St Matthew's Church, Sheffield
Encyclopedia
Sheffield City Centre
Sheffield City Centre—often just referred to as town—is a district of the City of Sheffield, and part of the Sheffield Central ward. It includes the area that is within a radius of roughly of Sheffield Cathedral, and is encircled by the Inner Ring Road—a circular route started in the late 1960s...
of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. It is a Grade II listed building located at grid reference . The church is part of the Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
movement.
History
The church was built in the middle of the 19th century for the newly established St Matthews parish which was created when the original SheffieldSheffield Cathedral
Sheffield Cathedral is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914...
parish was subdivided into smaller parts in 1848. The first vicar J.F. Witty conducted the parish’s early services in a school on Carver Street. Within a few years sufficient funds had been raised to build a permanent place of worship. Land was purchased on Carver Street for £600 and the foundation stone for the church was laid on June 1 1854 with the construction being carried out by Flockton & Son
William Flockton
Flockton's were a series of architectural firms in the 19th and early 20th centuries, based in Sheffield, England. The firms were responsible for a number of significant buildings, particularly in the Sheffield area.-William Flockton:...
. The building was consecrated on June 6 1855 by the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
Thomas Musgrave
Thomas Musgrave
Thomas Musgrave was archbishop of York from 1847 to 1860.Born on 30 March 1788, his first senior Church of England appointment was when he was installed Dean of Bristol on 13 or 14 May 1837. Three months later, he was nominated Bishop of Hereford by the crown on 5 August and consecrated on 1...
.
The church which has been described as "a neat building with a graceful spire" cost £3,297 to build, the main benefactor was the snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
maker Mr. Henry Wilson of Westbrook Mill who contributed £1020, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners granted £200 and the Incorporated Church Building Society gave £250. The rest of the money was raised by Reverend Witty who was still asking for subscriptions for the last £200 in November 1856. In its early years the church had seating for 731 people which accommodated a large local congregation, the church being surrounded by a highly populated district of slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
housing.
In 1882 George Campbell Ommanney became the third vicar of St Matthew’s, he remained at the church for 54 years until his death in 1936. Ommanney was known as the “People’ Priest” and was close to the common people, he chose to live in the slums nearby to the church. He converted St Matthew’s into a focal point for teaching and practice of the Catholic Revival in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, he wrote his memoirs in the book “Ommanney of Sheffield“ in the final years of his life. St Matthews remained undamaged throughout World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
although there were casualties throughout the parish as many buildings were damaged in the immediate vicinity during the Sheffield Blitz
Sheffield Blitz
The Sheffield Blitz is the name given to the worst nights of German Luftwaffe bombing in Sheffield, England during the Second World War. It took place over the nights of 12 December and 15 December 1940....
of December 1940.
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
. The internal work included the cleaning of carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
deposits from the reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
and paintings, a result of Sheffield‘s heavy industrial past.
Present day
Despite the fact that St Matthew’s no longer has a resident congregation, it is a busy church serving a lively city centre. It is now surrounded by the Devonshire QuarterDevonshire Quarter
The Devonshire Quarter is an area in the centre of Sheffield, England. It is based around the Division Street and Devonshire Street shopping areas, known for their small independent shops and variety of pubs and bars...
of Sheffield, an area of independent retail outlets, pubs and bars with a large student population. The church is open daily for services, visitors and private prayer.
Architecture and the interior
There is an octagonal tower with a tall spire on top at the front (west) end of the church with the main entrance below on Carver Street. There are three main stained glass windows, the east window which dates from 1886 depicts the IncarnationIncarnation
Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
and includes St Matthew
Matthew the Evangelist
Matthew the Evangelist was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.-Identity:...
and other saints in its design. It is by J. D. Sedding
J. D. Sedding
John Dando Sedding was a noted Victorian church architect, working on new buildings and repair work, with an interest in a ‘crafted Gothic’ style. He was an influential figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, many of whose leading designers studied in his offices...
who re-designed the east end of the church at the same time, putting in a new chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
. The two west windows are by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake
Lavers, Barraud and Westlake
Lavers, Barraud and Westlake were an English firm that produced stained glass windows from 1855 until 1921. They were part of the Gothic Revival movement that affected English church architecture in the 19th century.-History:...
and date from 1902, other lighting in the church is by clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows.
The altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
and reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
are also by Sedding with carvings by Frank Tory and a centrepiece painting of the Adoration
Adoration
Adoration is love given with deep affection. The term comes from the Latin adōrātiō, meaning "to give homage or worship to someone or something."-Ancient Middle East:...
by Nathaniel Westlake. The interior is richly furnished with many of the designs by Henry Wilson. The church organ dates from 1992, it is made in the classic British style by Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn and is based on the early work of master organ maker Bernard Smith. Next to the main entrance is a war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
which takes the form of a plaque listing worshippers and parishioners who gave their lives in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Just above the door is a statue of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
. Next door to the church is St Matthew’s House, a former Clergy House and Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
.