Editing Sutton-in-Ashfield (section)

==Churches==
The Sutton-in-Ashfield area was first settled in Saxon times and the first records of a place of worship in the area date from Norman times (1170).  As the population of the settlement grew so the variety of religious denominations represented increased.  This was particularly true during the industrial expansion of the nineteenth century.  The following is a list of the churches that still have a presence in Sutton, together with brief historical details.

<gallery>
File:Sutton-in-Ashfield - St Joseph's Catholic Church.jpg|Church of St Joseph the Worker
File:Sutton-in-Ashfield - St John's Methodist Church.jpg|Church of St John
File:Sutton-in-Ashfield - United Reformed Church.jpg|United Reformed Church
File:Geograph-2215430-by-Dave-Bevis.jpg|New Cross Community Church
</gallery>

===[[Church of St Mary Magdalene, Sutton-in-Ashfield|Church of St Mary Magdalene]]===
This Anglican church, situated off Lammas Road and built in local stone, contains a few parts that date back to 1170. The tower and spire date from 1395.  However, much of the rest of the church was subject to re-building in the second half of the nineteenth century.  The church is a Grade II* listed building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://southwellchurches.history.nottingham.ac.uk/sutton-in-ashfield-st-mary/hintro.php |title=St Mary History |publisher=Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project |access-date=2 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-410950-church-of-st-mary-magdalene-nottinghamsh |title=St Mary Listing |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=2 March 2015}}</ref>

By American searches, on 5 July 1607, Edward Fitzrandolph was baptised at St. Mary's Church Sutton, marrying Elizabeth Blossom in [[Scituate, Massachusetts]] - they are [[Barack Obama]]'s 10x great-grandparents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/4948829/Rival-English-ancestral-home-claims-for-Barack-Obama.html |title=Rival English 'ancestral home' claims for Barack Obama |publisher=Daily Telegraph |date=6 March 2009 |access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

===[[St Michael and All Angels' Church, Sutton-in-Ashfield|Church of St Michael and All Angels]]===
This was another Anglican church in Sutton, situated at the junction of Outram Street with St Michael's Street.  The church was built in two stages.  The first stage was designed by John Folwler of Louth and opened in 1887.  The second stage was designed by Louis Ambler and completed in 1909.  The church building is still standing but is no longer in use for worship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/sutton-in-ashfield-st-michael/hintro.php |title=St Michael History |publisher=Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project |access-date=2 March 2015}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/suttoninashfield1907/sutton13.htm#stmichaels |title=St Michael History |publisher=Nottinghamshire History |access-date=2 March 2015}}</ref>

===Church of St Joseph the Worker===
In the early part of the twentieth century, Catholics worshipped in one another's homes or in a room above a garage off of Outram Street.  In 1961, a full-size church was opened in Forest Street.  This was designed in a Romanesque style with a 70 feet tall bell tower.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/williammalcolm.powell/stjosephs/history.htm |title=St Joseph History |publisher=St Joseph's Church |access-date=3 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130314/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/williammalcolm.powell/stjosephs/history.htm |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Church of St John===
In 2015, Methodism in Sutton-in-Ashfield is represented by St John's Methodist Church in Titchfield Avenue.  This church was built (and later extended) in the twentieth century.  Over the years, there have been Methodist churches in several locations around the town:
* There were Primitive Methodist churches on Mansfield Road (built 1866, now a Zion Baptist Church) and at New Cross (built 1895, now the Ecumenical Partnership Community Church).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/suttoninashfield1907/sutton12.htm#stmichaels |title=Primitive Methodist History |publisher=Nottinghamshire History |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref>
* There was a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on the south side of Outram Street.  This was erected in 1882.  An adjoining Sunday School in Welbeck Street was opened in 1904 and was demolished around 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/suttoninashfield1907/sutton11.htm#stmichaels |title=Wesleyan Methodist History |publisher=Nottinghamshire History |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref>

===United Reformed Church===
This [[Sutton-in-Ashfield United Reformed Church|church on High Pavement]] was opened in 1906. The architects of the building were G. Baines & Son of London and the builders were J. Greenwood's of Mansfield.  Mainly because of the unusual nature of the pews inside, it is a Grade II Listed Building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/suttoninashfield1907/sutton11.htm#stmichaels |title=United Reformed Church History |publisher=Nottinghamshire History |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-410950-church-of-st-mary-magdalene-nottinghamsh |title=United Reformed Church Listing |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=2 March 2015}}</ref>

===New Cross Community Church===
This was built in 1895 as a Primitive Methodist Church.  It is now run by the New Cross Community Church Anglican/Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/suttoninashfield1907/sutton11.htm#stmichaels |title=New Cross Church History |publisher=Nottinghamshire History |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newcross.org.uk/Development.htm |title=New Cross Community Church Partnership |publisher=New Cross Community Church Partnership |access-date=4 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402133748/http://www.newcross.org.uk/Development.htm |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Zion Baptist Church===
This was built in 1866 as a Primitive Methodist Chapel.  It is now a Zion Baptist Church and is closely associated with the adjoining Eastside Community Centre.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eastsidecentre.co.uk/home.php |title=Zion Baptist Church |publisher=Eastside Centre |access-date=4 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135917/http://www.eastsidecentre.co.uk/home.php |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>