The consecration of St Barnabas Church provided a much-needed place of worship for the people of Jericho in Oxford.

But the design of the building was not to everyone’s taste.

Some said it had too much Catholic influence, while others likened it to a railway station.

A cartoon was published showing the church as ‘Barnabas Junction’.

The caption read: “What station is this? Barn’bas Junction. Change here for Rome.”

Another cartoon showed a spider’s web being spun between St Barnabas and St Peter’s, Rome, and a fishing boat with a notice saying ‘Church of England’ going down a river.

Jericho was originally in the parish of St Thomas but the church in Becket Street was too far away for most people to attend.

St Paul’s Church was built in Walton Street but, as the population of Jericho grew, that proved too small.

That was the signal for Thomas Combe, superintendent at the Clarendon Press, to plan a new church in the heart of the community.

He founded St Barnabas and bore a large part of its cost.

He was a supporter of the Oxford Movement, which aimed to emphasise the Catholic character of the Church of England and reform its style of worship.

William Ward, a former Fellow of Balliol College, gave land in Cardigan Street because he knew Combe would build a church in keeping with the ideals of the Oxford Movement, which he also supported.

The church, with room for 1,000 people, was consecrated by the Bishop of Oxford on October 19, 1869.

A procession of clergy and worshippers, carrying a large cross and several banners and singing Onward Christian Soldiers, and headed by the Bishop and Archdeacon, made its way through the streets from St Paul’s.

In the church, the sexes were not allowed to mix – women sat on the north side, with the men to the south.

In a tribute to Thomas Combe, the Oxford Journal newspaper said: “No single man, for many years, has done so much in this way for the people of Oxford.

“He built a new chapel for the Radcliffe Infirmary and now he has built and given to a poor neighbourhood this spacious and commodious new church.

“Oxford will long remember his munificence to the poor and suffering of her population.”

These extracts come from A History Of St Barnabas Church And School And The Community Of Jericho, compiled by Geraldine Lusted, a copy of which has been sent to Memory Lane.

More about Jericho soon.