CHAPTER ONE



History of St Vincent’s in Sheffield©

An original story written by Ted Cummings

Generously permitted for Sheffield Indexers website courtesy of

Ted Cummings and Vincent Hale

CHAPTER TWO

HE SENT ME TO PREACH TO THE POOR

The Arrival

The words of St. Luke - 'Evangelisare pauperibus misit me' - taken as a maxim by St. Vincent de Paul and engraved in stone but largely unnoticed, still above the porch of the former (1878-1983) St.Vincent's presbytery in Solly Street, were never more apt than in the eventual arrival of the priests from Ireland. That the people to whom they were coming to minister were poor was beyond any doubt; that the priests were to be evangelists in every sense of the word was also beyond doubt. Many of the Crofts settlers, leaving the Catholic surroundings of their homelands and now surrounded by the industry and prosperity of Sheffield's produce (although not sharing much of the prosperity) had, in many cases, practically surrendered their active religion and in their poverty-ridden state and surroundings, had allowed themselves to dissolve and be absorbed into a condition of indifference which manifested itself largely in over- indulgence in the many local public houses and in fights and brawling with the local English populace which, in the short time of their settlement, had given the Crofts area a malicious reputation which was feared rather than respected by the local guardians of law and order. Blessedly oblivious of this, the three explorers, 42 years old Father Michael Burke, 34 years old Father James Kelly and 46 years old Father Patrick Kickham, left their home in Castleknock to make the hazardous journey across the Irish Sea on Monday, 7 November l853 and remained for one day in Liverpool as guests of the Head of the Benedictine Community at St. Mary's, Father James Sheridan, whose words of wisdom and encouragement Fr. Burke was later to record for posterity in his memoirs. On Wednesday, 9 November, their meagre travelling expenses almost exhausted and bearing only their small possessions of vestments and chalices, they arrived in Sheffield and were met, in their almost destitute state, by Fr. Scully who immediately took them to his Norfolk Row house to recover from their arduous journey. For two weeks they remained as Fr. Scully's guests, in the meantime getting the benefit of his advice regarding local geography, customs etc. and accompanying him on a visit to Bishop Briggs of Beverley to obtain His Lordship's blessing and approval for the work which they were about to undertake. So it was that, with the arrival on Wednesday, 23 November of the two 31 years old, Father Thomas G Plunkett and Brother John Bradley to complete the advance guard, that night they left the warmth and comfort of St. Mary's for their final goal in the middle of the Crofts, No. 90 Garden Street.

Exploration and the first week-end

In pitch darkness on the 23rd, the four priests and the lay-brother found their way to the empty Garden Street house but it must be said that during the four weeks since he had acquired the property Fr. Scully had mustered a small band of Catholics in the town to clean and, to some extent, furnish the house fit for the promised Missioners.

There was no light in the house and the priests had to be guided by Brother Bradley holding a lighted piece of paper. Still in darkness, with the other priests and Brother John holding lighted papers, Fr. Burke put on the vestments he had brought from Ireland and all formed a procession to bless the house 'until every room, staircase, hole and corner above and below was thoroughly lustrated' in Fr. Burke's own words. What they did not know at the time was that the house was overlooked by all the neighbouring houses in Garden Street and the opposite side of Solly Street and that the neighbours were curiously watching this (to them) strange ceremony at dead of night. So far as worldly possessions were concerned, the little band had come empty-handed, and the day following the 'lustration', one poor woman 'whose name we shall never know' (Fr Burke) came to the door with her offerings - 'a leg of mutton in one hand and a looking glass in the other'. Of such small things is history made. The priests spent the next three days acquainting themselves with the locality and trying to make themselves acquainted with the local people until, on Sunday, 27 November, the first Sunday of Advent, Fr. Burke took possession of his real domain, the school-chapel in White Croft and launched his mission with the first Mass in the upper room (a fitting parallel with the Last Supper) at a very humble altar at which there was barely room to move. The morning was very cold and at the Mass, attended by a mainly ill-clothed, poor and perished-looking congregation of about twenty faithful, Fr. Burke took for his sermon the Gospel of the Good Shepherd. The first layman to receive Holy Communion at the tiny makeshift altar was a Mr. Isaac Gillott, a converted Methodist, whose name and works in the early days of the Mission will occur several times. However, a large congregation was present for the 11 o'clock Mass and again at the Sermon and Benediction in the evening and the labours of the dedicated Vincentian priests appeared to have got off to a fairly encouraging start. That same afternoon at 2 o'clock, Fr. Burke inaugurated a Sunday School and Catechism class at which he was dismayed to find that the few children present were 'like wild Indians' who seemed never to have seen a priest before and showed no respect for the authority of the clergy. So disheartened was he by this daunting prospect that he called upon the two dozen or so adults present to form a Confraternity of the Christian Doctrine. This was done at a meeting in the lower schoolroom on the following Thursday, 1 December. Although Fr. Burke did not know whence came these adults, he later discovered that they were, in fact, all St. Mary's parishioners who had been mustered for the occasion by the zeal of Miss Alice Eccles, who was to become a loyal friend and helper of Fr. Burke, and by Mr. Isaac Gillott, who accepted the duties of President of the Men's Confraternity, the Presidency of the Women's section being accepted by Mrs. Hayland. Both the sections were placed under the spiritual guidance of Fr. Kelly and Fr. Plunkett since Fr. Burke did not feel himself equal in the physical or vocal senses to cope with 'the troublous sea of the congregated youth of our Mission'. An early offshoot of the Confraternity shortly after its formation was the founding of the Purgatorian Brotherhood, whose work of charity was to recite the office for the Dead in the Chapel and to attend to the burial of deceased parishioners.

First Impressions

At this point, the writer makes no apology for quoting verbatim from Fr. Burke's memoirs that good man's first and general impressions of his new 'church' and the Catholic flock which he had thereby inherited 'rookery of old tenements and all'. "There was of course no vestry. A humble attempt to get one up was made in the beginning by having a green baize curtain in front of the press. This curtain, for the opening day, was by some misadventure, made too short and it did not reach to within 4 or 5 feet of the ground. In consequence, the Reverend gentlemen and their attendants could be half-seen, as they were half- concealed behind the curtain - and this gave them the appearance of showmen extemporizing an exhibition. The curtain plan was soon abandoned and no further attempt made to cloak what could not be hidden, our utter poverty and numerous shortcomings."

"Thenceforth the priests vested at the altar. The school having for entrance but one narrow steep stone staircase and occasionally some Reverend Minister in his zeal trespassing on the limits of time allowed for each service - two congregations, the departing one and the incoming, now and then met and became locked in almost inextricable confusion on the stairs. Sometimes, the coming congregation had to stand for half an hour in the street below and more than once to bear with patience the rain and snow falling on them. Such accidents and many others equally painful and embarrassing occurred from time to time and were unavoidable often, while our Parish Church was an upper room - a school - a meeting hall - and in one word an omnibus. But nothing puzzled us more than the condition of the more grown portion of the youth of both sexes. They had grown up with little or no discipline or education of any sort, secular or Religious. It was not easy to distinguish them from the rude and ferocious youth (native) who crowded the streets in uproarious groups, cursing and playing pitch and toss. We knew them not and they seemed not to know, or to ignore us. The young women's condition was little better than the boys. They seemed to have little regard for themselves (the effect I think more of ignorance than of malice), they were to be seen often standing with bare heads and arms amidst groups of men in the open streets, something resembling the scene at a fair in Ireland; and what was far worse, had no difficulty in frequenting public houses, principally dancing houses, and of returning at most unreasonable hours through those wicked streets and lanes to their parents' homes." "In general, we were most painfully struck by the quick facility with which we found that Irish Catholic families or individuals coming to settle down in this country forgot their religion and learned to adopt all the bad ways of the surrounding heretics or infidels and generally to improve upon the model by adding their own peculiar vices to those of their neighbours, without picking up their good qualities or learning their orderly habits of life. The dirty, squalid and miserable conditions of their homes - or rather hovels - in back lanes and dark courts (we counted a hundred residents in one small dark court in White Croft) was such as made us come to the saddening conclusion that their pale and wretched- looking children must die out in one or two generations. Such was their state at a most prosperous period in Sheffield, when trade was extremely flourishing and in the midst of unusual material prosperity".

Founder Workers

No words of the writer can describe more poignantly than those quoted from Fr. Burke's memoirs the depressing and discouraging circumstances quite literally surrounding him and his fellow priests in the work they had undertaken. But, by some miracle of simple faith, they were not discouraged and were able, in fact, by virtue of their own poor circumstances to identify themselves closely with the poverty-ridden inhabitants, both Catholic and non-Catholic, of the Crofts. After the mixed reception with which the Mission's opening had been met, a steady increase both in children attending the school and children and adults present at the Masses and various devotions followed in a very short time. This was due in no small measure to the examples set by a Polish lady, Mrs. Annette Ball, who lived with her Protestant husband 'near Sheffield' (since identified as Norfolk Road) and by Mrs. Ball's companion, a Miss Mary Ellison. Mrs. Ball, who was a good friend of (now) Canon Scully, became as time went on, the first main benefactor of the new Mission. Both ladies came to attend Mass in the chapel every morning in all weathers, always following this by some daily work of charity to the priests and among the poor people of all denominations in the Crofts. From the outset, they made themselves responsible for the cleaning and general care and preparation of the school-chapel and of the priests' house in Garden Street in which a small domestic chapel had been established and blessed. Their generosity was never more welcome than when, as a result of Fr. Burke accompanied by Fr Kickham visiting York on Tuesday, 13th December for a diocesan Synod, as was his duty, the Diocesan levy, which Fr. Burke was called upon to pay on that occasion, almost completely wiped out the small reserve which he had and he was only preserved from complete destitution by the gifts which he received from the two ladies. Their work and example, strengthened by a few elderly women parishioners, began to work its Divine purpose to the extent that, by Christmas Eve, only four weeks after the Mission was opened, the priests were fully occupied at Confessions until midnight.

The Deepcar Pilgrims

During its first two weeks of foundation, and despite the primitive lack of transport and communications, word regarding the new Mission must have spread quickly and this was evidenced by a moving occurrence on Saturday, 17th December. That night, Fr. Burke and Fr. Plunkett were hearing confessions in the schoolroom and were just about to finish their confessorial duties about 10 p.m. when they heard 'the tramp of heavy feet like a company of soldiers' coming up the stone stairway to the chapel. A few seconds later, they were confronted by about twenty Irishmen, tired-looking and dishevelled who told Fr. Burke that they had walked from Deepcar to make their Christmas duties. To Fr. Burke, the name Deepcar was completely unknown, but without question, he invited them to the house in Garden Street where he heard their confessions and, since the hour was so late, he must have found them accommodation for the night with some of his nearby parishioners as he records that the following morning he said Mass and administered Holy Communion to them before they set off to walk back to Deepcar.

So moved was he by this occurrence that he determined that, as soon as was humanly possible, he would visit the area from which these faithful souls had trudged in the depths of winter. His fulfilment of this determination is the subject of a later chapter in these writings.

