candle. This is used at Easter and during baptisms. It displays the Greek letters alpha and omega symbolising that God is the beginning and the end.
The lectern is a brass eagle. The ball it stands on represents the world, while the Bible on the eagle’s back symbolises the gospel being carried to the corners of the earth. The pulpit also shows the Greek letters alpha and omega, along with the cross and ‘XP’. This is called the ‘chi rho’ and is one of the earliest Christian symbols. X and P are the first two letters of ‘Christ’ in Greek. There is a memorial to World War One behind the pulpit.
The south wall window near the pulpit contains a portion of medieval glass, dating to the late 15th century. It depicts Jesus on the cross.
The ChurchyardThe churchyard contains the remains of a preaching cross. In the 6th and 7th centuries, wooden crosses marked the spots where priests or monks preached to the local community. The original wooden cross was replaced by a more permanent stone cross; around which services were held. Many of these crosses survive only as a base and part of the shaft, because the cross was often destroyed by iconoclasts.
Contacts:
Mrs Dorothy Wiltshire, Churchwarden, 12 Chapel Lane, Sykehouse, Goole, DN14 9BN Tel: 01405 785 294
Correspondence: Mrs Pat Redfern, Secretary, 7 Chapel Lane, Sykehouse, Goole, DN14 9BN Tel: 01405 785 292
2 Broad Lane, Sykehouse, Goole
Sykehouse
Goole
DN14 9BN
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