In recent years the parish church of Frickley has become something of a social media star, due to it’s beautiful architecture and solemn position in an empty landscape, partly due to the effects of the plague of 1349 to 1350 (known as the black death). The site of the church has been in use since at least the 11th century, though as is common with churches of this age considerable renovation and change has occurred, with much of what we see today being 12th to 13th century in age, along with later 19th century alterations. Whilst not located within the village of South Elmsall, due to sharing a namesake to our own Frickley Colliery, named after the grounds of the grand house Frickley Hall, upon where the colliery was sunk and which also neighbours the church itself, it was important to take action to ensure the protection of this wonderful Grade II listed church.

In recent years a number of social media influencers have used Frickley church as a backdrop for a wide range of content, from paranormal investigations to history videos, almost entirely without causing any obvious structural damage to the church or it’s environs, though some do seem to forget that despite it’s isolation the church is very much still actively used by our community, as part of the Diocese of Sheffield. One particular video recently though raised a number of concerns amongst people within our community, and as a result we felt it was pertinent that we took action to investigate the claims within the video in question. In short, the video made claims that Frickley church was due to close to the public imminently due to being unsafe, that tree root ingress to the churchyard and church itself had caused such damage that the Church of England were forced to spend many thousands of pounds to rectify the damage, and that it was possible that the church was at serious risk of being demolished, unless something was done. This video, made by the popular Finders Beepers History Seekers on YouTube, has amassed thousands of views and many comments, from around the world, with people pledging to donate money to save the church. The title of the video gave a stark message; “DESTROYED! A thousand years of history! GONE!”

Along with this video a Go Fund Me was also created, and at the time i took steps to intervene it already had amassed many donations. The Go Fund Me, which has since mysteriously vanished, appealed to people by stating; “The Church grounds are in need of some attention and upkeep. I’m trying to raise some funds so the local congregation and Church community can continue to visit this beautiful building, and we can help to maintain the safety of the Church grounds and the Church itself. The trees around the Church are in need of some attention, and the tree survey which needs to be carried out, can cost anywhere from £350 to over a £1000! So any help anyone can give is greatly appreciated!” To be clear, i am not accusing anyone involved with fraud, or of undertaking a scam, or any such thing, i appreciate that their motives may well be entirely legitimate and they desperately want to save Frickley church from imminent destruction, but i needed to act quickly.

The first action taken was to contact Doncaster Council, who may have the responsibility to preserve and maintain trees within the area of the church, and have the ability to place Tree Preservation Orders on certain species. One of the primary concerns was that people were planning to take it upon themselves to start clearing away vegetation, trees, roots and other foliage without understanding the law, and potentially causing considerable damage to monuments within the churchyard, damage to the fabric of the church itself and causing harm to nesting birds, bats and other wildlife in the area. Steve Ely, a local man who regularly visits Frickley church to observe the wildlife, told me that “…there are barn owls roosting and nesting in the tower. I go there a lot. Two trees have come down in the last year. A sycamore that fell away from the church and into the field, and a magnificent old cherry that came down in the lower, active, graveyard. Coincidentally, when I was last there, last week, examining the barn owl pellets from the pair that nest in the tower the [man from the video who set up the Go Fund Me account] was there with a young woman. They were leaping around, ‘running and jumping into the camera’ creating images for social media.” Doncaster Council responded quickly, but with worrying news. Andrea Brocklebank, Trees and Hedgerow Officer, told us “…there are no Tree Preservation Orders on this site and it is not within a conservation area. This means that there is no requirement to make an application to the Council under the Tree Preservation Order regulations prior to any works on trees here.”

With that concerning news i next checked the Historic England records to ensure that Frickley Church remains a Grade II listed building, which it does. I then went on to double check that the church has not recently been added to the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register, which it has not. The Heritage at Risk Register is used by government, heritage groups etc to establish the extent of risk a building is facing and to help assess priorities for action and funding decisions. This register records the state of some of our most historic landmarks, which are at risk through neglect, decay, or inappropriate development. I then contacted Historic England directly to raise my concerns regarding the claims made in the video, and fundraiser. Lucy Howson, Heritage at Risk Project Officer entered into discussion with myself, a qualified archaeologist, regarding these concerns. She confirmed that Frickley church “is not currently on our Heritage at Risk Register and was last assessed as being in ‘good’ condition. Historic England are not aware of plans to close the church, nor of any structural concerns relating to damage from tree roots. We will raise these issues with our Diocesan colleagues to explore what current plans there are for the church and whether Historic England can offer any support.”

As a result of this conversation Historic England agreed for Lucy and her team to visit the area and undertake a brief investigation into the state of the church and churchyard, as it had been some time since they last assessed the building and environs. Following this assessment Lucy confirmed that she was “pleased to report that we were very reassured by our visit to All Saints. Whilst the church could benefit from some minor maintenance, fabric repairs have clearly been recently undertaken and it generally appeared to be in good condition. The churchyard was similarly well maintained and raised no immediate concerns. I am unsure where the concern relating to structural damage from tree roots [as claimed in the YouTube video and Go Fund Me account] has originated from, as this was certainly not evident from a visual inspection. We’re now in discussion with colleagues at the Diocese of Sheffield, who have been made aware of the report and will be looking into the fundraising campaign in greater detail.”

I am pleased by the outcome of the actions which i have taken, which led to a speedy inspection by Historic England, which can put parishioners and locals generally at ease, there is clearly no imminent danger of closure or demolition of the Church of All Saints in Frickley. Through my swift actions the Diocese of Sheffield now also have an updated report into the condition of the building and can work closely with Historic England and Doncaster Council to ensure that the wonderful church remains an active place of worship for many more years to come. I also wish to reiterate, i am not suggesting that any wrongdoing has taken place, by anyone involved with the video, or the appeal for funds, albeit being quite obviously misguided or perhaps a bit overdramatic. I hope that people continue to engage with history in new and innovative ways, which are respectful of conservation and heritage.