CHAPTER THREE

FAITH HOPE AND POVERTY

The First Struggle

In these days of affluence, it is very difficult, indeed well-nigh impossible, to try even to imagine the sheer depths of financial poverty that beset not only the people of the squalid Crofts but also the new priests and this was never more apparent than when, by the end of 1853, within just one month of beginning his missionary labours, Fr. Burke found himself so penniless as not to have any means with which to buy the very simplest things for his school; but providence came to his aid in the form of a £50. note 'unasked and unexpected' from a Mr. Thomas Kelly, a wine merchant of Gardiner Street, Dublin. Fr. Burke decided with this one note to start a bank account and, from this, was able to buy, not only the slates and crayons needed by his schoolchildren but also a small harmonium to provide a little music both for the school and the chapel. His appeals to the Dublin Provincial, Fr. Dowley, for monetary aid had been rejected and, almost in desperation, he issued from the school press a small handbill of appeal which resulted in over twenty people volunteering an annual donation. With the first £25 raised by this means and with his new bank account he was able as a result, to go to the local Education Authority and obtain a capitation grant for the children for whom he had undertaken to provide learning. Nevertheless, the struggle went on almost on a day-by-day basis and the small band of priests went far afield to beg for help as well as to preach Missions in other towns. The Missioners had, of course, not only inherited the running costs of the school, the chapel and their small house in Garden Street, but also the repayments of the mortgage on the land which they now owned as well as the loans and notes-of-hand for which they were indebted to Fr. Scully, £300 and Mr. Hadfield and Mr. Robert Gainsford £200. Later (in June 1855) when Canon Scully was leaving St Marie's, he forgave Fr Burke £100. of this debt on payment of the outstanding balance in cash and, at the same time, Mr. Gainsford and Mr. Hadfield provided respectively £50 and £20 thus wiping off the debt on the school. Fr. Burke also records, with unstinted praise, the generosity of many of the parishioners of St. Marie's during his times of need and appeal and it would appear that, without their patronage, there were many times in the early months of the Mission when its continuation would have become impossible.

It was, however, a sore point that since their chapel was not yet registered for marriages, the Vincentians were obliged to send their parishioners desiring marriage (together with the accompanying marriage fees) to St. Marie's Church and this situation did not help their dire financial position. Fr. Burke was therefore, particularly grateful for the voluntary work undertaken from the very early days of the Mission by a Mrs. Sellars and Miss Alice Eccles who collected funds and headed a small band of women working unselfishly to make and care for the vestments, the linens, altar fittings and decorations both in the upper room and in the small chapel in the Garden Street house, the latter very soon being used for weekday Masses, Communions, Baptisms and Confessions. This establishes the Altar Sodality, later to become the Altar Society as the second oldest of the parish organisations.

Thus slowly, sometimes painfully, but nevertheless with some certainty, Fr Burke and his priests, by their own physical efforts, by the ha'pennies and pennies from their own poor parishioners, by the gifts which came from time to time from other and more prosperous Catholics in the town and outside, by the voluntary work of such ladies as Mrs. Ball, Miss Ellison, Mrs. Sellars, Miss Eccles and their small but devoted band of helpers and, very shortly, by the noble patronage of no less a personage than the Earl of Arundel (soon to become the Duke of Norfolk), struggled through these hard financial times so well that they were able to start contemplating the possibility of embarking upon the objective which, at the outset, seemed to them a very remote dream - the building of their church upon the Jervis Court site which was still, in Fr. Burkes own words, 'covered by a rookery of old tenements'. Much more, however, was to happen before that dream was to become a reality and it was in this state of poverty but growing hope and undaunted faith that the priests saw out the historic year of 1853.

The Recusants

It is appropriate at this point, to sketch in a little of the historical background against which the Vincentians came to take up their Mission in England, of which Sheffield was the first. Following the end of the reign of James II - the last Catholic king to sit on the English throne - the accession of William and Mary revived the rabid anti-Catholic oppression which had been fostered by the rebellion of Henry VIII against the Papacy, continued during the reign of the first Elizabeth, carried on by the first Stuart kings and by Oliver Cromwell and resulted in the practising Church being driven underground. History only records a few of the faithful, not only priests and nuns but also lay people, who suffered martyrdom in the cause of keeping the Catholic faith alive during these centuries. All kinds of guile and subterfuge were practiced to this end resulting in priest-holes, Masses being said in secret and at great risk, with special codes and signals to the faithful Catholics in small localities to indicate where and when a Mass was to be celebrated, usually by itinerant priests who would wander the countryside in disguise, carrying concealed on their persons only the absolute canonical essentials necessary for them to exercise their God-given right to offer the Sacrifice.

The active practice of the Catholic faith in the town of Sheffield was, in those penal years, driven almost to the point of extinction but the Faith was kept more alive in the isolated surrounding country districts of Ashover, Bamford, Hassop, Hathersage, Padley and Stannington where distance from the local pursuivant authorities lent a little more safety from supervision and detection than was the case in or near the town. Even there, however, as Padley's history records, priests and people were detected or betrayed and suffered the ultimate penalty. So such matters continued until the early part of the nineteenth century when a greater measure of tolerance for the Catholic Faith began to manifest itself and resulted in the Catholic Emancipation Act being passed into the Statute Book in 1829.

Probably the first Roman Catholic church to be built in the Don Valley area of the West Riding of Yorkshire was that of Saint Bede's at Masborough which was completed and opened on 5 October 1842, nearly five years before the building of the Sheffield mother church of St. Mary's commenced. It was from Ashover that the widowed Mrs. Wright, last of the old Broomhead family which had provided priests during the penal times and whose members had married with the Revell family of Stannington, came to Revell Grange early in 1854, to marry before the end of the year, a Mr. Charles Sutton, descendant of the recusant Revells. In this house, from the very early years of the penal times when Catholicism was outlawed, a small chapel had been established and Mass celebrated, Holy Communion administered and Confessions heard under the threats of the Penal Laws until 1828.

This chapel also held, in concealment, some of the old altar furniture, vestments, chalices and linens rescued from the subsequent pillage of the (then Catholic) Bradfield Parish church in the mid-sixteenth century when the anti-Papacy movement was at its most furious height.

In secrecy, therefore, always under tremendous risk and often with great hardship, the flickering light of the Catholic Faith, which had in effect been almost completely extinguished in Sheffield, was kept alight in Stannington and was beginning to burn a little more brightly at the time of the Vincentians' arrival in Sheffield. The Stannington, Oughtibridge, Deepcar, Stocksbridge and Bolsterstone districts being considered part of the care of the new Vincentian priests, the excursions of Fr. Burke and his fellow Missioners into these nether lands will occur later in their proper order in these writings.

CHAPTER FOUR

1854

Depression and Encouragement

At the beginning of the year, less than two months after Father Burke and his confreres had left the relative security and comfort of the Irish House at Castleknock, they found themselves living and working in poverty which more than matched the 'apostolic poverty' in which they had first arrived. Fr. Burke had inherited a totally inadequate 'church', a largely unruly parish, poverty-ridden parishioners surrounding him in slum dwellings, a school filled with wild, undisciplined children, a suspicious hostility not only from the many non-Catholics in the area but also from many of his own 'parishioners', an area liberally dotted with uncontrolled public houses which doubled as dance houses where open immorality and drunkenness were rife and, not least, a virtual mountain of debts - surely a daunting prospect in what was, to the priests, a foreign land; but to judge from his own writings of the time, Fr. Burke was nothing if not a man of great determination and deep faith and, although he did not know it at the time, help was at hand.

Early in the year, a deputation of young men approached him for permission to form a choir. Despite his initial discouragement of this idea, since there was no suitable church to accommodate the services of a choir, they persevered and eventually prevailed with consent later in the year and commenced practice initially in the Gregorian Chant, under the spiritual directorship of Fr. Plunkett and under the discipline of the Magister Choralis, Mr.Bernard Valentine, who performed a similar duty at St. Marie's.

A Walk to Revell Grange

Following upon a chance meeting, during early Lent of 1854, in Norfolk Row, with an old Irish woman who had walked from Stannington to St. Marie's to fulfil her Easter duties, not knowing that the new Mission in White Croft was now her parish church, Fr. Burke set out on foot, on the Wednesday of Holy Week, to explore the Stannington area. He had, of course, by this time, heard of Revell Grange and paid a call there but, in the absence at the time of the Mistress of the Grange, the widowed Mrs. Wright, he received a very cold reception from the Protestant housekeeper who would not allow him into the house. He records, however, that during his return journey along Rivelin Glen, he chanced upon two Catholic brothers, Ibbotson by name, and both in their eighties but lapsed from the practice of the Faith, whose father, a member of a staunch Hathersage Catholic family, had been imprisoned in York Castle as a recusant.

Foundation of the C.Y.M.S.

The priests had, by this time, become utterly dismayed by their apparent lack of success with the young Catholic men in the Crofts and it was a happy coincidence that Doctor (later Dean) O'Brien, the Founder of the Young Men's Society in Limerick in 1849, was visiting and staying with Fr. Burke on some other matter when Fr. Burke confided to him his misgivings and sense of failure in this area. It was an equally happy coincidence that Bishop Briggs was also visiting the Garden Street house at the time and, on Fr Burke seeking Dr. O'Brien's advice regarding his young men parishioners, the latter reverend gentleman immediately prescribed the formation of a Young Men's Society. To this suggestion the Bishop gave his immediate and warm approval. Suiting the action to the words, Dr. O'Brien and Fr. Burke called an inaugural meeting on Tuesday, 9th May of the men of the parish in the lower schoolroom, at which Dr. O'Brien 'after delivering a 'stirring address', enrolled on the spot over fifty members. Among the first members enrolled on this occasion was Mr. Dan O'Neill, whose subsequent activities in the Branch and the parish spanned more than half a century, being later recorded as St. Vincent's branch delegate at the National Conference of the Society at Liverpool in 1894. At the first branch meeting at 6 p.m. on the following Sunday, 14th May, in the same room Mr. Isaac Gillott was appointed President and Mr. Michael Dignam the Branch Secretary and this was the first beginnings of the Young Men's Society in England. The word 'Catholic' was only introduced into the title of the Society in England in order to distinguish it and its works from that of the Y.M.C.A. of which the London Foundation had taken place some ten years earlier and which was spreading at the time in other European countries. The newly-formed Branch was dedicated under the title "The Young Men's Society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" and its foundation as the first Branch outside Ireland is recorded in M. F. Egan's "Life of Dean O'Brien"

The effects, both spiritual and temporal, of the formation of the Young Men's Society upon the life of the new parish were quite dramatic and it is pleasing to record that, at the time of writing, St. Vincent's branch of the Catholic Young Men's Society of Great Britain still flourishes after more than 136 years of unbroken life. From its foundation up to 1892 weekly meetings of the C.Y.M.S. members were held first in the lower schoolroom and later in the rooms of the senior girls' school.

The First Boys' School

Fr Burke very soon realised after the parish foundation that the school, since its opening in 1851, had become quite inadequate for the ever-growing numbers of children requiring to be taught there and in the Spring of 1854 he decided to have work started straightaway on an extension of the lower (boys) school-chapel. This work was well under way when, sadly, in June, Fr. Burke, exhausted by his labours in establishing and caring for his new Mission, became seriously ill and was immediately taken by Mrs. Annette Ball to her house in Norfolk Road to nurse him back to health with the ready help and care of Miss Mary Ellison.

But the work he had started had to go on and the new boys' school, which, ten years later, after further building, became exclusively the girls' school, was finally completed in July 1854 and was opened the following month with Mr. Michael Dignam as Master. A direct, much-needed and happy result of this development was that, shortly afterwards, the priests and the school authorities were able to obtain a first capital grant for the training of pupil-teachers.

