St George's Church, Portobello

St George's
St George's Church from the southeast
Basic information
Location Sheffield City Centre
South Yorkshire, England
Geographic coordinates 53°22′54″N 1°28′51″W / 53.3817°N 1.4808°W / 53.3817; -1.4808Coordinates: 53°22′54″N 1°28′51″W / 53.3817°N 1.4808°W / 53.3817; -1.4808
Affiliation Anglican
District Diocese of Sheffield
Year consecrated 1825
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Redundant church
Architectural description
Architect(s) Woodhead and Hurst
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Gothic Revival
Completed 1825
Construction cost £15,181 (equivalent to £1,140,000 in 2016)[1]
Specifications
Capacity 380
Length 122 feet (37 m)
Width 67 feet (20 m)
Height (max) 140 feet (43 m)

St George's Church, Portobello, is a former Church of England parish church in the City of Sheffield, England. It is now part of the University of Sheffield and is a lecture theatre and student housing.

St George's is the first of three Commissioners' churches to have been built in Sheffield under the Church Building Act 1818. The other two are St Mary's Church, Bramall Lane and St Philip's Church, Netherthorpe (demolished 1951). St George's is a Gothic Revival building designed by the architects Woodhead and Hurst in a Perpendicular Gothic style. It was built at a cost of £15,181 (equivalent to £1,140,000 in 2016),[1] the whole cost being met by the Church Building Commission.[2]

The building is 122 feet (37 m) long and 67 feet (20 m) wide, and consisted of a flat-ceilinged nave with six bays, a single-bay chancel, and a 140 feet (43 m)-high tower.[3] Galleries extended the length of the north and south walls, and there was a two-tiered gallery on the west wall. In total the church could seat 380 people. The foundation stone was laid on 19 July 1821,[4] and the church was consecrated by Archbishop Vernon Harcourt on 29 June 1825.

Interior now a lecture theatre

The church was declared redundant and closed in 1981. It stood unused for a number of years until the University of Sheffield acquired it and in 1994 had it converted into a lecture theatre and student accommodation.[5] Prior to this it had been the last of the Commissioners' churches in Sheffield to retain its original form. It is a Grade II listed building.[6]

In 2010 a nest-box was placed on the church rooftop, which is now home to a breeding pair of peregrine falcons that can be seen via live stream webcam.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  2. ↑ Port, MH (2006), 600 New Churches: The Church Building Commission 1818–1856 (2nd ed.), Reading: Spire Books, p. 329, ISBN 978-1-904965-08-4
  3. ↑ Levesley, Gerald (1975). Third Jubilee: The History of the Church and Parish of St. George, Sheffield 1825–1975. Sheffield: Parochial Church Council of St George, Sheffield.
  4. ↑ "St George, Portobello". Sheffield & District Family History Society. Archived from the original on 9 July 2001. Retrieved 11 February 2006.
  5. ↑ Harman, R; Minnis, J (2004). Sheffield. Pevsner City Guides. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 88. ISBN 0-300-10585-1.
  6. ↑ Historic England, "Church of St George  (Grade II) (1247180)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 10 November 2013
  7. ↑ "Sheffield Peregrines". The University of Sheffield.
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