1. The History
St Vincent’s dates back to the 19th century and the height of the Industrial Revolution, when thousands of Irish immigrants moved to England trying to escape the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-1840s. After disembarking in Liverpool, many were attracted by the prosperous cutlery and tool industries in Sheffield. Back then, Sheffield’s iron and steel industry was centred around a maze of small courtyards and alleyways named The Crofts. It occupied a huge area stretching from Scotland Street in the north down to Paradise Street in the south including Solly Street, Hollis Croft and either side of Tenter Street and Broad Lane. The mainly Irish population were predominantly catholic, two thirds of whom lived in severe poverty in squalid back-to-back houses.
Most of the emigrants worshipped at St Marie’s church in Norfolk Row which was the only Catholic church in Sheffield. In the early 1850s, the relaxing of the Penal Laws and restrictions on the Catholic faith led Father Edmund Scully of St Marie’s to pledge to build a school-chapel for The Crofts area. It was duly completed in July 1853. After that, neighbouring towns and wealthy businessmen donated hundreds of pounds to the finance the building of a new church and on the 25th March 1856, the church’s foundation stone was laid at a spot called ‘White Croft’. Construction went ahead at a fair pace and after completion, the first Mass took place on the 15th December. Over the coming few years, despite being in a deep industrial depression, the school-chapel become overcrowded, leading to the construction of a new boy’s school, facing into Solly Street.
While the new church and school gave local children the chance of an education, life in the Crofts remained poverty-stricken for most and, at the at turn of the century, disease was commonplace. So much so that The Crofts had the highest death rate in Sheffield with one-in-four children dying before the age of one. The appalling sanitary system and spread of disease led to Sheffield Corporation earmarking The Crofts for demolition. However, as the demolishers moved into one slum area, most residents would simply move into another to avoid having to leave the area completely. The first block of flats was built in 1903 on the site of the old Crofts, followed by a second block in 1908 and despite the best efforts of Sheffield Corporation, The Crofts, remained relatively downtrodden.
Back in 1870, a church tower was added, initially built up to a height of 40 feet and then raised to its present-day height of 93 feet in 1911 by architect Charles Hadfield. Completed in just 6 months it also encompassed a 25-cwt bell.
During the first world war, just shy of a thousand men from the parish served in the army. Despite a quarter losing their lives, post-war, the parish community flourished. However, the area around the church remained mainly slum housing and included one of the gangs involved in the Sheffield Gang Wars of the mid-1920s that lead to the city being nicknamed 'Little Chicago'. In 1931 the church was finally consecrated after the debts of construction had been paid-off. Despite this, unemployment and poverty led Sheffield Corporation to initiate a second round of slum clearances, with over 3 acres of old properties demolished and their thousand-or-so inhabitants rehoused in the surrounding areas of Wincobank, Abourthorne and Shiregreen.
Archive picture prior to World War Two showing the then in-tact church from 1853:
The next major incident in St Vincent’s history came during the Sheffield Blitz, when, in December 1940, the Luftwaffe scored a direct hit on St Vincent’s church with a parachute mine landed on the roof. Although it resulted in the destruction of the original 1853 chapel, the newer part of the church from 1911 escaped serious damage. It blew every window in the church out from their frames and almost completely destroying the church organ. The church was rebuilt and reopened on Easter Sunday 1942, although it took until 1953 before the organ was fully restored. Post-war, the parish once again flourished and in the late 1940’s a new youth centre, The Dramatic Society, was established. In the 1950’s famous television and film star Patrick McGoohan [Dangerman, The Prisoner] learnt his trade here.
After the church’s resurgence in the 1950s, the 1960’s saw many of the parish drift away from the city centre. Despite this, a new Mortuary Chapel was built on the site of the old sacristy majority in 1977. In 1983, a falling number of priests led to St Vincent’s being gradually vacated. St Vincent’s school closed in 1989 and then in 1996 the Vincentian Fathers withdrew from Sheffield completely. On 19th July 1996, St Vincent’s Church closed its doors for the last time. The interior of the church was used for storing furniture while the land round the church was used for car parking.
After two decades of neglect, the future of the church was thankfully secured when site was purchased by Unite Students. They submitted planning permission for student accommodation in 2016, and after this was accepted conversion commenced. The first students took up residence two year's later in September 2018. The old school building remained the property of St Vincent's parish, but was gifted to Mission Hub Sheffield, an Evangelical Catholic organisation in 2017. Its renovation was completed by 2019 and is now co-used by the mission and the Catholic chaplaincy of the University of Sheffield, thus completing the rehabilitation of the whole St. Vincent's complex.
2. The Explore
Visited back in the depths of 2013, the church was the main objectives of this explore. All sealed-up, I could not find a way in and hence the church sadly was a fail. The adjoining Catholic Boy's club was still in semi-use, however, all was not lost. The two main buildings that made up the former Church School were easily accessible. The place was mostly roofless and pretty trashed with the upper floor of the main building of the school a complete death trap. The main attraction for exploring this place was a number of pieces by the then up-and-coming Sheffield graffiti artist Phlegm. At the time I would have never thought for one minute that within a decade the whole of this site would be completely renovated.
3. The Pictures
A few externals of the church:
Roof of the boy’s school:
And we are in. And it is a little bit dodgy:
The first Phlegm:
A second Phlegm:
And a third!
Down to the ground floor:
No shit Sherlock!
