St Cecilia's Parish Church, Parson Cross
Location/Address
Chaucer Close, Sheffield, S5 9QE
Type
Description
Late Gothic Revival parish church, brick with stone facing. Built 1939. Closed 2011. Surrounded by intimate close of council housing. Aisled nave and chancel, with undercroft at east end. Low tower that doesn't protrude above surrounding houses. Pedestrian approach to west doors by typical Parson Cross "eight-foot way".
Statement of Significance
Age
Consecrated March 1939 while surrounding vast council estate was still under construction. Opened before the first pub on the estate, the Parson Cross Hotel (June 1939).Rarity
Very late example of Gothic Revival English parish church.Architectural and Artistic Interest
Rectangular windows with Perpendicular tracery. Pointed interior arches. Blank wall instead of east window. Sloping site allows for undercroft, comprising Lady Chapel and vestries, with staircase access to church above. West baptistery under gallery for organ and choir. Designed by Kenneth Beaumont Mackenzie (1891-1977), his only church, indeed his only major public building. Nephew of the sponsor of St Cecilia's, Albert Reaney Heathcote (1851 or 1852-1942), proprietor of Bernard Works, Sylvester Gardens, Sheffield, knife manufacturer. Interior fittings which may have been removed since 2013: * hanging Rood from St Mary's, Wolverhampton, installed 1949 * reredos, originally from Holy Trinity, Preston (1923), moved to St Margaret's, Burnley (1952), then to St Cecilia's (1971) * 2-manual Cousans organ, incorporating pipes from St George's, Portobello and St Luke's [possibly Wesleyan Chapel], CrookesGroup Value
Attractive ensemble of parish church and surrounding houses.Historic Interest
Mother church of the huge Parson Cross parish, originally intended to comprise St Cecilia's, together with two daughter churches, St Bernard's, Southey Hill (still in use) and Christ the King, Deerlands Avenue (closed 1970), served by a vicar and up to six curates, all recruited from the Society of the Sacred Mission, Kelham, Nottinghamshire (colloquially known as the "Kelham Fathers").Landmark Status
One of only two significant public buildings still surviving from the original development of the Parson Cross estate on a greenfield site in the late 1930s. (The other is the Parson Cross Hotel, now closed.) Despite its invisibility from nearby main roads, its setting on Chaucer Close is a delightful ensemble, remaining very much as Kenneth Mackenzie must have intended it.Images and Documents
Date Listed
n/a
Last Updated
14 Sep 2022
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