ST JOSEPH'S PARISH
Welcome to St Joseph's Parish-Stokesley, which is made up of St Joseph's, St Margaret Clitherow-Great Ayton and St Mary's-Crathorne Churches.
Parish Priest Mgr. G. Robinson.
On 22nd April 1870 Father Andrew Burns, Parish Priest of Middlesbrough and in charge of Stokesley, signed a contract to purchase land on the site known then as Tanton Acres. Its location also being convenient for the people of Great Ayton. It was bought from Mr Henry Passman of Hutton Rudby for the sum of £420. The site being just over 2 acres, was large enough to accommodate a church, a school and stabling for a horse. However, there was only one problem, there was no money to actually pay for a building.
Meanwhile, in a small village in Chideock, Dorset, lived an affluent and very devout Catholic named Miss Apollonia Bland. She contacted the Bishop of Beverley wishing to make a donation of £1,000 to build a church. Being born in Yorkshire she asked that it be built in Castleford, near Leeds. The Bishop thanked her for the very generous donation but stated that Castleford had almost sufficient funds to complete the building of their own church. Undeterred she turned her attention to finding somewhere that was in need of help. By chance, she came upon an advert, presumably from Father Burns, appealing for money to build a church in Stokesley. She had now found her cause and requested that the Bishop donate her money to the appeal. Her
St Joseph's Church
stipulations were that the whole amount be used to build the church including fixtures and fittings, it had to be dedicated to St Joseph after her special Patron Saint and that her name should not be mentioned.
On 13th May 1873 the official opening and consecration of St Joseph’s was celebrated by Bishop Cornthwaite and nine priests from neighbouring parishes and further afield. Sadly, Father Burns had died before the building of the church. It is not known if Appollonia Bland ever visited St Joseph’s. She died in 1883 aged approximately 55 years.
At the same time the Diocesan had taken out a mortgage in order for the Presbytery to be built. No school has ever been built.
As with most buildings of this age, deterioration was inevitable. The extreme cold and dampness had caused the timber flooring to rot and collapse, and with plaster falling onto the benches, parishioner chose their seats with care. In 1944 Italian prisoners-of-war together with the then Parish Priest Father MacDonnell removed the timber flooring and a new concrete floor was laid. The walls were re-plastered and various other renovations completed.
In 1963 Father MacDonnell retired and Father Peter Storey became the Parish Priest of the Stokesley mission which then served our three churches.
In 1972/3 the church was further modernised and redecorated in preparation for the Centenary celebration. This was held on Sunday 13th May 1973.
On the 30th of October 1975 catastrophe struck when a fire, due to an electrical fault, engulfed the church. The roof was left charred with the rest of the Church being reduced to ashes. In 1976 the Church was re-opened.
In 2018 St Joseph’s undertook a major interior overhaul under the guidance of Parish Priest Father William Charlton. The church reverted to its original layout with the altar again being placed at the forefront of the church. The heating and lighting were updated, the interior roof was painted and existing doors were relocated to improve access.
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The reopening with the 'Right of Dedication of the Altar' was celebrated on Wednesday the 19th of September 2018. Mass was celebrated by Bishop Terance Drainey and Father William Charlton.