Sheffield Cathedral Totally Explained

Everything about Sheffield Cathedral totally explained

Sheffield Cathedral (The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield) is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Formerly a parish church, it was granted cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914. Sheffield Cathedral is one of three Grade I listed buildings in the city, along with Sheffield Town Hall and Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. It is located in the city centre on Church Street and served by Sheffield Supertram's Cathedral stop.

History

The site of the cathedral has a long history of Christian use. The shaft of the 9th century Sheffield Cross, believed to have formerly been sited here, is now held by the British Museum. Sheffield's first parish church, a satellite of Worksop Priory, was constructed here in the twelfth century by William de Lovetot at the opposite end of the town to Sheffield Castle. This established the area of the parish of Sheffield, unchanged until the 19th century. This first church was burnt down in 1266 during the Second Barons' War against King Henry III.
A second parish church was completed in 1280, but this church was mostly demolished and rebuilt about 1430 on a cruciform floor plan. The Shrewsbury Chapel was added in the next century, and a vestry chapel (now the Chapel of Saint Katherine) was added in 1777. The north and south walls of the nave were rebuilt in 1790–3 and a major restoration by Flockton & Gibbs—which included the addition of new north and south transepts to restore the cruciform plan—was completed in 1880. The church was originally dedicated to Saint Peter, but from some time after the reformation into the 19th century it was dedicated to Holy Trinity, it has since been dedicated to both Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
The parish of Sheffield was subdivided into smaller parishes in 1848. The church is still the parish church for the smaller Parish of Sheffield, but in 1914 it was also made the cathedral church for the newly-created Diocese of Sheffield. Plans were drafted by Charles Nicholson to extend the church and reorient it on its axis, but due to World War II these were greatly scaled down. The resulting additions leave the church an awkward shape in plan, but with an impressive south elevation.

Art and architecture

The main entrance is at the west end of the church, which was added in 1966. A lantern tower allows light in from above through stained glass windows designed by Amber Hiscott in the 1990s to replace the original glass. The 19th century nave shows many marks of its history including various old roof lines and scars in the pillars where a balcony level once rested. The chancel and sanctuary are the core of the 15th century church. The wings of the angels that line the roof of the chancel are a modern addition. In the east wall of the sanctuary there are stones from the 13th century church. The east window is a monument to James Montgomery. The Shrewsbury chapel, to the south of the sanctuary contains memorials to Fourth and Sixth Earls of Shrewsbury. To the north of the nave is the chapel of Saint George that commemorates the York and Lancaster Regiment, a screen made of bayonets and swords from the regiment lines one wall of the chapel. Beyond Saint George's chapel is the chapel of the Holy Spirit and the Te Deum window, which was designed by Christopher Webb.

Organs and Organists

Organ

The pipe organ by N. P. Mander Ltd. was decommissioned in 1998 with a view to a long term replacement with another pipe organ. In the interim, a digital organ by Phoenix organs is being used.

Organists

1892 Thomas William Hanforth
1937 R. Tustin Baker
1966 Graham Matthews
1991 Paul Brough
1994 Simon Lole
1997 Neil Taylor

Change Ringing

The cathedral has 13 bells hung for change ringing, including a flat 6th bell. The bells are rung regularly for practice and for Sunday services.

Further Information

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