A History of St. Gerard's School - 1911 - 1950's

In the late 19^th and early 20^th century, many people moved to Thrybergh. They were attracted by the opening of Silverwood colliery and the abundance of jobs available in the coal industry

A significant number of these were Irish and Catholic and therefore there was an increased demand for Mass and the sacraments in the area.

1911

Bishop Cowgill decided that it would be necessary to set up a Catholic parish in Thrybergh.

The first priest of the parish was Father Ward. He lived in one of the houses on Doncaster Road with his pet dog. Father Ward was often seen going round the houses every Saturday to take the outdoor collection.

Soon a simple wooden church was soon built. It wasn’t very large, and could probably only seat around a hundred people. Inside it was quite bare to begin with, but friends of Father Ward donated statues including “The Mother of Holy Hope” that can still be seen in church today.

Father Ward had the vital task of making sure children were given religious instruction on Sunday afternoon… He even taught the older children himself.

1912

The first baptism recorded in the register is that of Nora Regan, who was born on 23^rd April 1912 and baptised nearly 4 weeks later. In the early years, the number of baptisms was about 27 per year.

The 1940's

Once the school was opened, it was used to celebrate mass. In fact, it was the responsibility of the caretaker to set up the school hall for social gatherings on an evening, for dances, for mass, and to transform it back into a place of learning during the day! 

Above you can see a wedding photograph belonging to one of our parishioners. It shows the happy couple standing outside the main entrance to the school in 1945. The heavy wooden doors are where the school office is now. The window has been bricked up, but the outline is still visible in the cupboard.

Our logbook contains the dates and details of the wartime air-raid drills that the children had to carry out. The school had two air-raid shelters within its grounds. 

In the 1930's and 1940's the original wooden church was used as a Catholic Social Club, but was sadly destroyed by a fire in 1947. 

The 1950's

After the war, plans were made for the construction of a new church.

The new St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church was opened on the 4th of October 1950. It was to serve the people of Thrybergh, Dalton, Ravenfield, Hooton Roberts, Bramley and Wickersley. 

The priest from Thrybergh, Father O'Hallaran would also travel to Wickersley and conduct a service there.

Father Mullane took over from Father O'Halaran in 1955 and the sight of Father John Mullane riding his moped became common!

Sadly Father Mullane was not to live to see the consecration of the Church, as he retired in 1979 to Ravenfield, where he was cared for by his housekeeper until his death in 1982.

With the forming of the new diocese of Hallam in 1980, the Church was finally consecrated by Bishop Moverly on the feast day of St. Gerard - 15th of October 1983.