Convalescence

Badly weakened by his severe illness, Fr. Burke who had perforce to miss the opening of his boys' school, was prevailed upon to spend a period of convalescence in Ireland and, at the end of June despite the dire financial straits of the parish purse, Fr. Kelly was able to get together the necessary fare for his Superior to make the journey. As Fr. Burke was travelling in a westerly direction for his much-needed rest, Fr. Michael Gleeson, sent to fill the temporary absence of Fr. Burke, was journeying to Sheffield. Ordained only the year earlier, this 28 year old, lighthearted and cheerful priest was quickly taken to the hearts of the people in the Crofts and soon became popular and effective with the Protestants in the area as well as with the Catholics in his care. So much so that, before Fr. Burke was due to return to Sheffield in August, he pleaded with his Provincial to allow Fr. Gleeson to remain in Sheffield as an extra Missioner. Despite Fr. Dowley's misgivings about this, since the priests were already living a life of poverty and, in his view, the Mission could not support an extra priest without deepening this poverty, Fr. Burke mustered a host of Scriptural instances to support his pleas and eventually prevailed in his request and the popular Fr. Gleeson remained at St. Vincent's until his missionary zeal prompted him, with the permission of the Superior-General and of Cardinal Wiseman, to leave as a Chaplain for the Crimean War.

A Second Stairway

During Fr. Burke's illness and convalescence, the Parishioners took it upon themselves, with the blessing of the clergy, to organise a concert from the proceeds of which, another entrance and a wooden stairway was built to the upper schoolroom leading from the boys' playground on the west side of the new school.

This largely solved the problem which had taxed Fr. Burke in the preceding months regarding the press of people coming from and going to the succeeding Masses by the original stone steps.

A Missionary Journey

Among the missionary expeditions undertaken by the Sheffield Vincentians during 1854 was one particularly requested by Bishop Briggs to his own diocesan town of Beverley. This was entrusted to Fr. James Kelly who arrived in the small north Humberside town to find a small band of very poor Irish immigrants living neglected, without chapel or priest, close by the old church and holy shrine of St. John of Beverley. The Mission was recorded as a great spiritual success and resulted in the Bishop appointing a young and active resident priest to re-found the parish.

Success at Revell Grange

On returning to Sheffield after his recuperation as a guest of Fr. Peter Segrave 'in the beautiful valley of Delgany' Father Burke lost no time in embarking upon another visit to Revell Grange in September and this time his welcome to the house was considerably warmer than his Lenten visit, being greeted by and accorded the hospitality of the Mistress Wright and being shown the vestments, a chalice and altar furnishings rescued from the Bradfield Parish church at the time of the Reformation. The small chapel at the Grange had been closed in February 1828 by the Right Reverend Thomas Smith, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District due to decline in the congregations and a shortage of priests in the area but this visit fired in Fr. Burke a strong desire to have Holy Mass restored to the historic chapel and in the last month of the year he realised with great joy the final culmination of that desire. In writing on 8th December to Mr. Sutton, who had recently married the Mistress Wright, Fr. Burke asked of this good lady to hang out the white sheet signal which had been used in penal times to let the local Catholic populace know that Mass was again to be celebrated in the Grange and he himself celebrated his Mass there on Sunday, 17th December, the first time that the Holy Sacrifice had been offered in these historic surroundings for nearly 27 years.

The Close of the First Year

On his return from Ireland, Fr. Burke was delighted to learn that in his absence, his priests had established a new Sodality in honour of the Sacred Heart of Mary and this, added to the newly-built school and stairway to the Chapel, gave him renewed heart for his Missionary labours. He was also greatly encouraged by the success of his Confraternity of the Christian Doctrine whose Sunday classes in Catechism were now teaching nearly 600 children. The first anniversary of the Confraternity was officially celebrated in the large schoolroom on Monday, 4th December with a Tea and Musical Evening.

Fr. Burke's renewed zeal in September of 1854 made him very conscious of the fact that he had, in White Croft, a chapel but not a church and knowing that the realisation of this dream could not be achieved without money, he asked for a general meeting of the Young Men's Society members which resulted in the immediate organisation, under the secretaryship of Charles Dan McCarthy, of a band of weekly collectors of donations from the Vincentian parishioners. Fr. Burke himself began travelling to other towns to beg and plead his cause with the object of building a church. The spirit which was imbued in all who came into contact with him and his fellow-priests was infectious and gathered momentum week by week. It was to be more than another year before their results were to instil the confidence for a foundation, but such were the efforts inspired in those months that, in addition to the coppers collected weekly from the parishioners, a lottery which realised £170. was organised by Mr. Sutton of Revell Grange, for which , among other gifts, Mrs. Ball donated most of her jewellery valued at £80. - a fortune in those days. The revered Dublin wine merchant, Thomas Kelly, again made a gift of £50. and the Earl of Arundel subscribed £100. In fact, even before the project of planning the church was undertaken in the first months of 1856, the Arundel (Norfolk) family had given no less than £550. towards the building. Not least among the gifts which Fr. Burke received was the greater part of the stipend of Fr. Michael Gleeson, resulting from his work as Chaplain in the Crimea. The collection and husbanding of all these subscriptions towards the new church was to continue for the remainder of 1854 and throughout 1855 before Fr. Burke acquired sufficient confidence, and cash, to embark upon this great project which still stands today as his greatest temporal memorial.

CHAPTER FIVE

1855

More Begging Excursions

The entire year was a period of husbandry and entrenchment for the Mission priests. Their services as field missioners in other towns and cities were regularly sought by the Bishop and their work in this regard took them as far afield as York, Manchester and Altrincham. On these occasions, they imparted their spiritual gifts and, per opportunity, returned to their Sheffield home with stipendiary gifts which helped to supplement the steadily growing church building fund. On one occasion, Fr. Burke records, he himself went to Manchester accompanied by Mr. Sutton who, presumably, provided the transport for the journey and very probably had business friends in the area. This was undertaken simply to beg for donations towards the fund which was being consolidated despite the increasing expenses of maintaining the school, the house etc. Financial help was also accruing in these months from the efforts of the growing number of C.Y.M.S. members and their auxiliary band of outdoor collectors.

June 1855 saw the much-regretted departure from St. Marie's of Fr. Burke's guide, counsellor and friend, Canon Scully and his replacement by Father William Fisher whose attitude towards the Vincentian Mission over the next two years was to prove as hard and uncompromising as Canon Scully's had been charitable and gentle.

School Developments

The second half of the year was most historic in the changes and developments in the schools. On 19th July, Mrs. McCarthy the first mistress of the girls school, retired and in the same month, the original Master of the boys' school, Mr. Michael Dignam gave up his position to take charge on 3rd September of the school which had been established at Nethergate, Stannington. This latter was the fruit of Fr. Burke's now lively interest in the Stannington area and its Catholic population and was considerably helped by the C.Y.M.S. undertaking to pay the Master's salary there - £25. per year! It is also probable that this move stemmed from the first Episcopal visit on 7th July of Bishop Briggs to the parish, during which his Lordship administered confirmation to 161 people, following this by a visit to Revell Grange, the occasion being commemorated by the celebration of Holy Mass by Fr. Burke in the Bishop's presence, in the now familiar chapel of the Grange.

The departures of Mrs. McCarthy and Mr. Dignam made way for the arrival, on 6th August, of Mr. McGladrigan, an Irish schoolteacher who, although bearing an Irish teaching certificate, was obliged by the local education authority to take an examination before being allowed to succeed to the position of Master of the boys school. Even more historic as a result of the retirement of Mrs. McCarthy was the arrival in July of the Notre Dame nuns, whose appointment to Sheffield had been arranged by Canon Scully and Mr. Robert Gainsford to take charge of both girls' schools at St. Marie's and St. Vincent's. On arrival, they moved into a spacious house specially acquired for their use at Holy Green, a site between the modern Moor Precinct and Charter Row, a house which had been in use as a ladies' seminary.

There were obviously in those days no Government-inspired Social Contracts or Burnham Committees as it is recorded that the four nuns, two to each school, started their teaching duties at £25. per year. Sexual disparity was also very obvious since Mr. McGladrigan's starting salary is recorded at £35. per year which, according to Fr. Burke, advanced to £65. by 1861.

The nuns very soon established day and boarding schools for middle and upper grade scholars and, not long after their arrival, set up a separate infants school under Sister Agnes (Standish), whose sanctity and ability attracted not only the local Catholic infants but also those of non-Catholic parents in this area. An interesting aside of Fr. Burke's is that, during 1855, the income to St. Vincent's schools was £93., expenditure £101. - shades of Mr. Micawber!

Father John Myers C.M.

October 1855 saw the arrival of a 25 years old novice priest, Fr. Myers, who was to prove himself, not only an excellent missionary but also a bundle of much needed energy, taking charge of the newly-formed St. Aloysius Guild, an offshoot of the C.Y.M.S., being responsible for the formation of the C.Y.M.S. drum-and-fife band and building, in the lower schoolroom, a small printing press to teach his young Guild members the crafts of the printer's journeyman, so providing both an educational diversion for his junior charges and a means for producing bills, notices and placards for the various parish activities and appeals. His efforts in this field so impressed the local proprietor of the Sheffield Independent Journal, that this local worthy, although bigoted against matters Catholic, practically presented to Fr. Myers a more suitable printing press at only a fraction of its actual value. This machine remained in regular operation until Fr. Myers' departure in 1859. But St. Vincent's had not seen the last of Fr. Myers who was to return to Sheffield a few years later with his verve, energy and enthusiasm undiminished.

Inter-Parish Dispute

With the settling in of Fr. Fisher to his succession at St. Marie's, a hardening attitude by the mother church clergy towards the new Mission became manifest. There were rumblings, particularly from the younger priests at Norfolk Row, that the Vincentians were poaching their parochial revenue, a claim which Fr. Burke strongly denied. They also complained that the resulting fall in their finances was not allowing them to run their parish and their house properly. When this latter complaint came to the ears of the Duke of Norfolk, Fr. Burke reported that His Grace's cold and uncompromising comment was that if they could not manage their affairs, they should make way for someone who could - although whom the Duke had in mind is not reported. This inter-clerical antagonism resulted in the Bishop and the Vicar-General, Dr. Render, calling a 'Solemn Conference' at St. Marie's rectory on 23 November 1855 to establish some mediation, to regulate the order and relations of both Missions and to delineate the parish boundaries which had become a bone of contention following Canon Scully's departure. At this Conference, Fr. Burke took a strong stand for equality with and independence of St. Marie's and this stand effectually gave St. Vincent's its own identity clear of St. Marie's and firmly fixed the lines of the responsibilities of the two parishes. This decision gave some satisfaction to Fr. Burke but he continued for some considerable time afterwards to be worried and saddened over the strained relations with his brother-clergy at Norfolk Row.

At this meeting also, Fr. Fisher and his priests having looked at the growing activities, both spiritual and temporal, of the C.Y.M.S. which by this time, was drawing its numerical and financial support from both the parishes insisted on their share of the newly-formed Society with the result that it was divided into two. Fr Burke felt this loss greatly, not so much for any loss of revenue since the Society had already run up its own share of debts, but because the division meant that most of the capable officials conducting the Society's affairs, being residents of St. Marie's Parish, were also transferred to establish their own branch at St. Marie's. They also took along with them, at Fr. Fisher's prompting, more than half the library which as a constitutional adjunct of the C.Y.M.S. had in the meantime become well-established and was already an invaluable source of much-needed learning among the less erudite members and parishioners of St. Vincent's. Thus, at a stroke, Fr. Burke was deprived of active helpers, of a large portion of self-education for his adult parishioners and, to some extent, the financial support not only of the departing members themselves but also the results of their activities in the outdoor collections upon which he had come to rely in his building fund efforts. However, both the parish and the C.Y.M.S. weathered this storm and, over the next few years, emerged even stronger than Fr Burke could possibly have hoped at the time of the break. The St Vincent's custodian of the library at the time was William Ernest Smith who held the position for thirty years.