Ivy at the window:
Another now vanished Phlegm:
And another:
St Vincent’s dates back to the 19th century and the height of the Industrial Revolution, when thousands of Irish immigrants moved to England trying to escape the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-1840s. After disembarking in Liverpool, many were attracted by the prosperous cutlery and tool industries in Sheffield. Back then, Sheffield’s iron and steel industry was centred around a maze of small courtyards and alleyways named The Crofts. It occupied a huge area stretching from Scotland Street in the north down to Paradise Street in the south including Solly Street, Hollis Croft and either side of Tenter Street and Broad Lane. The mainly Irish population were predominantly catholic, two thirds of whom lived in severe poverty in squalid back-to-back houses.
Most of the emigrants worshipped at St Marie’s church in Norfolk Row which was the only Catholic church in Sheffield. In the early 1850s, the relaxing of the Penal Laws and restrictions on the Catholic faith led Father Edmund Scully of St Marie’s to pledge to build a school-chapel for The Crofts area. It was duly completed in July 1853. After that, neighbouring towns and wealthy businessmen donated hundreds of pounds to the finance the building of a new church and on the 25th March 1856, the church’s foundation stone was laid at a spot called ‘White Croft’. Construction went ahead at a fair pace and after completion, the first Mass took place on the 15th December. Over the coming few years, despite being in a deep industrial depression, the school-chapel become overcrowded, leading to the construction of a new boy’s school, facing into Solly Street.
While the new church and school gave local children the chance of an education, life in the Crofts remained poverty-stricken for most and, at the at turn of the century, disease was commonplace. So much so that The Crofts had the highest death rate in Sheffield with one-in-four children dying before the age of one. The appalling sanitary system and spread of disease led to Sheffield Corporation earmarking The Crofts for demolition. However, as the demolishers moved into one slum area, most residents would simply move into another to avoid having to leave the area completely. The first block of flats was built in 1903 on the site of the old Crofts, followed by a second block in 1908 and despite the best efforts of Sheffield Corporation, The Crofts, remained relatively downtrodden.
Back in 1870, a church tower was added, initially built up to a height of 40 feet and then raised to its present-day height of 93 feet in 1911 by architect Charles Hadfield. Completed in just 6 months it also encompassed a 25-cwt bell.
During the first world war, just shy of a thousand men from the parish served in the army. Despite a quarter losing their lives, post-war, the parish community flourished. However, the area around the church remained mainly slum housing and included one of the gangs involved in the Sheffield Gang Wars of the mid-1920s that lead to the city being nicknamed 'Little Chicago'. In 1931 the church was finally consecrated after the debts of construction had been paid-off. Despite this, unemployment and poverty led Sheffield Corporation to initiate a second round of slum clearances, with over 3 acres of old properties demolished and their thousand-or-so inhabitants rehoused in the surrounding areas of Wincobank, Abourthorne and Shiregreen.
Archive picture prior to World War Two showing the then in-tact church from 1853:
The next major incident in St Vincent’s history came during the Sheffield Blitz, when, in December 1940, the Luftwaffe scored a direct hit on St Vincent’s church with a parachute mine landed on the roof. Although it resulted in the destruction of the original 1853 chapel, the newer part of the church from 1911 escaped serious damage. It blew every window in the church out from their frames and almost completely destroying the church organ. The church was rebuilt and reopened on Easter Sunday 1942, although it took until 1953 before the organ was fully restored. Post-war, the parish once again flourished and in the late 1940’s a new youth centre, The Dramatic Society, was established. In the 1950’s famous television and film star Patrick McGoohan [Dangerman, The Prisoner] learnt his trade here.
After the church’s resurgence in the 1950s, the 1960’s saw many of the parish drift away from the city centre. Despite this, a new Mortuary Chapel was built on the site of the old sacristy majority in 1977. In 1983, a falling number of priests led to St Vincent’s being gradually vacated. St Vincent’s school closed in 1989 and then in 1996 the Vincentian Fathers withdrew from Sheffield completely. On 19th July 1996, St Vincent’s Church closed its doors for the last time. The interior of the church was used for storing furniture while the land round the church was used for car parking.
After two decades of neglect, the future of the church was thankfully secured when site was purchased by Unite Students. They submitted planning permission for student accommodation in 2016, and after this was accepted conversion commenced. The first students took up residence two year's later in September 2018. The old school building remained the property of St Vincent's parish, but was gifted to Mission Hub Sheffield, an Evangelical Catholic organisation in 2017. Its renovation was completed by 2019 and is now co-used by the mission and the Catholic chaplaincy of the University of Sheffield, thus completing the rehabilitation of the whole St. Vincent's complex.
2. The Explore
Visited back in the depths of 2013, the church was the main objectives of this explore. All sealed-up, I could not find a way in and hence the church sadly was a fail. The adjoining Catholic Boy's club was still in semi-use, however, all was not lost. The two main buildings that made up the former Church School were easily accessible. The place was mostly roofless and pretty trashed with the upper floor of the main building of the school a complete death trap. The main attraction for exploring this place was a number of pieces by the then up-and-coming Sheffield graffiti artist Phlegm. At the time I would have never thought for one minute that within a decade the whole of this site would be completely renovated.
3. The Pictures
A few externals of the church:
Roof of the boy’s school:
And we are in. And it is a little bit dodgy:
The first Phlegm:
A second Phlegm:
And a third!
Down to the ground floor:
No shit Sherlock!
Ivy at the window:
Another now vanished Phlegm:
And another:
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