Underbank Chapel

Underbank Chapel is a Unitarian place of worship situated in Stannington, a suburb of Sheffield, England. It stands in a rural situation, 6 km west of the city centre on Stannington Road. The building is a Grade II listed building.

History

The present Underbank chapel dates from 1743, however an earlier chapel stood on an adjoining site and this was founded in 1652. This original chapel was a converted barn, which was established when Richard Spoone left land and a building in his will to establish a “preaching minister”. As the chapel was founded during the Commonwealth of England the minister was of the Presbyterian denomination. The setting up of this chapel allowed the people of the Stannington district to worship locally for the first time, as prior to this the nearest church was the Church of St Nicholas at High Bradfield some five km away.

By the year 1740 the original chapel had become unfit for use and Thomas Marriott of Ughill, a local Calvanistic dissenter built the present day chapel on a nearby plot of land he had purchased for the purpose. The chapel was opened on June 2nd 1743 by Mr. Wadsworth, Mr. Samuel Smith and three or four ministers, one of whom had come from Doncaster. In 1785 the chapel embraced Unitarian beliefs when Reverend Edmund Gibson became minister, many of the congregation could not accept Unitarianism and left the church, either returning to St. Nicholas’ or attending the newly opened Congregational church on Queen Street in the centre of Sheffield. In 1796 Underbank was visited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who at that time was considering becoming a Unitarian minister, he met the chapel’s minister, the Reverend Astley Meanley. In 2012 the minister is June Pettit.

Architecture

Architecturally Underbank Chapel is generally considered as being a distinctive and interesting example of its type as a "Dissenters' Meeting House of the 18th Century. It is constructed from coarse, squared sandstone with ashlar dressings, the roof is hipped and consists of stone slates with the flat central section being of lead. The front (south facing) side of the chapel features distinctive windows, there are two very tall round-headed windows with multiple small panes while above the two doors there are oculus windows which are decoratively keyed. The chapel originally had separate entrance doors for men and women, and although both are still in situ only the right hand one is now used.

Interior

The interior has undergone several major changes over the years, the first of these saw the removal of two long side balconies, at one time these were needed to accommodate the large number of people attending the services, however now only the balcony on the east wall at the back of the chapel remains. In 1952 there was a major refurbishment which saw the addition of a vestry by removing two rows of pews and adding panelling. At the same time the pulpit was moved into a more central location, exchanging positions with the organ, which is now situated in the north western corner. The organ itself is a Brindley & Foster pipe organ which was purchased second hand in memorial of chapel members lost in World War I.

By the pulpit on the west wall is a wall hanging made by congregation members which commemorates the 350th anniversary of the founding of the original chapel in 2002. The north wall features two stained glass windows, one of which features St. Mark depicted as the winged lion and Saint Matthew as a winged man. The other window depicts Jesus welcoming the children. The chapel has traditional fixed pews which date from 1860, and seats approximately 110 people downstairs, the gallery seats approximately 50 to 70 giving total capacity for the chapel of 160 to 180.