Christ Church, Stannington

Christ Church is an Anglican place of worship situated on Church Street in the Stannington area of the City of Sheffield, England. It is a Commissioners' church or “Million Church” as it was built partly with money provided by the Church Building Act of 1824. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

The construction of Christ Church was completed in 1830 with the architects Woodhead & Hurst of Doncaster overseeing the building work. Architectural plans were drawn up in 1827 and the foundation stone was laid on 16 October 1828 by Thomas Richard Ryder, Vicar of Ecclesfield. The dignitaries at the ceremony included William Hurst, one of the architects who by then had become Mayor of Doncaster; after the stone laying the party retired to the Peacock Inn for afternoon tea. The final cost of the church was £3,000 with part of the funding coming from the second parliamentary grant of the Church Building Act which was approved in 1824. However a substantial donation came from Eliza and Ann Harrison of Weston Hall, daughters of Thomas Harrison an eminent Sheffield sawmaker. At the time of its construction Christ Church was within the Chapelry of Bradfield which was within the Bishopric of Ecclesfield, Stannington did not become a separate parish until 1843.

Initially Christ Church did not have a vicar but used a curate, Mr. William Gill who lived in Bradfield, three miles to the north-west. Mr Gill conducted a morning service along with his other duties for six years but resigned in 1836 when he was asked to perform an evening service as well. These events led to the building of a much needed vicarage adjacent to the church as well as the provision of a stipend of £100 per annum. In 1843 Stannington became a separate parish with Christ Church as the parish church; William Gill became the first vicar with the stipend increasing to £129 per annum. The church has had several notable vicars over the years: Samuel Parkes was in office for 28 years between 1879 and 1908, Francis Augustine Stebbing was the longest serving vicar between 1916 and 1963, the last incumbent Canon Philip West had, until very recently, been Christ Church’s vicar for over 20 years. In September 2014, Tim Fletcher became Priest in charge upon the retirement of Philip West.

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