A Mission to York

In the Advent of 1855, again at the request of Bishop Briggs, an important mission was given for the Irish immigrants at York. This mission was supplied directly from the Vincentian houses in Ireland and was conducted by no less than four priests, Fathers O'Grady, Kavanagh, Gowan and Duff. The last named, Fr Patrick Duff, was shortly afterwards to join the work of the Sheffield Mission in the summer of the following year.

A further mission to the York Catholics was conducted a year later in Advent 1856 by Fr. Cornelius Hickey who was eventually to join Fr. Burke's missioners in 1858 and to become in 1864, St. Vincent's second Parish Priest.

The Fund Grows

By December 1855, the begging journeys of the priests, the fund-raising efforts of the C.Y.M.S. and the outdoor collections had progressed so well that the church-building fund had reached £700., at which point it was decided that the work of building the new church would be started as soon as possible in the New Year.

It is a matter of wonder that this state of affairs had been achieved in only a little over two years after the Vincentians had first set foot in the Crofts, in the wake of internecine strife, in the midst of religious bigotry, into squalid and poverty-ridden surroundings and with a very bleak outlook for the future; but it also says much for the wisdom, the faith and the foresight of the revered Canon Scully, for whom no praise in these chronicles is too high.

In his journal, Fr. Burke records for posterity his true appreciation of the original benefactors of the present church. 'The names of the subscribers to the building of St. Vincent's Church are written in our Books and I hope and pray in the Book of Life. I hope these lists will always be preserved with reverence and gratitude and the names of our Benefactors never forgotten at our Altars. At the head, immediately after the Bishop, stands the noble Earl of Arundel. . . . . . .'

The Institutions

Among the duties with which Fr. Burke and his priests were charged were the spiritual and often the temporal care of the unfortunate inmates of the General Infirmary Hospital on the Hillsborough Road, the Debtors' Jail just above the Crown Inn on Grindlegate and the Sheffield Union Workhouse on Kelham Street. He records that 'as a general rule our dealings and relations with the Infirmary have been free and satisfactory'. How different was the sad story of the destitute occupants of the Workhouse where existed an almost indecent antagonism against the clergy in their efforts to bring even the simplest of solace to the Catholic inmates. This animosity displayed itself most vehemently in the person and the attitude of the Governor, Rogers by name who, with his wife as Matron, held an almost tyrannical power over the occupants. On Fr. Burke's first visit to administer the Sacraments to a sick, old and bed-ridden woman, he was obliged almost to force his way in past Rogers in order to fulfil his duty. The priests were banned from visiting the workhouse before 1 o'clock in the morning, preventing them even from administering Easter Communion. On one occasion, after Fr Burke had sought and received permission from Mrs. Rogers, in the absence of her husband, to visit at 10 o'clock on the following morning, he was dismayed to find on arrival that Rogers was there barring his entry, revoking the permission and 'rudely sent me away'. The situation was ameliorated a little by the election and intervention of some Catholic gentlemen, including Mr. Hadfield, to the Board of Guardians who succeeded through the local authorities in obtaining permission for the priests to visit the workhouse sick at any hour and freedom to visit there at any time of day after 11 a.m. Arrangements were also made for a weekly visit by a priest to give religious instruction to the children and that all the Catholic paupers be allowed to Mass and the children to Catechism class each Sunday. Slowly the relations improved and with Rogers' departure as Governor, the new Governor being of a more sympathetic nature, many of the barriers were removed. Still, however, the inmates including children were obliged to listen to the preachings inside the workhouse of the visiting Protestant cleric and particularly in the case of the hungry and wretched children some influence was brought to bear which resulted in many of them renouncing their faith for the gift of a ha'penny or a portion of Christmas pudding. Even worse, since most of the children could be persuaded by the priest's teaching and persuasion to revoke their renunciation, was the horrible practice of farming out workhouse children as virtual slave labour to Protestant masters outside the town and some of these poor waifs were never heard of again. Fr Burke records having heard of a little colony of such orphans in the region of Chapeltown and of knowing of individual instances of such child-trading himself. He appealed to his parishioners to foster these children and several volunteered to do so, taking one or more of the destitute children into their homes. Foremost among these was Martin Lee and his wife who, with the assistance of Fr Fitzgerald the children's spiritual foster-father in the institution, became, in effect, agents for rescuing the children from the misery which they endured. In a short time, no less than twenty had been recovered in this way. All was going well until a Mr. Saunders 'a very busy-body chairman' of the Board of Guardians, got wind of the scheme and ordered an inspection visit to the Lee house which was found inevitably full, complained to the authorities and raised the matter as 'a dreadful plot' which found blazing headlines in 'not only the local papers but all the papers of the Empire' accusing the priests and Lees 'of tampering with and proselytising the children in the workhouse'. Eventually the onerous responsibility of succouring and saving these children passed from Fr Burke's hands with the opening at Pitsmoor of an auxiliary workhouse specially for the children and thus their care was resigned into the hands of the clergy of St. Marie's in whose Mission Pitsmoor was situated. From that time, the priests' dealings with the Workhouse became perfectly satisfactory and shortly afterwards the Sisters of Charity were permitted to visit the sick and 'have been received with respectful attention'.

CHAPTER SIX

1856

Upon this Rock

Fr Burke wasted no time at the start of 1856 in turning his church-building dream into reality. On 25th January having checked his purse, he went in company with Fr Plunkett, to visit the architects, Wightman, Hadfield and Goldie in order to initiate the plans. His fund of £700 was sufficient to get the wheels rolling but, as they gathered momentum, this figure was to look rather meagre in relation to the £3,300 which the two aisles of the original towerless church were to cost before completion. Nevertheless, the reality was to take solid form before the end of the year to a design attributed to Mr. George Goldie. The contract for the building of the nave and chancel was laid with Mr. Bernard Carr for £1,650 and, on 25th March, Easter Tuesday and the Feast of the Annunciation, the Vicar-General, Rt. Reverend Dr. Render, laid the foundation stone over a Latin parchment recording the details for posterity: 'In the name of Our Lord in the year of grace 1856 in the pontificate of Pius the Ninth, in the reign of her gracious Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Britain and Ireland, the first cornerstone of this Church to be erected and dedicated to the honour of the most Blessed Trinity and of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate under the invocation of St. Vincent of Paul was solemnly blessed and laid by the Very Rev. Joseph Render, Vicar General and Provost of the Chapter of Beverley (in the absence of His Lordship the Bishop) all the clergy and a great concourse of the faithful present and assisting on the festival of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Incarnation of Our Lord'. The occasion of the stone-laying ceremony merited a long and detailed account in the Sheffield Telegraph of the following day and in the Sheffield Times weekly edition of the following Saturday, 29th March.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society

Meanwhile, the day by day affairs of the parish went on, particularly in regard to the spiritual and temporal affairs of the poor parishioners and, in this regard, a most important milestone was reached on Wednesday 15th October l856 with the establishment in the parish of the first conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul under the presidency of the ever-active Mr. Arnold Sutton, assisted as Vice President by Mr. Lepp, and Mr. John Bower-Brown as Secretary. The original work of these charitable men, ennobled by the example and teachings of St. Vincent himself in caring for the unfortunate and deprived and carrying out to the letter the corporal works of mercy in virtual anonymity has grown and continued without interruption up to the present day. Although entirely self-effacing in the matter of personalities involved in their work over the past more than 130 years, no praise is too high for their dedication and example, the very truest principles of Christian love.

A Temporary Absence

A little earlier in the summer of 1856, there took place a Congregational Assembly of Vincentians at Castleknock at which Fr. Burke and Fr Plunkett attended, being replaced temporarily in Sheffield by Frs. Kavanagh and McCabe. Immediately after the Assembly, Fr James Kelly, one of the founder-missioners, returned to his beloved Ireland which in truth, according to Fr Burke, his heart had never left. His place in Sheffield was taken straight away by Fr Patrick Duff who also inherited the duties of parish bursar, becoming thereby a prime factor in organising the funds attendant upon the finances connected with the rising church.

Call in the Infantry

One of Fr Burke's inheritances from the very outset was the care of the Catholic soldiers stationed at the Army Barracks at Hillsborough. From the start of the new Mission in 1853, the Catholics in the unit had been paraded every Sunday and marched to the White Croft chapel where a special Mass was said for them in the lower schoolroom. Fr Burke, realising that there was in the Barracks itself a chapel, albeit a non-Catholic one, was moved in sympathy for these soldiers and their families, to make overtures through the sympathetic Commanding Officer and even through the Government Office concerned, to establish a Mass centre there. In this, he immediately fell foul of Mr. John Livesey, the Vicar of St. Philip's, who was the official Protestant chaplain to the troops and who objected very vehemently at and fought with all at his command against this suggestion which he regarded literally as desecration of his domain. However, Fr Burke received support from the authorities for his request and the incident resulted in the Rev. Livesey being administered an official 'ticking off' for his bigoted attitude and ungraciously retiring to lick his wounds. So, on Sunday 23rd November 1856, the first Mass at the Barracks chapel was celebrated by Fr Plunkett.

Building Progresses

The original plans for the new church had envisaged a building some 90 ft long by 30 ft wide by 35 ft high, but the space available after the demolition of the Jervis Court tenements had prompted the Bishop to persuade Fr Burke to make fuller use of the area by a further 20 or 30 ft on the length of the church into the lower part of the courtyard behind the Ragged School. Despite the unsuitable sloping nature of the ground, which is still apparent today, Fr Burke and the Contractor and the Architect all agreed to this scheme. The building of the nave and chancel progressed so well (and with funds coming in well as the building progressed) that, by the summer, it was decided to open up the brickwork in the south arches and start work on the south aisle (originally Our Lady's aisle, later[1912] St. Joseph's) and on the vestry (the original 1853 sacristy, later the mortuary chapel and subsequently rebuilt as a small Mass chapel dedicated to the Vincentian missionary, St. Justin de Jacobis). The construction of the south aisle which had already been embodied in the original plans, extended the building work into the early winter of 1856 and it was not until Friday, 28th November that Fr Burke finally received from the contractor the keys of his new church. During the following week the Community at Garden Street was strengthened by the arrival on Wednesday, 3rd December, of Fr. James Fitzgerald who was eventually to have his own work literally enshrined in the parish history.

The Dream Come True

The final work was completed in time for the official blessing of the building on Sunday, 14th December, at which ceremony the school children received Holy Communion. The official opening of the new church took place on the following day, the Octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which had been the target set by Fr. Burke. With splendid ceremony, in the presence of Bishop Briggs of Beverley, Dr. Roskell, Bishop of Nottingham and a crowded congregation and accompanied in the Roman Rite by the combined choirs of St. Marie's and St. Vincent's, Fr Burke with Fr Plunkett celebrated the first Holy Mass in the new House of God, assisted by Mr. Ward and a convert, Mr. Parker as Masters of Ceremonies. By an amazing co-incidence, the original statue of St. Vincent given by the Sisters of Charity and still resplendent in its prepared niche high upon the West gable of the church, arrived from Birmingham actually in the middle of this ceremony bringing great joy to all those present. Bishop Roskell preached a sermon on the Immaculate Conception and, according to legend, the first hymn sung in the new church was to the praise of Our Lady 'O Purest of Creatures'. Fr Burke, saintly but ever-practical, also records that the collection at this Mass amounted to £70.00

Strangely, the local press, which had given extensive coverage to the stone-laying ceremony, practically dismissed the actual opening of the completed church in a one-inch paragraph. Tuesday's Sheffield Telegraph under the heading 'Local and General Intelligence' recorded 'Opening of a New Catholic Church. The opening of the new Catholic church in White Croft took place yesterday morning. The attendance was very numerous. The new church completes a series of edifices completed within the last 2 or 3 years in this neighbourhood for the education and religious instruction of the poorer Catholics who are very numerous in White Croft and the surrounding locality'. The momentous day of the opening was concluded in the evening with a service of devotions and a sermon on The Sacraments, preached by Fr. Mann, the Jesuit Superior of St. Mary's College, Spinkhill. The borrowed words of these chronicles do not do justice to the joy which shines through Fr. Burke's own words at this, the culmination of the distant dream which had been with him during the three years since he first set foot in the Crofts but, thank God, those words, like his church, have been most carefully preserved: BENE FUNDATA EST DOMUS DOMINI SUPRA FIRMAM PETRAM BENE EDIFICATA (Well founded is the Lord's House upon solid rock well builded).

