VOLUNTEERS marking the bicentenary year of a Grade II*-listed church in the centre of Barnsley will welcome college students to continue the celebrations.
A trio of large planters were donated to St Mary’s Church by Mayor Coun Sarah Tattershall which will be planted up by students from Barnsley College on Wednesday.
Students from the college are also contributing to another event in a series held throughout this year as the 200-year-old site celebrates the landmark.
The Friends of Barnsley St Mary’s are being helped by woodwork students to develop new bespoke stands for the Barnsley Pals colours, painstakingly restored and now displayed at the church after being found damaged in a cupboard three decades ago.
The colours will be presented at a Thanksgiving service on October 22, which will celebrate the main church building’s bicentenary and the centenary of its war memorial chapel.
“We have worked with a class at St Mary’s Primary School and a small group of disabled students at Barnsley College to produce letters and drawings for a time capsule,” added Jane Ainsworth from the group.
“This will be one of the boxes on the stands - the other will contain the pikes and tassels from the colours as well as their history, a list of all individuals and groups who donated to this project and other relevant items.”
Jane said the planting on Wednesday, between 1pm and 3pm, would serve as a ‘triple celebration’ of the bicentenary, centenary and recent Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
