Methodist Chapel Greenhill

[southside]

The old Chapel on Greenhill Main Road is 200 year old on the 25th November 2023.

Until 1823 Greenhill had no permanent place of worship, locals had to walk to the parish church at Norton for their devotions. Money was raised to purchase a plot of freehold land from Joshua Coates of Stainsby for the building of a Methodist Chapel. The plot of land chosen was "lately part of a garden occupied by James Seston,"  who in later years became keeper of the White Hart.

The new Methodist Chapel opened its doors in November 1823    "Tradition states" that masons Benjamin Fiddler and Isaac Biggin worked on the construction, both men lived in the village, Benjamin Fidler lived at the cottage on the bend by the village pump opposite the White Swan.  Later, in 1841 Isaac Biggins widow Hannah was living at the Manor with her 4 children. 

[Ponytail]

Greenhill Methodist Church (Old), Greenhill Main Road

s04933

Newspaper Cutting from Sheffield Telegraph 9th September 1937. Old Church was of the oldest on the Brunswick Circuit dating back to 1797. New Church opened 23rd September 1837. See Sheffield Telegraph 24th 1937.

 

More Photographs of Greenhill Methodist Church (Old) 

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t14350&pos=4&action=zoom&id=152009

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t13529&pos=84&action=zoom&id=151367

 

Dated 1987

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s31053&pos=3&action=zoom&id=64063

 

There are many Photographs of Greenhill Methodist Church May Queens on the Picture Sheffield website. 

https://www.picturesheffield.com

 

 

[southside]

Hi Ponytail,  I got my date from a church going neighbour and checked it out on the church Website. It'll be interesting to see if the Telegraph has the correct information.

https://www.greenhillmethodistchurch.com/

 

 

[Edmund]

There seems to be a bit of confusion in the use of "old" and "new", also a couple of typos with dates.

The first chapel (now called old, new in the 1820's) according to the Independent, was opened for divine worship on Wednesday 14th January 1824.  Though "opened its doors in November 1823" is probably also correct (define "opened its doors")

A stone laying ceremony for the new church was held on Saturday 6th June 1936, with a procession from Hunstone Avenue led by the Salvation Army Citadel band.  Thirty-two stones were laid by friends and representatives of the church.  The following Saturday the Sunday School scholars held a brick laying ceremony.  The new church was opened on 23rd September 1937.  The Rev. Arnold C. Metcalf (superintendent minister) presided at the opening ceremony, and the opening sermon was preached by Dr. R. Bond (President of the Methodist Conference).  The new church was planned to have a tower similar to the Methodist church at Holmhirst Road, Woodseats, and would accommodate 400 people, with facility to partition off the transepts for use as small rooms as required.

During WW2 Sheffield City Libraries used the old chapel as a lending library branch, opening on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  The building remained in use as a Sunday School, but by 1950 the accommodation was too small for the 300 pupils (it had a capacity of only 100) and a new Sunday School building was planned.