View source for St Matthew's Church, Sheffield

{{Short description|Anglican church in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2021}}

{{Infobox church
| name = St Matthew's Church, Sheffield
| image = St Matthews, Carver Street.jpg
| caption = St Matthew's Church, Sheffield
| dedication = [[Saint Matthew|St. Matthew]]
| denomination = [[Church of England]]
| churchmanship = [[Anglo Catholic]]
| parish = [[Sheffield]]
| deanery = 
| archdeaconry = 
| diocese = [[Diocese of Sheffield|Sheffield]]
| province = [[Province of York|York]]
| bishop = The Rt Revd [[Stephen Race]] SSC (''[[Alternative Episcopal Oversight|AEO]]'')
| vicar = Fr Grant Naylor SSC
| vicar1 = 
| rector = 
| curate = 
| curate1 = 
| minister = 
| assistant = 
| honpriest = Fr Alan Watson CMP
Fr Alun Price 
Fr Richard Parker SSC 
| deacon = 
| pastor = 
| organistdom = 
| organist = Mrs Fiona Law 
| lead parish nurse = Mrs Michaela Suckling 
| children & families worker Mrs Minerva Faddoul 
| organis1 = 
| website = [http://www.stmatthewscarverstreet.co.uk St Matthew's, Sheffield]
| coordinates = 
| osgraw = SK 35137 87108
}}
[[File:St Matthews Sheffield interior.jpg|thumb|right|275px|The interior of the church.]]

'''St Matthew's Church''', more usually known as '''St Matthew's Carver Street''', is situated on Carver Street in the [[Sheffield City Centre|centre]] of [[Sheffield]], [[South Yorkshire]], England. It is a Grade II [[listed building]]<ref name="Sheffield Council">[http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/urban-design--conservation/conservation/listed-buildings Sheffield City Council website.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821172701/http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/urban-design--conservation/conservation/listed-buildings |date=21 August 2008 }} Information on all listed buildings within the Sheffield city boundary.</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1247046|desc=Church of St Matthew|accessdate=16 April 2024}}</ref> located at grid reference {{gbm4ibx|SK351871}}. The church is part of the [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic]] 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 [[Sheffield Cathedral|Sheffield]] 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 [[William Flockton|Flockton & Son]]. The building was consecrated on 6 June 1855 by the [[Archbishop of York]] [[Thomas Musgrave (bishop)|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 [[Snuff (tobacco)|snuff]] maker Mr. Henry Wilson of Westbrook Mill who contributed £1,020, the [[Ecclesiastical Commissioners]] 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]] housing.<ref name="BrailsfordandPawson">''"Illustrated Guide to Sheffield"'', Pawson & Brailsford, {{ISBN|0-85409-671-X}}, Page 45 Gives quote "a neat building with a graceful spire", a list of benefactors and other details.</ref>

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]] in the [[Church of England]], 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]] although there were casualties throughout the parish as many buildings were damaged in the immediate vicinity during the [[Sheffield Blitz]] of December 1940.
[[File:St Matthew's, Carver Street, Front.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The main entrance on Carver Street with the War Memorial plaque to the left and Crucifixion statue above.]]
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 internal work included the cleaning of [[carbon]] deposits from the [[reredos]] 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),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cuf.org.uk/parish/350041|title = Sheffield: St Matthew - Parish Data}}</ref> and is a busy church serving a lively city centre. It is now surrounded by the [[Devonshire Quarter]] 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.<ref name="stmatts">[http://www.stmatthewscarverstreet.co.uk/ St Matthew‘s website.] Gives history of church.</ref>

The parish stands in the [[Anglo-Catholic]] [[Churchmanship|tradition]] of the Church of England. As it takes a traditionalist view on the [[Ordination of women in the Anglican Communion|ordination of women]], the parish receives [[Alternative Episcopal Oversight]] from the [[Bishop of Beverley]] (currently The Rt Revd Stephen Race).<ref>{{cite web|title=St Matthew's Carver Street Sheffield, Sheffield|url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/sheffield-st-matthews-carver-street-sheffield-church/|website=A Church Near You|publisher=Archbishops' Council|accessdate=13 May 2017}}</ref>{{fails verification|date=March 2023}}

==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]] and includes [[Matthew the Evangelist|St Matthew]] and other saints in its design. It is by [[J. D. Sedding]] who re-designed the east end of the church at the same time, putting in a new [[chancel]]. The two west windows are by [[Lavers, Barraud and Westlake]] and date from 1902, other lighting in the church is by [[clerestory]] windows.

The [[altar]] and [[reredos]] are also by Sedding with carvings by [[Frank Tory and Sons|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 [[Goetze and Gwynn|Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn]] and is based on the early work of master organ maker [[Bernard Smith (organ builder)|Bernard Smith]].<ref name="goetzegwynn">[http://www.goetzegwynn.co.uk/newchurch/sheffield.shtml www.goetzegwynn.co.uk.] Gives details of church organ.</ref> Next to the main entrance is a [[war memorial]] which takes the form of a plaque listing worshippers and parishioners who gave their lives in [[World War I]]. Just above the door is a statue of the [[Crucifixion]]. Next door to the church is St Matthew's House, a former Clergy House and [[Sunday School]].<ref name="Pevsner">''"Pevsner Architectural Guides - Sheffield"'', Ruth Harman & John Minnis, {{ISBN|0-300-10585-1}}, Pages 124 & 125 Gives details of architecture.</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Commissioners' churches in Yorkshire]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{coord|53.3796|N|1.4733|W|scale:1000_type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

{{Deanery of Ecclesall churches}}
{{Churches in Sheffield}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffield, St Matthew}}
[[Category:Churches in Sheffield|St Matthew]]
[[Category:Sheffield City Centre|St Matthew]]
[[Category:History of Sheffield|St Matthew]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1855]]
[[Category:19th-century Church of England church buildings]]
[[Category:Anglo-Catholic church buildings in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield|St Matthew]]
[[Category:Commissioners' church buildings]]
[[Category:Grade II listed churches in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Anglo-Catholic churches in England receiving AEO]]