St Matthew's Church, more usually known as St Matthew's Carver Street, is situated on Carver Street in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, England. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Sheffield City Council website.
Information on all listed buildings within the Sheffield city boundary. located at grid reference . The church is part of the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

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

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 1 June 1854 with the construction being carried out by Flockton & Son. The building was consecrated on 6 June 1855 by the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

Thomas Musgrave. The church which has been described as "a neat building with a graceful spire" cost £3,297 to build, the main benefactor was the

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maker Mr. Henry Wilson of Westbrook Mill who contributed £1,020, the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...

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 A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

housing.''"Illustrated Guide to Sheffield"'', Pawson & Brailsford, , Page 45 Gives quote "a neat building with a graceful spire", a list of benefactors and other details. 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 The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, 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 or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

although there were casualties throughout the parish as many buildings were damaged in the immediate vicinity during the

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. In 1940, Sheffield was a city o ...

of December 1940. St Matthew's, Carver Street, Front

In August 1956 parts of the church were damaged by fire including the organ and the Lady Chapel, which had only just been restored. In 1960 the last residential houses in the parish were demolished for shops and businesses, leaving the church without a resident congregation. In the 1970s the Church was threatened by the proposal to build a major road in the area which would have meant demolition but the plans were eventually changed. In 1982 the church's two function rooms were upgraded and in 2000 the church received a major restoration externally and internally with funding from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. The internal work included the cleaning of

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...

deposits from the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

and paintings, a result of Sheffield's heavy industrial past.

Present day

The parish of St Matthew's has a growing resident population (pop: 5,690), and is a busy church serving a lively city centre. It is now surrounded by the

Devonshire Quarter The Devonshire Quarter is an area in the centre of Sheffield, England. Its heart is the Division Street and Devonshire Street shopping areas, known for their small independent shops and variety of pubs and bars. The district also has ''The Forum ...

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.St Matthew‘s website.
Gives history of church. The parish stands in the

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

of the Church of England. As it takes a traditionalist view on the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

, the parish receives

Alternative Episcopal Oversight A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of ...

from the

Bishop of Beverley The Bishop of Beverley is a Church of England suffragan bishop. The title takes its name after the town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The suffragan bishop was originally to assist the Archbishop of York in overseeing th ...

(currently The Rt Revd Stephen Race).

Architecture and the interior

There is an octagonal tower with a tall spire on top at the front (west) end of the church which contains one bell, with the main entrance below on Carver Street. There are three main stained glass windows, the east window which dates from 1886 depicts the

Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

and includes St Matthew and other saints in its design. It is by

J. D. Sedding John Dando Sedding (13 April 1838 – 7 April 1891) was an English 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 wh ...

who re-designed the east end of the church at the same time, putting in a new

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

. The two west windows are by

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 19th-century Gothic Revival movement that had a significant influence on English civic, ecclesiastical and domestic ...

and date from 1902, other lighting in the church is by

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

windows. The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and

are also by Sedding with carvings by Frank Tory and a centrepiece painting of the Adoration 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.www.goetzegwynn.co.uk.
Gives details of church organ. Next to the main entrance is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

which takes the form of a plaque listing worshippers and parishioners who gave their lives in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Just above the door is a statue of the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

. Next door to the church is St Matthew's House, a former Clergy House and

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

.''"Pevsner Architectural Guides - Sheffield"'', Ruth Harman & John Minnis, , Pages 124 & 125 Gives details of architecture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Matthews Church, Sheffield Churches in Sheffield Sheffield City Centre History of Sheffield Churches completed in 1855 19th-century Church of England church buildings

Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield Sheffield, St Matthew's Church Grade II listed churches in South Yorkshire

History

Present day

Architecture and the interior

See also

References