South Yorkshire Times April 18.
A Link with the Past.
Another link with the past now in course of being dismantled is the Mission Hall in Blythe Street, Denaby, later known as St Chad’s.
During the incumbency of the Rev S.F.Hawkes (1909 to 1914) Sunday Schools were held in Rossington Street School and at the Old St Chad’s Church on Doncaster Road (later transferred to the Girls Institute, now St John Ambulance Headquarters).
It was decided to try out a school in the East End and the Colliery Company loaned a four room house in Loversall Street. It was an extremely successful venture and another house was loaned to cope with the children. The work continued to increase, and the Parochial Council decided on more spacious headquarters.
A piece of land was rented at the top of Blythe Street and what was known as the Blythe Street Mission Hall was erected, providing valuable service, not only as a Sunday School but as a Parish Hall and social centre
The debt on the Hall was cleared during the incumbency of the next Vicar (the reverent H.G. Greaves).
After the First World War, it was not so easy to get teaching staff and attendances at the Sunday School in the east end decreased.
For a time in later years the Mission Hall was closed and what few scholars continued to attend were asked to attend the Parish Church School. In 1932 during the incumbency of the Rev S. Powley, the new Parish Hall was up near the church, and the need for the Missing All, even as a social centre, was over.
However, during the incumbency of the Rev A.V. Roebuck (1949 to 1956) there was another curate in the parish and the Vicar decided he would like to reopen the Mission Hall as a Sunday school and It was then decided to call it St Chad’s Mission Hall.
Such splendid work was done in later years it became gradually clear that it was impossible to meet the expense of a very depleted Sunday School, and earlier this year the Parochial Council decided that as they were soon to have a new Church Hall the Mission Hall had served its purpose and they would try to dispose of it.
It was offered to Balby Street Use Club as a gift, but they were not unable to accept it owing to the amount of money needed to modernise the building, and so it has been sold and is now being dismantled and will be transferred to another site and used in another area.