St Michaels Cemetery Chapel, Rivelin

Introduction

St Michaels Cemetery Chapel in Rivelin, Sheffield, in the Diocese of Hallam, was designated a Grade II listed building in December 1984.

History

The original St Michael's chapel cornerstone was laid and consecrated on 29 September 1862 by Robert Cornthwaite, Bishop of Beverly. The original chapel was blessed by Father Burke and dedicated to St Michael the Archangel on 26 October 1863. The new chapel was opened and blessed by Robert Cornthwaite, now Bishop of Leeds, on 11 December 1877. The chapel was designed by architects Messrs Hadfield and Son with M.J. Dowling as contractor.

Extensive renovation with the help of English Heritage was completed in 2005. The original chapel was always meant to be a temporary building.

The chapel was built 1877-78 by Charles Hadfield, paid for by GH Foster. The chapel was opened in 1877, replacing an original small chapel on the site.

Architecture and furnishings

The chapel is built of dressed Greenmoor wallstone with Worrall stone dressing, internally 22 feet wide and 72 feet long, with a roof covered by Staffordshire tiles. At the chapel's western end is a sixty foot high bell turret with a five cwt bell by Mears of London.

The east end has a polished marble sanctuary wall and altar with an alabaster figure of the dead Christ below the mensa by Hadfield, sculpted by RL Bouton of Cheltenham. The east end glazing, dated 1878, was designed by JF Bentley and executed by Lavers, Barrand & Westlake. The rood, west window and chancel paintings and decorations were by NHJ Westlake in 1884. The Stations of the Cross were by Hadfield and Bouton.

The porch has a niche with a figure of St Michael. The chapel is of coursed squared stone (Greenmoor) with ashlar dressings (Worrall) and plain tile roof.

Parish life

The cemetery was opened in 1862 shortly after the Vincentian Order came to Solly Street, Sheffield, where they had established a church and school. Most of the people interred in St Michael's, at least for the first 50 years of its existence, were of Irish descent.

Visiting

The cemetery is open to visitors, with many people visiting from the Sheffield area and further afield, especially in summer. Burial records are available to download as a PDF file from the website. The cemetery has a map available on the website.