St Silas Church is a former

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

built in 1867 in Broomhall,

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 was under the administration of the

Diocese of Sheffield The Diocese of Sheffield is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. The Diocese of Sheffield was created under George V on 23 January 1914, by the division from the Diocese of York (along with that pa ...

from its creation in 1914 until the closure of the church in 2000.

History

St Silas Church, named after Saint Silas, was built in 1867. The first vicar of the church was Charles Sisum Wright. It was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

for use as a church in 1869. The building was designated a

Grade II listed 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, H ...

structure on 28 July 1973. On 1 December 2000, the church was closed after 133 years of continuous operation. The

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

acquired ownership of the Church in 2006 with the intention of converting it into a local medical centre and offices with the adjacent vicarage to be used as a car park. However, this plan never came to fruition. In 2014, Claypenny Properties received permission from the

Bishop of Sheffield The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York. A similar title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. John Quirk, the only Bishop suffragan of She ...

to convert a portion of the building into student accommodation flats. The church today is still student accommodation but the alter is still present. It has been home to multiple students over the years and has been a loving home to its residents including Samantha King CBA.

Architecture

The church was built in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

in a

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style of masonry which was a popular architectural movement at the time. A large four-panelled

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

on the northern facade of the church tower depicts four stories from the Bible and three archangels. There are several other stained glass windows around the church which are in-keeping with the

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...

style of the main one. A plaque in memorial of those who died in 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 ...

and the original altar are among the objects which remain in the church at present.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Silas Church Sheffield Churches in Sheffield 19th-century Church of England church buildings Former Church of England church buildings Former churches in Yorkshire Gothic Revival architecture in South Yorkshire Grade II listed churches in South Yorkshire