Church and Local History

History: Ecclesall Parish Church - The Story So Far

The Story of the Vision of the Church Building
It all began in 1172 when Sir Robert Fitzranulph was involved in the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. He came to a place of deep repentance and felt called by the Lord to found a monastery at Beauchief. A little later Sir Ralph de Ecclesall gave a donation for the new monastery on the understanding that a chapel was established close to his manor house in Ecclesall. Ministry continued here until the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s. What happened for the next ninety years we do not know but in 1622 the Vicar of Sheffield, Mr Toller, agreed to pay his son- in- law £5 per annum to minister at Ecclesall. A major step forward was the building of a new church in 1787 - in fact the present nave. In 1849 Ecclesall became a parish in its own right.

The rather utilitarian and unexciting building of 1787 was reordered in 1843 and again in 1864. In 1907-8 the great transept and chancel addition was undertaken by the well-known Edwardian architect Lushington Temple Moore. The intention at that time was that a nave in similar gothic revival style should replace the existing one. The 1908 addition stretched the Church beyond its financial resources and, far from there being the means to build a new nave, there was insufficient funds to take down the galleries which dominated the three sides of the old one or to redecorate it. The then Vicar's impassioned pleas led to more money being given and the galleries were removed. It was not, however, until 1945 that the funds had been accumulated to build a nave but then there were severe post-war building restrictions and, by the time these had been lifted, prices had escalated beyond the means available. More reordering followed in 1964. The major item was a new nave roof needed because the side walls, no longer held together by the galleries, could not give sufficient support to the very wide roof span. New lighting and other work was also undertaken.

That brings us to the fifth major change in the life of the church building well illustrating Newman's dictum that to remain the same a thing must change often. After much thought and prayer the PCC decided that the particular mission and pastoral needs of today called for change as clearly as they had done in 1787, 1843, 1864, 1907-08 or 1964. In 1997 the PCC decided that it needed to ensure that:-

... the church building speaks the same message of Gospel love, care and fellowship as the Church members speak with their lives.
... the church is furnished and appointed in a way which is appropriate to the expectations of people in the new millennium and therefore necessary for effective mission.
... the church architectural heritage, speaking as it does of the greatness, majesty and transcendence of God, is enhanced.
... the building facilitates the involvement of the whole people of God in worship, adoration and praise.

The reordering items flowed from these objectives. They were:

• a new welcome area (narthex) with kitchen and toilets
• a gallery over the welcome area
• the bringing of the communion table forward to a more central place
• new sanctuary furniture and an ambo (pulpit and lectern together)
• a beautiful and secluded chapel of prayer
• a much bigger area for the musicians.
• a new organ and piano
• new heating, lighting, electrics and redecoration
• improved congregational facilities (seating, sound system, staging, and provision for the disabled)
• an opening up of the magnificent architecture of the East End
• floodlighting
• an opening up of the lovely old staircase in the tower

The reordered Church reopened in early 1998. Though the cost was not far short of £900,000, we had seen abundant signs of the Lord's gracious provision financially and in all sorts of other ways.

The Story of the Vision of the Church Family
The story of the building follows the emergence of Ecclesall from a small scattered hamlet to a large and growing suburb of a great city. The concern of our predecessors was for outreach to those who did not know Christ, for those who needed the love and care of his people and for the growth of the whole church in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord. When we reordered the building in 1997-8 our visionary slogan held ‘renewing the building' alongside ‘renewing lives'. We wanted the church building to express the welcome, the faith and the deep faith of the church family in a way which was attractive.

Our overarching vision as a church family is that of our Mission Statement - The mission of All Saints Ecclesall is to grow the church, both in quality and quantity, so that all the people of our parish, and beyond, may encounter the love of God.

What we seek to be is a family of the Lord's people, following His call. We are fully aware of our helplessness apart from what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. We rejoice that we are, albeit very slowly and imperfectly, being formed by the Holy Spirit into His image, into the people He created us to be. We want to help and support each other so that we can become mature in Christ. We are also driven by an awareness of the Great Commandment - to love our neighbour - and the Great Commission - to preach the Gospel to all the world.

Our aims and objectives are that

• the Lord, who has begun a great work in us will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:7).
• we may be 'ambassadors for Christ' (2 Corinthians 5:20), bringing the message of reconciliation with all the power that He would give us
• we may be people who see others, outside and inside the church, with a heart of compassion, ready to bind up their wounds.

We feel that the Lord has given to us the words that he gave to to Joshua long ago as being his assurance to us: 'Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go' (Joshua 1:10). And that's exciting.

On the 1st November 2008 a former vicar Revd Canon Doctor Peter Williams came and gave a lecture on the history of Ecclesall Church. This can be listened to or downloaded from our sermons page. The talks are all listed in date order with the most recent on page 1.

The Ecclesall Local History Society meetings are advertised in our parish magazine Spur. A book on the local history can be purchased from local shops or from Margaret Naylor.

Contact Margaret Naylor 0114 236 0245 Send E-mail

Bicentenary 1987 (approx 765 KB)

The History of the Church of All Saints Ecclesall Sheffield by JG Jackson et al 1973 (approx 2 MB)

The Story of Ecclesall Parish Church by GF Usherwood 1938 (approx 2 MB)