The Church of St Mary the Virgin is situated in Beighton, a suburb of the City of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England. It is located just off High Street, it is the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

for the parish of Beighton and a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Although the original church dated from the 12th century there is no remaining trace of this original structure, although there are some later

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

parts (see below). It is dedicated to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, the mother of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The benefice is currently vacant (no minister).

History and architecture

Beighton was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 but there was no reference to any church in the settlement. It is believed that St. Mary's dates from the year 1150, this is based on the discovery of a disintegrating late Norman semi-circular

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

arch which was unearthed during late 19th century repair work. The first documented mention of the church is in an undated deed written during the reign of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

(1272-1307). At that time the church was dedicated to Saint

Radegund Radegund (; also spelled ''Rhadegund, Radegonde, or Radigund''; 520 – 13 August 587) was a Thuringian princess and Frankish queen, who founded the Abbey of the Holy Cross at Poitiers. She is the patroness saint of several churches in Franc ...

who originated in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, there is no date for the change of dedication to St Mary and as late as 1557 there was a mention of "the churche yard of V(ir)gyn Radegond at Beghton". The tower arch is thought to be the oldest part of the present building and may date to the 13th century, while the north aisle dates from the 15th century, there was probably once a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

chapel at its east end. There was a period of rebuilding and alteration towards the end of the 14th century that saw the addition of a pointed chancel arch and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

arcades. There was further restoration in 1773 but by the 1860s the church was in a dilapidated state and the newly appointed minister the Reverend George Antrobus employed the Chesterfield architect Samuel Rollinson (1827-1891) to oversee an extensive programme of reconstruction and renovation which took place between October 1867 and December 1868. The work included taking down the walls of the chancel and the south aisle and rebuilding them on the original

footprint Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. The ...

, the

Clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

windows to the nave were removed, and a gallery at the west end of the church was taken down. Bench pews replaced the

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s allowing for the capacity of the church to be increased to 291.''"Listed Buildings In Sheffield"'', Barbara A. West, Hallamshire Press , Page 88, Gives historical details. The north door or

Devil's door A devil's door is a structural feature found in the north wall of some Medieval architecture, medieval and older churches in the United Kingdom. They are particularly common in the historic county of Sussex, where more than 40 extant churches ...

, was blocked up at one time and then later re-opened. The devil's door was left ajar during

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

s to release any evil spirits in the child. On the north side of the chancel are two gravestones, one of these refers to the Jermyns, a wealthy family who owned property in Beighton, Hackenthorpe and Eckington. There is a

Hagioscope A hagioscope () or squint is an architecture, architectural term denoting a small splayed opening or tunnel at seated eye-level, through an internal masonry dividing wall of a church in an oblique direction (south-east or north-east), giving wo ...

or squint cut into the wall between the chancel and the nave, this enabled worshippers to see the priest's actions indirectly. Two brasses on the south wall of the nave mark the resting places of William Jessoppe, vicar of Beighton, who died in 1667 and M. Robert Jessoppe of Waterthorp Gent who died in 1753. The

rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixio ...

was designed by

Ninian Comper Sir John Ninian Comper (10 June 1864 – 22 December 1960) was a Scottish architect, one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architects. His work almost entirely focused on the design, restoration and embellishm ...

. Gives architectural details. In December 2006, Ed Dennison Archaeological Services Ltd were commissioned by the church council to conduct archaeological observations during internal refurbishment of the church and the replacement of the external drainage system. The result of this observation found no evidence of any remaining features connected with the original medieval church. The most noteworthy feature uncovered was the rediscovery of an early stone floor, last recorded in 1816 and buried in the 1867 restoration. The floor is thought to date from the early 16th century. Archaeology Data Services.
Gives history, architecture and details of watching brief in 2006.

List of rectors

*1316 – Bartholomew de CorynghamResearch by Rev. E.R Redfern (Vicar of Beighton 1939-46) published in Beighton Parish Magazine March 1941 *1349 – Geoffrey de Haddon *1356 – William de Fereby *? – Richard de Beuley *1367 – Richard de Raundes *1374 – Richard de Kyngeston *1396 – John del More *1429 – Roger Wyresdale *1435 – Thomas Wakesley *1442 – Matthew Lachford *1456 – William Orwell (Collated by Bishop) *? - John Tynker (Buried at Beighton 1480) *1490 - Thomas Atkinson *1535? – Leonard Lynley (d 1538 buried in chancel) *1538 – Thomas Rainshaw *1543 – Ralph Royez *1557 – William Wordsworth *? – Nicholas Harvey *1567 – George Harvey *1603 – John Higdon (d 1613, buried in chancel) *1638 – Edward Haslam *1640 – John Hunne *1650 – William Jessop (d 18 April 1667 d at Beighton) Appointed by Parliamentary Commission *1667 – Thomas Goold (Buried at Beighton 1674) *1674 – Henry Burdyn *1690 – Thomas Jackson *1703 – Marmaduke Drake (Buried at Beighton 2 December 1741) *1733 - John Drake *1745 – John Drake Jnr (Buried at Beighton 7 February 1763) *1763 – Thomas Purcell (Buried at Beighton 28 July 1764) *1764 – Joseph Meller *1769 – Richard Morton *1821 – Hon. Thomas Erskine (Buried Beighton 5 January 1859) *1859 – George Hardolph Eyre *1865 – George Antrobus (buried at Beight 21 November 1872) *1872 – Edward Reynolds *1889 – Robert Stewart Hare *1911 – Andrew Brown Maughan *1932 – Paul Basil Honeybourne Ashwin *1939 – Ernest, Reginald Redfern *1946 – Harold Pickles *1957 – William Gilbert Potts *1964 – Colin Nield *1969 – Robert Edwin Michael Vickers (d 1 December 1975, Ashes interred at Beighton) *1976 – Alan Roy Billings *1978 – Alan Gardner Livesley *1984 – Alan Grenville Richards Chantry Priests *Richard Ashe (died 1541) was buried in the church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beighton, Mary the Virgin 12th-century church buildings in England History of Sheffield English Gothic architecture in South Yorkshire Tourist attractions in Sheffield Grade II* listed buildings in Sheffield Grade II* listed churches in South Yorkshire Churches in Sheffield Church of England church buildings in South Yorkshire