Iconic landmark Doncaster White Church celebrates its 80th birthday

The White Church on Balby Road, or to give its official name, St Peter’s Warmsworth, has been a familiar sight for drivers for decades, nestling alongside one of the main roads into Doncaster from the A1 motorway.

And on Sunday the building marked 80 years of use with a special cake – which was white of course and featured a recreation of the distinctive building.

Built during World War Two, it was the only church to be consecrated in the whole of the UK during the conflict and first opened its doors in 1942.

With its whitewashed walls and distinctive dome, it quickly became a well-known landmark and picked up the name it has always been known by, the White Church.

A special Mothering Sunday service saw church bosses invited anyone with a connection with the church - through a wedding, baptism or singing in the choir to join in the celebrations.

After the service, led by Father Chris Bishop, cake and tea was served as the celebrations continued with The Rev. Canon Ian Smith, Rector of Warmsworth, helping to cut the cake.

A unique design in South Yorkshire, the history of St Peter's reaches back to medieval times.

The original medieval site is about half a mile from the current building. There was a Georgian restoration and subsequently the church was rebuilt in the Victorian period.

The Revd Herbert Raison arranged the building of the White Church, which includes a beautiful marble fronted altar.

The marble and that used for the sanctuary steps was imported from Italy before the war and the church now has Grade II listed status.

The church was even mentioned in a wartime broadcast from Berlin by the notorious 'Lord Haw Haw', a nickname applied to William Joyce, who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK from Germany during the Second World War.

The broadcasts always opened with "Germany calling, Germany calling", spoken in an affected upper-class English accent.