Church Heritage Record 635249

Single cell nave with partition at west end with WC, kitchen and storage. North and south doors.

[Approximate] As now - nave 12m (40ft) x 8m (26ft)

‘Ateclive’ is recorded in the Domesday Book and today’s name ‘Attercliffe’ is thought to derive from ‘at the cliff’, referring to the nearby cliff down to the river Don. In 1297 Attercliffe was one of the largest villages in the area. Several old mansions once stood nearby. In the 18th century it became the meeting point for two important turnpike roads from Rotherham and Worksop.

The churchyard has been extended several times. The original gates and churchyard wall were buit in 1633. It was enlarged in 1754 and 1786. It contains burials dating from the 17th century including those of local notable families. Amongst the headstones, tomb chests and ledgers are those commemorating figures of local historical interest including Huntsman (see above) and Richard Swallow of Attercliffe Forge. Photographs inside the chapel suggest further work has been done to record the memorials but a database does not appear to be in the public realm.

A history of the building was written by Joseph Hunter in 1869 and through him a great deal is known about the history of the chapel. It was constructed in 1629 as a Chapel of Ease to the Parish Church of Sheffield, now the cathedral, at the demand of parishioners for whom the two mile journey was too long. A date stone in the north wall records its construction and features the initials of Thomas Arnalde and Henry Barber, the masons. The chapel is understood to have been funded by the Bright family of Carbrook Hall and Thomas Hick was the carpenter. The first service was held in 1630, it was consecrated in 1636. The dimensions were recorded as 66ft x 30ft, with an aisle of 36ft x 9ft. The chapel became the parish church of Attercliffe in 1649 and remained so until Christ Church Attercliffe was erected in 1822-26 (now demolished), when a separate parish was formed to accommodate a growing population.

A north gallery was erected in 1740 and another at the east end in 1779. Interments took place within the walls. The chapel was reduced in size in 1837. An image c.1840 shows the chapel with a bellcote over the west end and projection to the north ( aisle and vestry). The building was used as a mortuary chapel by the 1870s and is labelled as such on a map dated 1893. It was recorded as ‘dilapidated’ in 1874. By the end of the 19th century it was surrounded by terraced housing (demolished). The chapel was restored and remodelled in 1909 by J D Webster (when the churchyard became the responsibility of the City Council) but fell into disuse and decline with the last service in 1916. It may have been used as a store by the City Park department.

The chapel was formally made redundant in 1985 (PM no 1188, 1984) but was restored and re-consecrated c.1990 when the student Olympic games rejuvenated the surrounding area. A west extension was given some thought. As part of the works an archaeological report was written in 1991 [Cumberpatch and Miller, South Yorkshire Archaeology Unit] to record the floor which was removed and relaid. It revealed rubble and shards of 20th century pottery beneath the floor and recorded that early burials are thought to lie a metre beneath the current floor level [HER 03458/01]. Hunter made a list of monuments in 1802 both in the chapel floor and the churchyard. Many interior monuments were lost or relocated during works in 1909.

A summary history is recorded in a ‘Lower Don valley History Trail’ plaque, fixed to the east side of the east churchyard wall. The Diocese described the chapel in 1984 as ‘one of the oldest places of worship in Sheffield (it is thought only the Cathedral and Beauchief Abbey Chapel are older).’

The site is of considerable archaeological potential. There are no known designations relating to the ecology of the plot, though it contains a number of trees.

A small rectangular stone chapel concealed at the far end of a large churchyard, incongruously nestled amongst modern industrial buildings. The stone bears the dark smudges of pollution from industrial days gone by.

The chapel has a low-pitched stone-covered roof. At each corner are large stone kneelers and the gables have raised stone copings. Three-stage stone buttresses support the north, east and south walls which appear to have been added later. A continuous plinth can be followed around the base of the south and east walls, which breaks on the north side and is not evident in the west wall – though it can be seen reappearing in the west facing boundary wall where it survives from the original chapel prior to its reduction in the 1840s.

The west wall is plain without a window, a ventilation grill pierces the upper heights of the wall. The east wall has a broad window of four lights with a transom and trefoiled heads to the upper lights. The north and south walls each have a doorway towards the east end, the openings have four-centred arched heads and above them are stone pediments carried on console-brackets. Over the north door is a panel inscribed in relief with the date 1629 and the initials TA / HB of the builders. In the south wall is one window of virtually square shape with three uncusped lights and a transom below which the lower lights are square-headed. The north wall has two similar windows to the west of the doorway.

To the east of the south door is a monument whose details are worn away. It is evident a second monument was once fixed to the west of the door, but this was already missing at the time of the last report made in 1984. All the windows are protected by steel mesh.

The interior retains very few historical features and at the west end a partition has been inserted up to the top height of the windows, providing a WC, kitchen and storage facilities. The floor is of one level, formed by stone paving slabs, with one step up to the north door. Both doors are of modern wood. Above the south door are two projecting pieces of stone suggesting the location of a monument no longer in situ. The roof structure is original with two substantially sized tie-beams with king-posts and struts, and two tiers of purlins. Large globe lights are suspended from the ceiling with additional spot-lights fixed to the beams. The walls and ceiling are plastered and painted white. Radiators are mounted to north and south walls. The stone mullions of the windows remain exposed and blinds are fitted above each. The windows contain clear diamond leaded panes with a red glass border. Seating is provided by modern wood chairs with upholstered seat-pads.