Victoria Hall is a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

place of worship situated on Norfolk Street in

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 ...

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

. It is the most important Methodist building in Sheffield and it is 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 ...

.Sheffield City Council website.
Information on all listed buildings within the Sheffield city boundary. It is a large many roomed building which stands between the side streets of Chapel Walk and George Street. Although the main entrance to the church is on Norfolk Street, there is a separate administration entrance on Chapel Walk.

History

Original chapels

The origins of Methodism in South Yorkshire date from 1742, when

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

arrived in Sheffield on a preaching tour and founded the nucleus of the Sheffield Methodist Society. They met at a small wooden meeting house in Cheyney Square which was on the site of the current Town Hall. The meeting house was destroyed in a riot in 1743 during a service conducted by

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It ...

and a new chapel was built on Mulberry Street at the expense of the local magistrates for failing to keep the peace. The Mulberry Street chapel was used for worship by the Methodists until 1779 when the Norfolk Street Wesleyan Chapel on the present site of Victoria Hall was completed. The Chapel was opened and consecrated in 1780 by the 77-year-old John Wesley, who described it as "One of the largest in the Kingdom" and presented the new building with a set of silver communion vessels.''"At the Heart of the City"'', Nicholas Farr, Gives history of church. Despite substantial renovation and the introduction of new vestries in 1875 at a cost of £6,000, the building was demolished in 1906 to make way for a more distinguished and larger structure. The old building was closed for the last time on 13 May 1906.

New hall built

On 26 September 1906 the foundation stone for the new Victoria Hall was laid followed by a celebratory lunch at the Cutlers Hall. The Hall was opened on Thursday 24 September 1908 with the final cost being in excess of £40,000, a huge sum at the time, but the Wesleyan mission cleared the debt within three years. The total expenditure included the outlay for extra land, with Sheffield entrepreneur Thomas Cole donating land for an enlarged site for the new church. The new Hall was originally designed by Waddington Son & Dunkerley but much of the design was re-worked by

William John Hale William John Hale (March 1862 – 25 November 1929) was an architect based in Sheffield, England, who produced the city's most striking early 20th-century architecture.''"Pevsner Architectural Guides – Sheffield"'', Ruth Harman & John Minnis, ...

(1862–1929) in 1908. Hale blended Gothic and

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

styles and was instrumental in designing the large

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

top to the tower. The carved decorations on the hall are by Alfred and William Tory and portrayals of the Wesley brothers are integrated into the design.''"Pevsner Architectural Guides – Sheffield"'', Ruth Harman & John Minnis, , Page 120 Gives architectural information. The new hall was part of the Forward Movement of the Methodist church inspired by

Hugh Price Hughes Hugh Price Hughes (8 February 1847 – 17 November 1902) was a Welsh Methodist clergyman and religious reformer. He served in multiple leadership roles in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He organised the West London Methodist Mission, a key Me ...

who called for a national religion which preached to the poor and resulted in the building of Central Halls in most of Britain's large cities.''"An Introduction to World Methodism"'', Kenneth Cracknell & Susan J. White, Gives details of the Forward Movement. One of the Hall's first accomplishments was to set up the Sheffield Mission Labour Yard in Joiner Lane off

The Wicker The Wicker is an arterial street in Sheffield, England noted for its history and viaduct that crosses it, the Grade II* listed '' Wicker Arches''. It runs in a north-east to south-westerly direction between Lady's Bridge and the Wicker Arches ...

. This tackled the high level of unemployment of the time and by June 1909 had provided 5,903 days work to almost 6,000 men. The yard closed in 1915 as the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

reduced unemployment to virtually nil. The Hall has always had strong connections with Trade unionism and in September 1909 the

Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of about 5.5 million members. P ...

held its annual conference at the hall, since then various unions have held meetings there. In the Hall's early days the surrounding area was densely populated and thousands of young people attended

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

, The Scout Association, Scouting,

Girl Guides Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...

and

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

Wartime

During the First World War the Hall opened its doors to care for the members of the armed forces and after the end of the conflict the Hall received a visit from

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

and Queen Mary during their visit to Sheffield in 1919. The king presented medals to the returning soldiers from the platform in the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

. During the years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

the Hall served free breakfasts to needy children and distributed food parcels as well helping the unemployed. Prior to the completion of the

Sheffield City Hall Sheffield City Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England in Barker's Pool, one of the city's central squares. It was built and is owned by Sheffield City Council. History The building was designed in 1920 by E. Vincent Harr ...

in 1932, the Victoria Hall was the leading concert venue in the city with many leading orchestras playing concerts there. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the hall survived 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 during nighttime on 12 and 15 December 1940. In 1940, Sheffield was a city of about ...

air raids of December 1940, with

The Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

being sung to an audience of over 200 people on the Sunday after the raids.''"Raiders Over Sheffield"'', Mary Walton & J.P. Lamb, Page 68 Gives details of Sheffield Blitz raids. On 9 May 1941 part of Victoria Hall was converted into a rest hostel for the Forces with 20 beds, this was later expanded to 35 beds.

Present day

Today the hall stands in an important position in the city centre, across from

Tudor Square Tudor Square is a city square in the city of Sheffield, England. The square is home to the largest concentration of theatres in the UK outside London and has thus become known as Sheffield's ‘Theatre Land’. The Square lies at the heart of t ...

and close to the

Crucible A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...

and

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

theatres. As well as a place of worship, the Hall is used by various voluntary organisations including meals for the homeless. It is a popular venue for classical music concerts and the function room is available for hire by the general public.''"The Changing and the Changeless"'' (Souvenir Booklet), 1980, Gives some of the history.

References

{{coord, 53.3817, N, 1.4669, W, scale:1000_type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Churches in Sheffield Sheffield City Centre History of Sheffield Churches completed in 1908

Methodist churches in South Yorkshire 18th-century Methodist church buildings Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield Art Nouveau architecture in England Art Nouveau church buildings in the United Kingdom 1908 establishments in England