1. The History
The Chapel was built in 1787 by the Rev Benjamin Greaves (the then curate of Bradfield) together with some of his associates. Shortly after its completion consecration was refused because the builders, for some unknown reason, would not install an east-facing window. It was eventually sold at auction for the princely sum of £315 and became an independent chapel. A decade later it started performing baptisms in 1799. The first officer of the Titanic, Henry Tingle Wilde was apparently christened here. Unsurprisingly, a significant number of the 240 dead from the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 are buried in the cemetery. This includes members the Armitage family, who tragically lost twelve family members, including five children.
Here's what the chapel looked like in the later 1800's:
The chapel closed in 1994. Gradually deteriorating but securely sealed for a long time, the chapel then became open, and a number of reports started to appear. Sadly, the local pondlife got in and started smashing the place up. Things went from bad to worse when flames ripped through the church in the early hours of Wednesday August 17th, 2016. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called out at around 3am when they dispatched three fire engines and although the fire-fighters had put out the flames by about 7am, but by then the place was a burnt-out shell by that point.
After the fire, the site was purchased by Mohammed Jameel Ali for £86,000 in October 2016. An article in the Sheffield Star dated May 2019 stated Mr Ali had plans to restore the Grade II-listed church and create visitor centre-cum-hostel with room for up to six children. Since then though no progress has been made.
2. The Explore
More of an up-date report rather than anything particularly epic or exciting. I’d tried to explore here a few times, but it wasn’t until November 2015 that I finally managed to get in. See the report HERE prior to the fire.
Previously looked in here post-fire and it made pretty bleak viewing. With having to stay local with lockdown in place, thought I’d pop in and see how things were. There’s been some work done to stabilise the walls but beyond that it remains pretty much a shell. It will be interesting to see that if Post-COVID, any of the mooted plans come to fruition, or whether this former historic chapel will remain as a crumbling shell.
3. The Pictures
Before the fire:
And after:
The toilets were pretty much the only part of the chapel that weren’t completely burnt out:
Remember this lovely little tan-brown range looking like this pre-fire:
Now, sadly, it looks like this:
One of the many cast-iron supporting pillars:
Before:
One of the few memorial plaques that’s not either crumbled or been removed.
Overview of the main hall:
Think this is the former chapel safe:
The Chapel lies in the ground of a still-active graveyard:
The Chapel was built in 1787 by the Rev Benjamin Greaves (the then curate of Bradfield) together with some of his associates. Shortly after its completion consecration was refused because the builders, for some unknown reason, would not install an east-facing window. It was eventually sold at auction for the princely sum of £315 and became an independent chapel. A decade later it started performing baptisms in 1799. The first officer of the Titanic, Henry Tingle Wilde was apparently christened here. Unsurprisingly, a significant number of the 240 dead from the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 are buried in the cemetery. This includes members the Armitage family, who tragically lost twelve family members, including five children.
Here's what the chapel looked like in the later 1800's:
The chapel closed in 1994. Gradually deteriorating but securely sealed for a long time, the chapel then became open, and a number of reports started to appear. Sadly, the local pondlife got in and started smashing the place up. Things went from bad to worse when flames ripped through the church in the early hours of Wednesday August 17th, 2016. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called out at around 3am when they dispatched three fire engines and although the fire-fighters had put out the flames by about 7am, but by then the place was a burnt-out shell by that point.
After the fire, the site was purchased by Mohammed Jameel Ali for £86,000 in October 2016. An article in the Sheffield Star dated May 2019 stated Mr Ali had plans to restore the Grade II-listed church and create visitor centre-cum-hostel with room for up to six children. Since then though no progress has been made.
2. The Explore
More of an up-date report rather than anything particularly epic or exciting. I’d tried to explore here a few times, but it wasn’t until November 2015 that I finally managed to get in. See the report HERE prior to the fire.
Previously looked in here post-fire and it made pretty bleak viewing. With having to stay local with lockdown in place, thought I’d pop in and see how things were. There’s been some work done to stabilise the walls but beyond that it remains pretty much a shell. It will be interesting to see that if Post-COVID, any of the mooted plans come to fruition, or whether this former historic chapel will remain as a crumbling shell.
3. The Pictures
Before the fire:
And after:
The toilets were pretty much the only part of the chapel that weren’t completely burnt out:
Remember this lovely little tan-brown range looking like this pre-fire:
Now, sadly, it looks like this:
One of the many cast-iron supporting pillars:
Before:
One of the few memorial plaques that’s not either crumbled or been removed.
Overview of the main hall:
Think this is the former chapel safe:
The Chapel lies in the ground of a still-active graveyard:
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