A Celebration

Under the heading of 'Local Intelligence' the Sheffield Times - 27th December - reported a social aftermath of the church opening when 'many friends of St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Schools' gathered for a social tea, meeting in the White Croft schools at which there was a very numerous attendance. The chair was occupied by Fr Burke and the meeting was addressed by Fathers Plunkett, Dixon, Fitzgerald and Duff'.

The Missionary Horse

During the three years of his Mission, Fr Burke and his fellow Missioners, in pursuit of their priestly duties over a wide area had set out on foot to find their own ways to Hillsborough, Stannington, Middlewood, Oughtibridge, Deepcar, Stocksbridge and Bolsterstone but, in December 1856, the Duke of Norfolk seeing the hardships and privations which these excursions caused to the good priests, presented the Mission with a horse! No words can excel those of Fr. Burke himself in describing so humorously the function and malfunction of the 'Mission Horse'. 'The noble Duke gave us a horse. Whether it was the poor grey's fault or ours, the horse often took to his knees. As these became damaged, we could only employ him in draught. We bought a four-wheeled Shanderydan, still in use, except that, in the beginning from being badly yoked, the grey, still young and fiery ran away two or three times and we ought to be thankful to God that no serious damage was done. We have now (1861) an Irish Bay Horse which answers perfectly well'.

CHAPTER SEVEN

1857

Vincentian Mendicant

Still anxious to try to keep his finances in reasonable order, Fr Burke went back to Ireland on Easter Tuesday to beg for more funds for his new church. Although the primary purpose of his visit was a further Vincentian Council at Castleknock, he was happy to return to Sheffield with a welcome £200. donations. On 29th June, he was again obliged, for health reasons, to go back to Dublin after being nursed for a few weeks at Revell Grange. It was during his stay at the Grange that another letter reached him from the benificent Dublin Wine-merchant, Thomas Kelly, enclosing a further £50 donation.

The Ladies Year

In the annals of St. Vincent's, 1857 above all may justly be termed Ladies' year. In the early part of the year, the Vincentian Superior General paid his first visit to the Sheffield Mission and this included a visit to the Stannington school at Nethergate and to Revell Grange, its chapel and memorials. So impressed was the visiting prelate that he readily listened to Fr Burke's comments on the need for the services of the Sisters of Charity in Sheffield. It would appear that Fr Burke at one and the same time humble and holy priest and, withal, wily fox had already laid the groundwork and that he already had his eye upon a house in Solly Street as a home for the hoped-for Nuns. Upon being informed of this house, the Superior-General promised that he would allocate the Sisters if the house was secured. Fr. Burke, typically, wasted no time in his efforts to acquire the property and, helped once more by a £25. gift from the Duke of Norfolk and several more contributions from other well-wishers in the town, finally obtained no. 151 Solly Street at an annual rent of £25. The house was the former residence of a Mr. John Wingfield, a manufacturer and merchant. Holding the Superior General to his word, he was delighted to welcome the first four of the Sisters to St. Vincent's on 21st August 1857 and see them domiciled the following day, the octave of the Assumption in the first established house of the Sisters of Charity in England. An earlier effort to establish the Sisters in the Manchester area had ended very shortly due to strong anti-religious antagonism in the area. The Sheffield vanguard of this great tradition in St. Vincent's comprised four ladies, two from France - Sister Louise (de Missey) Superioress and Sister Marie (Merve) and two from Ireland, Sister Vincent (O'Farrell) and Sister Josephine (Clarke). It is believed that, until its incorporation in 1896 with No. 151 (see below) the three properties - No. 149, No. 151 and the site eventually to become (in 1910) St. Vincent's Parish Hall - were all, acccording to the 1890 O.S. map, distinct and separate properties and that No. 149 was essentially a domestic dwelling.

No. 151 was acquired by Fr. Michael Burke, in the early summer of 1857, as the first English house (Convent) of the Sisters of Charity. The house, of which the living quarters were confined to the first and second floors which were reached by a flight of stone steps from street level, had, at that time no connection or communication with the adjoining properties - No. 149 or the properties which were eventually to become the site of St. Vincent's Parish Hall.

A Fitting Adornment

During the octave of the Assumption, in the week preceding the Sisters' arrival, a fitting 'Lady' adornment was added to the Lady chapel (later St. Joseph's altar) in the form of a large round stained-glass window, depicting the Assumption of Our Lady. This beautiful addition to the new church was the gift of Mr. Patrick Fay, an upholsterer and feather dealer of Fargate. The writer is able to use the word 'beautiful' without reservation and from personal experience since the window was to remain a most impressive part of the church's decor until the sad night in December 1940 when a German air-mine dropped and exploded within a few yards and destroyed it completely.

The Nuns' Struggle

In the week after their arrival, the four Sisters received a visit from the Bishop and the first of many visits from the noble Norfolk Family. The nuns had lost no time in embarking upon their Founder's work of visiting and caring for the poor, the sick, the deprived and the homeless of all denominations within their reach and they had plenty of those in the Crofts alone. Their first excursions abroad in the parish met with sometimes almost violent bigotry from some of the suspicious people in the area. Often, they had to be accompanied, for sheer physical protection, by some of the men of the parish. They were subjected to verbal ridicule and even occasional missile throwing by the inimical adults and children alike but, gradually, the Charity of their work became apparent even to the most hardened of the bigots since their labours were not bounded by any denominational consideration. This fact, coupled with the continuous and impressive patronage and visits by the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk and their family, gradually tempered the animosity of their original reception and they were able, in time, to proceed on their errands of mercy in relative peace. It was due to their untiring efforts that many non-Catholics in and around the Crofts came, of their own wishes, to seek and receive instruction in the Faith and to send their children for learning to the little school.

Teaching Work

Almost the first thing that the Sisters did after settling in was to establish a girls evening school at which, in a very short time, they had over 200 pupils, Catholic and non-Catholic. Certainly the first teaching duties of these ladies were spiritual rather than academic and, although the chronology in this regard is somewhat blurred, it is believed that the distinction from the day-school duties of the Notre Dame nuns and the evening class work of the Sisters of Charity continued until April 1862 when the Notre Dame ladies moved to their former well-known house in Cavendish Street where they established not only their Convent but also the first girls secondary school in Sheffield. They also took charge of the recently opened St.William's schools in Lee Croft on the boundary of St. Marie's parish. From that time the Sisters of Charity took over exclusively the teaching duties in St. Vincent's schools. At Michaelmas in 1857, Fr. Burke received a Government school grant of £296 including £44 capitation and on 5th October he engaged at £12.10.0 per year, Mr. Francis McDonnell who signed indentures binding him as 'an apprentice pupil-teacher.'

The Ladies Guilds

Towards the end of 'Ladies Year', the Sisters of Charity, aware of the lack of suitable organisations for the women of the parish, founded on 8th December, with some 20 members, the Association of the Children of Mary, an organisation with which their Order, even then, was traditionally associated for the young unmarried women of the parish. They followed this very shortly afterwards with the establishment of the Guild of St. Brigid for the older and married ladies and the Guild of the Holy Angels for young girls. Fr Burke's words are unreserved in his gratitude and praise for the wonderful works which the dedicated Sisters inaugurated in the parish in 1857.

The First Weddings

The new church had now been approved for weddings and the first of these, solemnised by Fr Burke, took place on 4th April 1857 between Luke Burke, son of John Burke of Sheffield Barracks and Elizabeth Penrose, daughter of Michael Penrose of the same address with Dan O'Neill and Louise O'Neill as witnesses. The other priests also solemnised their first wedding ceremonies during the same year and these may still be found in the parish's Liber Matrimonium which, thank God, still remain in the archives as do the original records of the births and deaths within the parish of those new days.

One entry in the Marriage Registry of very special interest to this chronicler was made on 18th April 1858, when Fr Plunkett performed the marriage ceremony between John Murphy, son of Michael Murphy of Lambert Street and Ann Dillon, daughter of Patrick, also of Lambert Street. Michael and Patrick were my maternal great-great-grandfathers.

CHAPTER EIGHT

1858

Battle is Joined

The recorded milestones of the parish history during 1858 are few but, nonetheless, significant. To some extent, they were perhaps overshadowed by the struggles into which Fr Burke had plunged, spiritually and physically on his arrival in the Crofts. These involved the priests in local racial and religious strife, the degradation and immorality rampant in the numerous public houses, dance and gambling establishments and the street brawls and all the attendant perils which, inevitably, were to be found in the huddled tenements, courts and yards which comprised the Crofts. This was a continuous struggle for the priests the nuns and the lay helpers and its successful outcome was not to be for several years. Early in 1858, Fr Burke makes his first record of the Association for the Propogation of the Faith from which he received a grant of £120 the first of many such donations made by the A.P.F. to the Sheffield Mission over subsequent years.

New Arrivals

The early tribulation of the priests began to tell quickly on the health of Fr Duff, who had joined Fr Burke in the summer of 1856 and, after two years of giving his all to the struggling mission under arduous conditions of poverty and duty, was obliged to return, a sick man, to Castleknock on 27th October. He was replaced in Sheffield on 10th November by Fr Cornelius Hickey and this marked the beginning of an unbroken 24 years of service to St Vincent's which were to include 18 years as Superior of the Mission until 1882.

Two days after Fr Duff's departure, a new Superioress, Sister Chatelain, arrived to take charge of the nuns community at Solly Street. Shortly after her arrival, the Sisters took over care of the church and sacristy, vestments, linens and general cleaning, all of which they did without any form of payment.

New Revell Grange Chapel

In 1857, Mr. Sutton, the Master of Revell Grange had suggested to Bishop Briggs that a new chapel be built on the site of the old one at the Grange. Fr Burke was opposed to this proposal, since he wished to see a new chapel built outside the walls of the Grange where it would be more accessible to the local Catholics instead of them having to go through the private grounds of the Sutton House; but the Bishop agreed with Mr. Sutton's suggestion, the new chapel was built, and opened by His Lordship on the eve of the Feast of the Assumption 1858 and dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption.

Blessed Sacrament Confraternity

In the summer of the year, Fr Plunkett set himself the task of establishing a Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. The priest himself drafted the Rules of the Confraternity which he submitted to Bishop Briggs, who approved and ratified them immediately. The members of the Confraternity, which remained strong within the parish for more than 80 years, were later accorded by Papal designation, the title of Knights and Squires of the Blessed Sacrament. They were carefully selected, in the first instance, by Fr. Plunkett and Fr Burke and were responsible for regular devotions in St. Vincent's church before the Blessed Sacrament in exposition or in the tabernacle, a yearly 'Watch' throughout Holy Thursday night at the Altar of Repose and were given the additional privilege of bearing the canopy which protected the Blessed Sacrament in monstrance during the many processions which took place inside and outside the church.

