Church of St Mary the Virgin, Beighton

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is situated in Beighton, a suburb of the City of Sheffield. It is located just off High Street, it is the parish church for the parish of Beighton and a Grade II* listed building. Although the original church dated from the 12th century there is no remaining trace of this original structure, although there are some later Medieval parts (see below). It is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The present minister is Mike Healey.

Beighton was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 but there was no reference to any church in the settlement. It is believed that St. Mary’s dates from the year c.1150, this is based on the discovery of a disintegrating late Norman semi-circular chancel arch which was unearthed during late 19th century repair work. The first documented mention of the church is in an undated deed written during the reign of Edward I (1272-1307). At that time the church was dedicated to Saint Radegund who originated in Thuringia, there is no date for the change of dedication to St Mary and as late as 1557 there was a mention of “the churche yard of V(ir)gyn Radegond at Beghton”

The tower arch is thought to be the oldest part of the present building and may date to the 13th century, while the north aisle dates from the 15th century, there was probably once a chantry chapel at its east end. There was a period of rebuilding and alteration towards the end of the 14th century that saw the addition of a pointed chancel arch and nave arcades. There was further restoration in 1773 but by the 1860s the church was in a dilapidated state and the newly appointed minister the Reverend George Antrobus employed the Chesterfield architect Samuel Rollinson (1827-1891) to oversee an extensive programme of reconstruction and renovation which took place between October 1867 and December 1868. The work included taking down the walls of the chancel and the south aisle and rebuilding them on the original footprint, the Clerestory windows to the nave were removed, and a gallery at the west end of the church was taken down. Bench pews replaced the box pews allowing for the capacity of the church to be increased to 291.

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