THIS snowy view down a familiar Calton Road was probably photographed to record the harsh winters we used to have – possibly in 1947 – but its main point of interest now is the spire of the original St Barnabas' Church.

Replacing a small wooden mission of 1885 and dedicated by the Lord Bishop of Ripon in1900 to serve a growing community at Thwaites Brow, St Barnabas' was a daughter church to the former St Mary's at Eastwood. It was described as reflecting "the English Gothic style of the Lancet period ". Its church could accommodate 220 and its Sunday School 250.

Demolished at the end of 1970, it was in turn replaced by a modern building dedicated nearly a year later.