The First Ordination

On September 15th 1858, almost exactly three years after arriving in Sheffield, the ever-popular and hard-working novice-priest, Fr John Myers, took his final vows of ordination in St. Vincent's. This historic ceremony took place before a crowded and joyful congregation assisting the momentous celebration of the rites by Bishop Briggs and Father Myers' fellow-clergy. Although he was to leave Sheffield the following year, Fr Myers was to return in 1864 to devote a further twenty years of his Vincentian ministry to the parish which he loved in Sheffield.

A Spending 'Spree'

Among his many other duties and concerns at the time, Fr Burke has recorded that, also in September, he made an agreement with "Hare the Carpenter" to make 40 church benches at 26/- each - he (Fr Burke) providing the materials and paying the rent of the shop. The 'shop' referred to was Hare's house at the Solly Street corner of the gennel on the site of what was later to become part of the infants school and a meeting place for the C.Y.M.S. He also records that at the beginning of November in the same year, he 'made an agreement with Mrs. Hayland to pay her £10 per year in consideration of her services in conducting the Night School of the Young Women's society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary'.

A Barrel of Herrings

In the five years which had elapsed since the opening of the White Croft chapel in 1853, time and an increasing child population had taken toll of the limited school accommodation for both boys and girls such that Fr Burke came under severe pressure from the local authorities to provide further for the ever-increasing numbers seeking the education which the mission now offered. He was able to purchase for £460, of which Mr. Robert Gainsford loaned £300, a plot of ground to the West side of Spencer's Ironworks Stockyard, consisting of three back-to-back tenements in Solly Street and backed by an open courtyard. In the tenements, a makeshift gallery classroom was set up but was very quickly overrun by over 300 infants, Catholic and non-Catholic. Fr Burke described the press of children as being 'like herrings packed in a barrel'. Eventually bowing to mounting pressure which involved the authorities threatening to withdraw the schools' capitation grant, he was shortly obliged to have the tenements demolished to build a new school (80ft x 40ft) as the main school building which opened as a boys school in 1863. Thenceforth, the infants and girls shared the original school buildings built with and adjoining the school-chapel in 1853 and 1854 and this situation remained so for the next thirty years.

CHAPTER NINE:

1859

The Deepcar Faithful.

The pilgrimage of the tiny band of Deepcar Catholics to the Croft chapel in December 1853 had left an indelible impression on Fr. Burke's mind. He waited only until more clement weather in the following Spring allowed him to make his own walking pilgrimage to the small, remote but faithful community whose men toiled long and hard in the local works and building trades. They were surrounded, as were their fellow-Catholics in the Crofts, by hatred, bigotry and occasional violence but sadly, much more isolated and smaller in numbers in their own local struggle to survive. So remote, in fact, that even the otherwise solicitous Fr.Scully had been forced almost to abandon them, an action with which, in the circumstances and with the benefit of hindsight, Fr. Burke expressed the fullest sympathy and understanding. It must be remembered that the country roads in those days could be dangerous passages to take, particularly after dark, being unpoliced as they were beyond the town boundaries. Fr.Burke ventured on this journey and called the menfolk together 'at dinner hour' and after instructing and exhorting them to hold fast to their Faith and providing them with a few books, he selected a Mr. Michael Dillon, 'a Kildare man well instructed in his Faith' to act as catechist to the little group. This good man, Dillon, prophesied to a sceptical Fr.Burke and his equally-sceptical fellow-Catholics that, one day, they would have a chapel of their own. There had been a Catholic chapel, St. Mary's at nearby Bolsterstone but this had fallen into disuse and decay some fifty years earlier. Fr.Burke continued to make visits to his Deepcar flock when opportunity occurred and mainly on Sunday afternoons, a journey which was eventually made a little easier by 'the parish horse'. For their Masses, however, since no fit place could be found in the locality for the Holy Sacrifice to be celebrated, the Deepcar families, men, women and children, continued to trudge at regular intervals and in all weathers, first to the Mass in the school-chapel and later to the newly-opened St. Vincent's church.

Subterfuge:

So matters continued until 1859, by which time the Catholic population of Deepcar had increased to some 200 souls when Fr. Burke determined that they would have their own chapel. In his innocence, he sought a suitable site in his own right and name, not bargaining for the local hostility which the establishment of a Catholic place of worship faced. For example, one series of negotiations for purchase of a small field, close to the site of the present St. Ann's church, was almost complete when, only two days before the agreed date for the signing of the agreement of sale, a local businessman, Fox by name, stepped in and bought the land over Fr. Burke's head. Saddened and wiser by this experience, the astute priest resorted to a subterfuge and, by using a local Irish Catholic bricklayer, John Dempsey, as a go-between, managed to buy the next field higher up the hill, the owner not realising until after the transaction had been signed, sealed and delivered, the purpose for which the ground had been purchased. The Deeds of the land were conveyed to a body of Trustees in the persons of Bishop Briggs, Dr. Render, Canon Robert Thompson, Fr. Burke and Fr. Plunkett.

Another Foundation:

The Deepcar Catholics were so exultant about the outcome of Fr.Burke's ploy that their jubilation fostered considerable hostility among the strong anti-Catholic element in the area and even resulted in threats from these bigots that if a chapel were built it would be pulled down by them. On the Feast of the Assumption 1859, Fr.Burke travelled alone to Deepcar for the laying of the foundation stone on the new site and found himself, still alone, surrounded by a sneering, contemptuous and hostile crowd. John Dempsey arrived and together they made their way up the field to where a hoist and tackle had been set up to lower the foundation stone, only to find the site occupied by a crowd of desperate, belligerent anti-Catholic men accompanied by two local parsons, all set to wreck the foundation-laying ceremony. In addition to these active opponents, they were also surrounded by a more passive but still unfriendly crowd of local non-Catholics.

What these people did not know was that, in the wake of Fr. Burke's arrival, a special train had arrived in Deepcar station carrying a large body of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. and guild members, complete with their regalia and sashes and banners, the drum and fife band with all their instruments and in full uniform and a multitude of other supporters from Sheffield, all under the guidance of Fr. Plunkett and Fr. James Fitzgerald. All formed themselves into a properly marshalled procession at the station and, with the 42 year old Fr.Fitzgerald at their head, marched off by a roundabout route towards the site of the new chapel, taking Deepcar by surprise and by storm with their peaceful force of numbers. Fr.Burke and his few supporters had managed to stall the opposition by standing their ground but were as vastly relieved as their opponents were astonished to hear in the distance the sound of the marching band backed by the hundreds of less musical marchers from Sheffield. The procession came over the brow of the hill like a small army and, on entering the field, formed a solid phalanx around Fr.Burke with such looks of grim determination on their faces that Fr.Burke, taking his own courage in his hands, approached the biggest of the opposition, 'a gigantic fellow and laying my hand upon his arm, I warned him and his companions, calmly but most decidedly to give way'. After a moment's hesitation, they did so with the worst of bad grace. So with the immediate danger removed, Fr. Burke and his colleagues donned cassocks and surplices and, along with the Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Arnold Ward and the acolytes and to the musical accompaniment of the band and the choir under the direction of Fr. Plunkett, formed a procession around the field 'chanting the Misereres and sprinkling the site and the boundaries plentifully with Holy Water'. This was followed by the actual laying of the foundation-stone, an action which revived the antagonistic rumblings of the onlooking and curious but still hostile non-Catholic crowd but, despite this provocation, order was again restored and the ceremony was complete. Fr. Burke rounded off this most eventful occasion with a sermon (he calls it 'an harangue') to the assembled multitude who listened in profound silence to his dissertation preached from the top of a small mound of earth and based upon the text 'Upon this rock I will build my Church' with many historical references to the former Catholicity which had flourished in the area. Present at the ceremony was a young French Vincentian priest, Fr. Genouvrier, visiting St. Vincent's at the time, who followed the procession, the demonstration and the whole series of events of that day with a feeling of awestruck wonder that such happenings as he had witnessed, which he declared could not be equalled in his own Catholic country, could take place in a non-Catholic country without blood being shed. On this latter prospect, Fr. Burke in his writings, speculates with some reflective apprehension on what the outcome might have been on that day if the two opposing factions had come to blows - but, mercifully, that was avoided.

More Begging - More Building:

Sadly, a lack of funds delayed the construction of the new Deepcar chapel and it was not until after Easter 1860 following three more begging trips to his ever-faithful benefactors in Dublin, that Fr.Burke was able to initiate the plans of Matthew Ellison Hadfield who delegated responsibility for the project to his son, Charles. Fr. Burke felt that the latter was occasioning 'needless expense' and another architect, a Mr. Dowling was eventually appointed to complete the task. Trouble also arose after a steel bell was hung in the bell-turret. It was so difficult to get into motion that it would not ring, causing the local Protestants some mirth and when efforts were made to swing it into action, these required such violent strength as to endanger the church roof above which it was situated. A compromise was reached by leaving the bell stationary and tolling it by means of an external hammer worked by a cord and lever.

Accomplishment

Finally after the much-delayed work on the building, the church was practically completed in the autumn of 1860 - the records of the architects, Hadfield, state "The work was finished in 1860" - and Fr. Burke received authority from Dr. Render, Vicar-General, for the opening ceremony which took place, in drenching rain, on the feast of St. Francis Borgia, October 10th. It is historically arguable that the opening of St. Ann's took place in 1859 (the Centenary was celebrated in 1959) but the extant records, the time-factor of the foundation-laying and commencement of construction based on Fr. Burke's memoirs and the commemorative stone tablet installed, and still in excellent condition, bearing the date 1860 on the north cross-gable of the Deepcar church, would seem to lend strength to the belief that the official opening took place on Oct. 10th. 1860.

Whatever the actual date, however, the "impossible dream" of the good Michael Dillon had, at last, become a solid reality.

The First Organists.

Meanwhile at St. Vincent's in 1859, Mr. Bernard Valantine had relinquished his position as choirmaster as also did the organist, a Mr. Bingham. The title of "organist" might be considered a little grandiose since the music was still provided by the small harmonium which Fr. Burke had purchased from his meagre funds in 1854. The duties which Mr. Valantine and Mr. Bingham had performed so ably over the previous five years were now assumed by John H. Kirk taking over the seat of the harmonium and the Boys Schoolmaster, Mr. McGladrigan, taking on the mantle of choirmaster. Mr. Kirk, starting at a fee of £10 per year, remained as organist for the next seven years until, in 1866, he left to become an organist at St. Marie's.

Miscellany

St. Vincent's became, in 1859, the venue of the first National Conference of the Catholic Young Men's Societies of England and Wales under the Chairmanship of the Society's Founder, Dean O'Brien. In the Autumn of the same year, the care of the Infants School was taken over from Sister Agnes Standish, who had tended her small charges since 1855, by Sister Phillipine, whose devoted work with the small children is recorded with high praise by Fr. Burke in his memoirs. Sr. Phillipine continued to occupy this position until the departure of the S.N.D. nuns to Cavendish Street in 1863.

On Sept. 15th. 1859, the parish was honoured by a visit from Dr. Amat, Bishop of California, who remained a week with Fr. Burke and his confreres, meanwhile collecting from the Crofts and other Sheffield Catholics funds for his own Mission in the U.S.A. before departing on Sept. 22nd.

The original Mission church of St. Mary's, Lanark, a further extension of the growing influence of the Vincentian Missioners, was also completed in 1859 and was consecrated on October 10th. of that year.

On October 12th. Fr. Burke records- "Bought a steel bell, 580lbs. weight at 10 pence per pound for £25/3/4, inscribed 'Dominus Deus, Rex Coelestis, Deus Pater Omnipotens.' The bell cost £21, the fitting £4".

October (no date)- "promise James Lawless (teacher) to pay him at the rate of £10 per year for the time to come. Agree with Mr. Edward Biggin to be assistant Master at the Boys Night School at the rate of 2/6d. per week".

