St Thomas is a former

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

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 ...

in the Brightside area 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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

which now serves as a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

training school. The

Sheffield and Rotherham Railway The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was a railway line in England, between the named places. The North Midland Railway was being promoted but its route was planned to go through Rotherham and by-pass Sheffield, so the S&RR was built as a connecti ...

opened in 1838, and both industry and housing spread along its route through the

Lower Don Valley The Lower Don Valley, or historically the East End of Sheffield, is the mainly industrial north-east quarter of Sheffield, England. Located on the River Don, it encompasses the areas of Attercliffe, Brightside, Darnall, Tinsley and Winco ...

. Despite its booming population, the district of Brightside did not have an Anglican church, the local congregation instead meeting in a licensed room with a capacity of only seventy people. However, the district had two large

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 ...

chapels, and the

Church Commissioners The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

supported the construction of an Anglican church with a grant of £100.M. H. Port (2006), ''600 New Churches: The Church Building Commission 1818–1856'' (2nd ed.), Reading: Spire Books, The total cost of construction was £1600, with the remainder being raised by subscription. A site of around one acre off Holywell Road was donated by the Earl Fitzwilliam, and construction began in 1852, Canon Blackburn laying the foundations stone.William Odom, ''Memorials of Sheffield'', p. 143. It was completed the following year, with

consecration 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 ( ...

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 the ...

, Thomas Musgrave, taking place in 1854. It was designed by Flockton & Son, local architects who had already designed many buildings in Sheffield, including Christ Church, Pitsmoor, and the Anglican Chapel at the

Sheffield General Cemetery The General Cemetery in the Sheffield, City of Sheffield, England opened in 1836 and closed for burial in 1978. It was the principal cemetery in Victorian era, Victorian Sheffield with over 87,000 burials. Today it is a listed Landscape (Grade I ...

. In the

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, it has a

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 ...

and single south aisle, with a tower and spire at the south-western corner. Initially, the church remained part of the parish of Grimesthorpe, but in 1864, it was given its own parish. In 1873, a memorial was erected to William Mannifield, who had been killed in an accident at the nearby Brightside Colliery.

George Pace George Gaze Pace, (31 December 1915 – 23 August 1975) was an English architect who specialised in ecclesiastical works. He was trained in London, and served in the army, before being appointed as surveyor to a number of cathedrals. Mo ...

conducted much work on the church, providing new decorations in 1957, then a new

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

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

and

lectern A lectern is a standing reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of ...

in the 1960s. It was

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 ...

in 1973, but was closed and deconsecrated in 1979. During the 1980s, it was used as the Sheffield School of Gymnastics, then in 1995 it was restored as part of the TV series ''

Challenge Anneka ''Challenge Anneka'' is a British entertainment Reality television, reality programme that originally aired on BBC One, BBC1 from 8 September 1989 to 15 October 1995 and is hosted by Anneka Rice. It was announced on 6 November 2006 that the se ...

'', to serve as a training centre for

Greentop Circus Greentop Community Circus Centre is the only circus school in Yorkshire, England, and was established in 1995 on the TV programme ''Challenge Anneka'', and is one of three UK circus schools providing accredited level training courses in circus s ...

.Big top tips for budding performers
, '' The Star'', Sheffield, 18 April 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brightside, St Thomas Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield Grade II listed churches in South Yorkshire Churches in Sheffield Churches completed in 1853 19th-century Church of England church buildings Church of England church buildings in South Yorkshire Commissioners' church buildings Former churches in Yorkshire

See also

References