Holy Trinity Church

A Bit of History

In 1897, the area of Holy Trinity was part of the Grange Villa Estate belonging to Sir Wilson Mappin. He gave the site for a chapel-of-ease to be built, his wife laying the foundation stone. The chapel was to serve the ever-increasing population of Millhouses, because the Parish Church of that time was up the hill at Ecclesall. It was to be known as Holy Trinity Mission Room. By 1910 Millhouses had grown sufficiently to separate from Ecclesall and have its own parish, so St. Oswald’s was built, at the corner of Abbeydale Road and Bannerdale Road, and the chapel came under its care.

Just over a decade later, this area of Millhouses grew enormously and in 1927 the Rev.Alfred Wood became Priest-in-charge. Within three years the Bishop consecrated the chapel as a parish church and the Rev. Wood became the first vicar of the Parish of Holy Trinity.

In 1935, with a substantial grant of £5,000 from the Bishop of Sheffield’s 100.000 Guineas Fund and major contributions from the parish, the chapel and a neighbouring house were demolished and the present church of Holy Trinity was built. The Rev. Wood and Miss J. Edgar (in memory of her father, John Edgar) laid the foundation stone on 4th January 1936. Nearly eighteen months later, on 1st May 1937, the new church was dedicated and consecrated by the Lord Bishop.

Our church hall was originally sited about half a mile away from the church, on the corner of Dobcroft Road and Whirlowdale Road, where the car park of the Parish Centre now is. It was used for all the many church activities as well as for Guides and Scouts. During the 1960s it became possible to build a new Church Hall adjacent to the church itself, on the ground between the church and the vicarage, and this was opened in 1965.

Around the same time, with the help of a 50% grant from the Department of Education, a Parish Centre was created on the Dobcroft Road site to provide better facilities for youth work in the area. This was in use by early 1966 and was officially opened in November that year by H.R.H. Princess Margaret.  Major improvements were made to the Parish Centre in 1999, especially to the heating system, to accommodate a day nursery. This provided a much-needed resource within the area and ensures a regular income for maintenance of the building.