On October 28th 1859, Fr. Burke took over tenancy of 90 Garden Street (formerly in Fr. Scully's name) "by agreement with the landlady, Mrs. Briggs, at a payment of £30 p.a."

CHAPTER TEN

1860

The Seamy Side

From the very start of the Mission in the Crofts, Fr. Burke and his fellow-priests, accustomed, as they were, by virtue of their calling, to the seamy side of life and, in particular, as disciples of St. Vincent de Paul, to the sordid lifestyle of the poverty-ridden and ignorant sectors of humanity, were nevertheless quite appalled by the degradation, immorality and faithless depths to which many of their parishioners had sunk. Charitably, they realised that the poverty, squalid living conditions and the humdrum of heavy work had induced in many of them a sense not only of hopelessness but often of sheer despair. They had left their homeland, their families and friends as a result of one hardship, and with some degree of hope for the future, only to find themselves struggling and sinking in conditions as arduous as those they had left. So they sought solace in the only ways they knew or could afford. The priests soon realised that one of the most pernicious influences in this depravity was the number and form of the many public houses with which the Crofts area was liberally sprinkled and where the pitifully meagre working wage could be squandered, often to the physical detriment of a man's wife and children and where women of loose morals found easy prey in the poor men looking for too much consolation from a bottle or barrel.

Fr. Burke's rigid discipline for moral decency within his parish is highlighted by two entries in his 1861 journal: "Feb. 14. On this day, Thos. Kelly, Pupil Teacher turned away for writing an infamous and vindictive Valentine to one of the children of Mary". "July 23. sent away Thomas Kelly from the Boys school for being drunk and fighting in the Streets, this is the fourth time we have been obliged to discharge him this year and it is the last. At the same time I give warning to Lawless (another boys school teacher)".

The "Pub" War

It is a fact of history that, within a quarter-mile radius of White Croft, there were no less than forty inns and public houses, many doubling as dance houses, in some of which soliciting and prostitution were openly practised. Of these, five remain within the same radius at the time of writing: The Red House, Solly Street, the Royal Oak, Hollis Croft, the Queen (Queen's Hotel) and the Crown (R.& Bs), Scotland Street and the Barrel (Fagan's) Broad Lane. In addition, however, to the 1851 listed "pubs", there were also scores of dwellings in the Crofts area where the occupants, without official licence, would brew their own ale, beer and porter primarily for their own consumption but also selling to their friends and neighbours any surplus brew they might have. These soon became known as colloquially as beer-houses or beer shops and were the forerunners of the later and approved trade in off-licence sales.

Little wonder, therefore, that the priests were dismayed at the task which faced them but they had not been in Sheffield very long when open war was declared from the altar and outside it and, shortly, reinforcements were at hand in the form of the C.Y.M.S. and other Guild members so that by 1860, most of the Catholic pub-landlords, and indeed some of their non-Catholic colleagues, having felt the verbal lashings of Fr. Burke and his fellow-priests inside and outside the church, had made great efforts to put their houses in order. The denunciations even resulted in the Ship Inn at the foot of Pea Croft being closed down completely and several of the landlords of other pubs leaving their establishments to move to other parts of the town. Nor were the tongue-lashings confined to the publicans and Fr. Burke records in some detail that, during this year, a large contingent of C.Y.M.S. members marched in a body down Pea Croft, armed with missiles and brickbats, and proceeded to attack and do considerable damage to a house occupied by an obstinate and errant Catholic, living "in tally" with his paramour, who had resisted all the priests' admonitions and persuasions, but finally left the town after this demonstration. The man involved is later recorded as a prisoner in gaol in Birmingham, following his woman-friend's complaint to the police there regarding his misconduct. It is also recorded that Fr. Burke paid with a smile on his face, the damage costs of two pounds and seven shillings which this particular incident occasioned to the besieged property.

Sister Crawford

On Saturday, March 17th., 1860. the Sisters of Charity at Solly Street welcomed a new superior, Sister Stephanie (Crawford) and for the next 37 years, until her death on Dec. 13th. 1897, this good and gentle lady of an English Catholic family was to become and to be a keystone in the growth of the parish, the development of the schools, the care of the poor, the sick and the needy and all the other facets of spiritual, social and welfare work to which her Community is dedicated. Sr. Stephanie was accompanied by Sister Vincent (O'Connor).

Already, the Sisters' accommodation at No 151 Solly Street was becoming inadequate, but plans were already in train for the purchase of a residence in the Walkley area to become a second house and convent and as girls reformatory school under the overall care of the nuns. In May 1860, after receiving a further gift of £320 from the A.P.F., Fr. Burke, on a visit to Paris, " gave to the Mother-General of the Sisters £80 to provide the outfit and first expenses of the Sisters of the Reformatory" of which Sister Stephanie had already been designated and approved as the first Superioress. He also learned in Paris of the forthcoming appointment of Sr. Josephine to the Solly Street House.

On July 22nd. Sister Magdalen S.N.D. arrived to take charge of the girls school and two days later Vincentian Sisters Brown and Wilman came to Solly Street as vanguard of the planned staff of the proposed reformatory.

A poignant entry in Fr. Burke's 1860 journal records; "Oct. 7th. paid Margaret Callery one pound last of the money which she deposited in our hands as mentioned before - this Account is now closed. The unhappy woman died drunk the same day". And "Oct.11th Mark Delaney appointed full time master of Boys Day School at £50 p.a. and Francis McDonnell appointed to the night school for fees plus share of the capitation grant".

The C.Y.M.S. Grows

In the five years since late 1855, when Fr. Burke had suffered the blow of his C.Y.M.S. and its library divided on the demand of Fr. Fisher of St. Marie's, the remaining C.Y.M.S. members of St. Vincent's had worked so assiduously to rebuild that, by 1860, the Branch numbered more than 400 members, and the work of the Librarian Mr. Smith, had been so successful that, by the same year, between five and six hundred volumes of books on a wide range of subjects were circulating among St Vincent's parishioners, whose thirst for learning waxed greater day by day.

The Boys Guild of St. Aloysius, formed as an offshoot of the C.Y.M.S., also had a strength of 150 members. Men and boys together, following the Rule laid down by the Society, combined each month for a Monthly Communion Mass. The Boys Guild drum and fife band were also now resplendent in uniforms provided by the Duke of Norfolk and both organisations were conspicuous in strength among the recorded 5000 people who received Holy Communion at the various masses in St Vincent's church on Easter Sunday 1860.

More Church Adornments

The south aisle of the church had remained much as it was at the opening of the church in 1856 until, in the spring of 1860, the congregations themselves provided funds for a new altar for what was already called the Lady chapel and the chapel, including the new altar, was completed and dedicated in the month of May of the following year. Up to October 1860, including further A.P.F. donations in March £185/6/8d. and September £200, some £3,720 had been collected and spent but, although the parish had cleared all the building expenses of the new church, it was realised that more funds were still needed for decoration, furnishings et cetera, and in that month a meeting of parishioners decided to impose upon themselves a general levy of not less than one day's wage to provide these funds.

Death Of A Good Friend

Sadly, the end of 1860 saw the passing of one of Fr. Burke's most generous and stalwart friends, the 4th Duke of Norfolk. Since he succeeded to the title in February 1856, His Grace and his family had been a source of strength and encouragement and generosity to the mission at crucial times when those virtues were most needed and had watched with tender care the steady growth of the parish from the foundation of its new church to which the Norfolk family had donated with open-handed generosity. The Duke died, at the age of 45, on November 25th. and at a full Requiem service in St. Marie's on the 5th of December, the Vincentian Community paid its own tribute to the late Duke by the presence of five of its priests - Frs. Burke, Hickey, Barlow, McKenna and Fitzgerald.

Following the Duke's death, his widow, the Dowager Duchess, as Executrix of her late husband's will, settled a yearly endowment of £75 on St. Vincent's Mission. She also provided for a £50 annual endowment on the proposed Girls Reformatory.

CHAPTER 11

1861

Bishop Briggs R.I P

The year was less than a week old when Fr. Burke and indeed the whole parish and diocese had to mourn the death at York on the 4th of January of his Lordship, Bishop Briggs, who had been such a central and commanding figure in the diocese, involved even before the establishment of the White Croft school-chapel, present at the birth of St.Vincents C.Y.M.S. and in every major development affecting the growth of the Catholic Church in Sheffield over the previous ten years and more.

The C.Y.M.S. Co-op

At the beginning of the year, despite a current period of deep industrial depression, the C.Y.M.S. started a savings scheme, literally for ha'pennies and pennies. This scheme became very quickly so popular that, eventually, it was decided to employ the savings, some £734/15s, in launching, in July of that year, a co-operative store where the savers (who had thus became shareholders in this store) and non-savers were able to buy food and other goods. This resulted in the first six months of trading in sales totalling £2,927.00 profit of £267.00 and dividend to shareholders of two shillings in the pound. There was a touch of irony in the fact that the store was located at the bottom of Pea-Croft in the premises of the former but now 'sunken' "Ship" Public House, which had been forced to close as a result of the all-out temperance campaign by Fr. Burke and the priests with strong support from the C.Y.M.S. members. Again, two of the central figures in the savings and stores schemes were Mr.Isaac Gillot and the boys' schoolmaster, the ubiquitous Mr. McGladrigan who, in addition to his role as choirmaster, was also general manager of the store and secretary of the C.Y.M.S. at the time.

The Fighting Guild

At the Easter General Communion of the youth of the parish in 1861, the Guild of St. Joseph was established with the intention, by example and persuasion, of recovering the non-practising Catholic youth of the area, many of whom were openly hostile to the clergy. The Guild numbered some 300 youths at the outset but unfortunately the example and persuasion of the Josephians took the form more of physical than spiritual and, after several bouts of fighting in the streets and alleys of the Crofts, Fr. Burke decided to dissolve the Guild in the October. However, many of the Guild members pleaded with Fr. Burke to be allowed to continue and before the end of 1861 were permitted to re-form their ranks with less pugilistic objects than earlier in the year.

Cavendish Street

On the 16th of July, 1861, Sister Mary of St. Francis (formerly the Hon. Mrs. Petrie who had joined the Notre Dame Nuns after the death of her husband) purchased property and grounds in Cavendish Street for £7,250.00 and the Namur nuns moved there from Holy Green House on the following April 28th. On January 19th 1863, the Notre Dame nuns also took charge of the newly-established St.William's schools in Lee Croft and, about the same time, the Sisters of Charity took over the teaching duties in St.Vincent's schools. The names of the original Notre Dame nuns who had taken up their teaching duties in both the Sheffield parish schools on the 25th July 1855, are recorded for posterity on page 120 of Hadfield's "History of St. Maries" and the influence of these ladies and their successors over the next 134 years on the whole of education, elementary and advanced, in the Sheffield area cannot be measured. The final Notre Dame Oakbrook School and Convent at Fulwood was closed and the S.N.D. nuns community in Sheffield dispersed in 1989.

The House on Howard Hill

A very important development in St. Vincent's parish history occurred in January 1861 when, after negotiations conducted during the previous year by Mr. Robert Gainsford and with the ultimate approval of the Governing Body, the Yorkshire Catholic Reformatory School Committee, a large house in over three freehold acres of grounds, formerly a Rev. Mr. Wright's private school for young gentlemen, was purchased at Howard Hill for £2,151.00. On August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption, Fr. Burke blessed the house, celebrated Holy mass at a kitchen table using two bottles for candlesticks and officially opened the house as a Girls' Reformatory School with initial accommodation for 50 girls and under the direction of Sr. Stephanie. Once again, Mr. Robert Gainsford had been a prime mover and generous benefactor in this very important venture and other donors were forthcoming to supplement the financial assistance given by the Education authorities. Nevertheless, in order to keep up with the running costs of the Howard Hill house, Fr. Burke was again obliged to travel to other towns, preaching and begging for funds. The house still stands today (as St. Vincent's fourth presbytery) and as a worthy testimony of the work put in by Fr. Burke, Mr. Gainsford and the many other mainly anonymous helpers and patrons.

