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:
Latterly the chapel became known as the Loxley United Reformed. It was a Grade II listed building and was on English Heritage at risk register as of August 1985. It closured in 1993 after the congregation had reached an unsustainable level and was bought by Hague Farming of Bradfield who also own Canon Brewery, Thornsett Lodge and the Hallam Tower Hotel (spot a trend here?). One major issue is that while the Hague’s had freehold possession, the grave plots still belong to the respective families of the dead.
Gradually deteriorating but securely sealed for a long time, the chapel became unsealed and a number of reports on urbex sites appeared. Sadly, the local pondlife got in and started smashing the place up.
This is a year or so before it was torched:
l
Things went from bad to worse when flames ripped through the church in the early hours of Wednesday August 17th last year. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called out at around 3am when they dispatched three fire engines. The fire-fighters put out the flames by about 7am but by then the place was a burnt-out shell by that point.
2. The Explore
The recent fires in Belfast and Derby made me think of this place again. 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. I visited again after the fire in March 2017 and obviously didn’t deem it worth posting a report up. But given no one else has posted anything since the fire and the current state of things, thought I’d knock a retrospective report together,
Remember at the time a wave of sadness washing over me when I saw the chapel as a burnt-out wreck. How would you feel if the place that your loved ones were buried and commemorated in was burnt down by local yobbos?
3. The Pictures
A few of the overgrown graveyard first:
Oh deary me…
And the old girl comes into sight:
It’s pretty grim inside:
And not much remains. The old iron pillars remain steadfast however:
Some wall plaques have been removed:
But this one remains in situ:
Some scorched remembrance headstones:
A broken wall plaque:
Old metal piping:
And a few charred beams:
And some bits of old metal:
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:
Latterly the chapel became known as the Loxley United Reformed. It was a Grade II listed building and was on English Heritage at risk register as of August 1985. It closured in 1993 after the congregation had reached an unsustainable level and was bought by Hague Farming of Bradfield who also own Canon Brewery, Thornsett Lodge and the Hallam Tower Hotel (spot a trend here?). One major issue is that while the Hague’s had freehold possession, the grave plots still belong to the respective families of the dead.
Gradually deteriorating but securely sealed for a long time, the chapel became unsealed and a number of reports on urbex sites appeared. Sadly, the local pondlife got in and started smashing the place up.
This is a year or so before it was torched:
lThings went from bad to worse when flames ripped through the church in the early hours of Wednesday August 17th last year. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called out at around 3am when they dispatched three fire engines. The fire-fighters put out the flames by about 7am but by then the place was a burnt-out shell by that point.
2. The Explore
The recent fires in Belfast and Derby made me think of this place again. 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. I visited again after the fire in March 2017 and obviously didn’t deem it worth posting a report up. But given no one else has posted anything since the fire and the current state of things, thought I’d knock a retrospective report together,
Remember at the time a wave of sadness washing over me when I saw the chapel as a burnt-out wreck. How would you feel if the place that your loved ones were buried and commemorated in was burnt down by local yobbos?
3. The Pictures
A few of the overgrown graveyard first:
Oh deary me…
And the old girl comes into sight:
It’s pretty grim inside:
And not much remains. The old iron pillars remain steadfast however:
Some wall plaques have been removed:
But this one remains in situ:
Some scorched remembrance headstones:
A broken wall plaque:
Old metal piping:
And a few charred beams:
And some bits of old metal:
Last edited:
