St Catherine of Siena, Richmond

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Coordinates: 53°21′41″N 1°24′26″W / 53.3615°N 1.4072°W / 53.3615; -1.4072
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St Catherine of Siena, Richmond
Church
StyleModernist
Completed1959
Construction cost£50000 (£1,470,000 in 2023)[1]
Specifications
Capacity300
Length99 feet
Width42 feet
Height (max)56 feet
MaterialsBrick
Website
www.stcathsiena.co.uk

St Catherine of Siena is an

Richmond district of Sheffield in England
.

History of the parish

Historically, Richmond was a sparsely populated area forming the western end of the

chapel-of-ease was constructed to serve its population.[2] It was a temporary structure of corrugated asbestos at the junction of Richmond Road and Hastilar Road.[3] In 1949, a parish was created for it,[2] but the local population had increased to more than 10,000 people, and the church was considered insufficient and in need of replacement. Frederick Etchells was commissioned to design a new church, to seat 500 people, but although he produced drawings, there was initially no money available to construct the building.[3]

Design

St Phillip's Church in

vicarage. Its appearance, largely plain, with narrow windows, was inspired by Eliel and Eero Saarinen's Christ Evangelical Church in Minneapolis.[3]

Construction and opening

Construction started on the project, on the site of the earlier church. It was already well underway by April 1959, when its foundation stone was dedicated by the

Methodist, and averaged only thirty worshippers for many years.[2]

Inside the church, the altar is of black metal with a timber top, and the font is made of limestone with fossil inclusions.[4] Work on furnishings and decorations continued over the next few years; an organ was installed, and a sculpture by Ronald Pope was added to the bell tower in 1966.[3]

Recent history

Congregations finally began growing in the late 1980s, as the population of the local area saw generational change. A major restoration was completed in 1997,

listed at Grade II.[4]

The church maintains what it describes as a Catholic style of worship. It does not support the ordination of women and, as such, has taken the option of submitting to the Provincial episcopal visitor, the Bishop of Beverley.[5]

References

  1. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d St Catherine of Siena, "History"
  3. ^ a b c d e David Walker, English Religious Architecture of the Fifties
  4. ^ a b Historic England, "Church of St Catherine of Siena"
  5. ^ St Catherine of Siena, "About us"
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