Fr. Plunkett, Pioneer

During the early summer of 1861, Fr. Thomas Plunkett, who had been Fr. Burke's right-hand man from the very outset of the mission and had laboured in the Crofts and further afield in the parish for over seven and a half years, returned at last to Ireland and, to the great sadness and distress of the confreres and parishioners he had left behind in Sheffield, died in Dublin on the 21st of August at the age of 39. The high esteem in which Fr. Plunkett was held by the parishioners of St. Vincent's took material form when, as a memorial to his sterling work in Sheffield, a new high altar for the church was bought from widespread parish donations and erected by the December following his passing. This altar was to remain as the centrepiece of the church until 1900 when it was moved into one of the classrooms in the Girls' School where, along with so much else historic in the parish life, it was completely destroyed in the 1940 air-raid. Also recorded in the records of architects Hadfield, Cawkwell and Davidson was the completion in 1861 of the then Lady Chapel (later St. Joseph's altar) at the East end of the south aisle.

A New Bishop

On the 10th of November, 1861, the successor to the late lamented Bishop Briggs was installed and consecrated as Bishop Robert Cornthwaite, 2nd Bishop of Beverly and subsequently to become the first Bishop of Leeds. At the end of the year, Fr. Burke records that the number of boys attending St. Vincent's school was over 300 and girls and infants 400. The Government allowance for the year was £356.00 plus capitation grants totalling £70/80, to cover both the day schools and evening classes.

The Memoirs

It was also in 1861 that Fr. Burke, prompted by Fr. Hickey, embarked upon his memoirs of the past eight years from the notes and journals kept by himself and the late Fr. Plunkett and, although these present sketchy chronicles do not approach near to doing justice to the labours which Fr. Burke put into his recollections and continued to do so for the next two years, it is certain that, without their historic guidance, these humble efforts at compiling a history of St. Vincent's parish would have been quite impossible.

CHAPTER 12

1862-1864

Vale et Ave

Only fourteen months after his assistance at the requiem of the late Duke of Norfolk, Fr. McKenna left on February 13th 1862 to join the Community at the Vincentian Mother House in Paris, but on the following day his vacancy at St. Vincent's was filled by the arrival from the Cologne House of a newly-ordained German Vincentian, Father Josef Fischer. Two days later saw an arrival which was to be memorable and long-commemorated in the parish history in the form of a permanent memorial in the later additions to the church. Brother Timothy O'Donnell came to Sheffield on February 16th, as a second brother-sacristan, having been received into the Vincentian Community on the previous 3rd of December and was to remain to witness, in the next 47 years, to many of the most important developments in the growing life and activity of the thriving parish. His distinguished predecessor Brother John Bradley, who had arrived in 1853 with Fr. Burke, is believed to have returned to Ireland shortly after Brother Tim's arrival in Sheffield although, unfortunately no actual record has come to light of the actual date of Brother John's departure from the parish which he had helped to found. Sufficient to say that he had continued to give faithful service to the Vincentian houses in Ireland for many more years until his death in Cork in 1892. On the first visitation of the new Bishop of Beverly, Dr Robert Cornthwaite, to St Vincent's on March 17th 1862, His Lordship presided at the foundation of the parish's first Guild of St Anne into which, on that day, over 90 women parishioners were enrolled. This Guild was to play a very important part in the parish's spiritual and temporal welfare for well over 100 years.

Fr. Burke also recorded that on May 6th of the same year he purchased, from a Mr. Marchand, a new white cope for £4.00 and also, for a similar sum, a new set of green vestments.

Burial Problems

For many years, Fr. Burke had been disturbed that, within the boundaries of Sheffield, no consecrated ground was available where the Catholic population might bury their own dead. This was an inevitable consequence of the Reformation and the subsequent penal times when acknowledgment of one's Catholicity, even by association with the dead, was inviting the rigours of persecution and the punishment of the law. So, in the Sheffield area, even so many years after emancipation, Catholics were dependent upon the offices of the local authorities for some place in the scattered municipal cemeteries to provide their deceased with the final rites of decent burial.

Rivelin Glen

Finally, after much searching, Fr. Burke was led to an open plot of ground, some eight acres in area, on the sloping hillside of Rivelin Glen, which was available for purchase. The land belonged to a Mr. Wilson (a member of the "Top Mill" snuff family) of Loxley, who was reputed to be a strongly-bigoted anti-Catholic. Remembering his rebuff in the Deepcar negotiations, Fr. Burke deemed it prudent to resort once again to a subterfuge and, through the good offices of a non-Catholic friend, of whom he now had many, he was able to circumvent Mr. Wilson's reputed bigotry and purchase the ground for £600.00 in the spring of 1862. The task of walling round and enclosing the proposed cemetery was quickly undertaken and completed at a further cost of £250.00 and the enclosed land was prepared for official inspection, finally receiving Government approval as a burial ground on August 25th 1862.

One More Foundation

On Michaelmas Day, the 29th of September 1862, the cornerstone of the original St. Michael's chapel at Rivelin was laid and consecrated by Bishop Cornthwaite of Beverly as the culmination of a great occasion which had witnessed a grand procession of Catholics from St. Vincent's including all the societies, guilds and confraternities in full regalia and bearing their banners, led by the clergy and the drum-and-fife band, all finally lining the sloping approach drive to the site of the new chapel and forming a guard of honour for His Lordship as he arrived to perform this momentous ceremony The first interment in 1862, in the new cemetery, was believed to be of a Mr. Peter Flynn but subsequent and reliable information has revealed that two young children, Mary Mulvey, aged 3 years of 30 Bates Square and Catherine Hopkins, aged 7 years and 5 months, of Fargate, were the first interments on 23rd September 1862. Mr. Peter Flynn, aged 50 years, of St. Philip's Road together with that of Andrew Mulvey, aged 7 years, of 30 Bates Square, taking place on 30th September 1862. In recording the foundation-stone laying at Rivelin Fr. Burke writes that in the previous months "a few humble Irish Catholics who had, by good conduct and honest industry, realised a little property, offered to supply £500.00 or £600.00 to purchase a graveyard". They were Mr. Michael Monaghan, Mr. Lawrence Brown and Mr. James Callaghan. A further £200.00 was advanced by a Mr. Hodgkinson "a worthy English gentleman" and all these four with Fr. Burke and Mr. Arnold Sutton of Revell Grange were designated as Trustees of the new property.

Another Croft - Another Chapel

On the 30th of September, 1862 Canon Fisher, Rector of St. Marie's, acquired the redundant Independent Methodist chapel in Lee Croft at a cost of £1,000.00. The building was altered and re-fitted for £280.00 and was opened on Sunday, January 11th 1863, under the title of St. William's, as a 400-seating chapel of ease to St. Marie's.

The Chancel Adorned

In the middle of the year 1862, Fr. Burke had ordered from Lobin of Tours in France six stained-glass windows, at a cost of £24.00 each, and these were received in the late autumn. On arrival the windows were found to be eight inches short of the length of the window recesses and it was necessary quickly to have extra translucencies made to fill the gaps left by this error. These Sheffield-made pale gold translucencies bore the legends "Laudamus te, Benedicimus te, Adoramus te" and the windows were installed above the High altar by Christmas eve of 1862. For the next 78 years, they shed their beautiful light upon the altar until they also were completely destroyed by the blast from the German air-mine in 1940.

A New Resting Place

While work continued on the new cemetery at Rivelin, its purpose as a consecrated Catholic burial ground was achieved and was acknowledged, in its use, by the entire Catholic community in Sheffield and the surrounding districts. By the summer of 1863, the entire work on the cemetery and its chapel had been completed at a total cost of £1,400.00. The original chapel was to serve the Catholics of Sheffield until 1877 when the present St. Michael's church was built. On the 26th October 1863, the chapel was blessed by Fr. Burke and Fr. Barlow and dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. The first Holy Mass was celebrated in the new chapel by Fr. Barlow on Monday November 3rd and started a tradition which exists up to the present day that the Holy Sacrifice is offered there on the first Monday of each month for the repose of the souls interred at Rivelin.

On Tuesday December 2nd, adornments arrived at the newly-built Rivelin chapel in the form of a statue of St. Patrick and a set of bas relief Stations of the Cross, all donated by the members of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. as a permanent memorial to all deceased Society members. These were formally erected in the chapel and blessed by the clergy on Monday December 15th.

Retirement

On the 13th of May 1863, Mr. McGladrigan, who had been a virtual factotum in the parish since his arrival in Sheffield in 1855, retired from his post as Boys' School headmaster and on June 1st was succeeded in this position by Mr. Godsil who was to hold the boys in rein for the next six years until August 1869.

Sacred Heart Sodality

The following month June 12th 1863 saw the foundation in the parish of the Sacred Heart Sodality into which were embodied all the members of the Blessed Sacrament Confraternity which Fr. Plunkett had formed in 1858. Although the Sodality has gone through some difficult times since its inception, it has also seen some wonderful years being subsequently embodied in the wider-ranging Confraternity of the Sacred Heart in the latter part of the 187Os. Its Monthly Communions - on separate Sundays for the men and boys and for the women and girls - has seen the church almost filled with communicants and, up to the closure of the church in 1996, still kept alive on the first Friday of each month. Attempts were made to continue the Sodality First Friday Mass at St. Joseph's chapel but were eventually abandoned due to lack of support.

Schools Congestion

Bowing at last to the heavy pressures from the Education authorities to relieve the congestion of his existing schools, and assisted once again by a £200.00 gift from the Duke of Norfolk added to a £30.00 grant from the Town Trustees, Fr. Burke, assisted by Fr. Hickey and with only the building workmen present, laid the first cornerstone on October 31st 1863, of the building which was shortly to become the new Boys' School, covering the site of the Solly Street tenements and courtyard acquired five years earlier. The first headmaster of the Boys' School, appointed by Fr. Burke in June 1863 was Mr. Godsil who remained in the post until August 1869.

A New Convent

Towards the close of 1863, realising that No. 151 Solly Street had become inadequate for the works of his Sisters of Charity, Fr. Burke purchased for £480.00 a larger house at No. 222 Solly Street, opposite the north end of Red Hill and the nuns left their original historic home to take up residence at their larger house on January 4th 1864.

A Great Era Closes

The transfer of the Sisters to their new house was to be the last major act in which Fr. Burke was to be involved in his Sheffield parish. On February 22nd 1864, he was himself transferred, in poor health, to his native Ireland to take up the appointment as Superior of St. Peter's, Phibsborough. His departure, after over ten years in the Crofts, marked the end of probably the most significant decade in the post-Reformation history of Catholicism in Sheffield and the foregoing record only barely touches the surface of the profound effects which this good and saintly man had upon the lives of the thousands of people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, with whom he had come into contact during that period.

He was beloved by his parishioners to whom he had become the earthly centre of their spiritual lives. He came as an innocent pioneer to a strange land, bringing spiritual and temporal hope and comfort to his downtrodden fellow-countrymen and their fellow immigrants; he had fought and largely won the battles against poverty, hatred, bigotry, ignorance, intemperance, immorality and indifference which were rampant before his arrival in the Crofts, had proved himself a builder not only of morale and of morals but also of more concrete and solid edifices which remain today as his memorials.

He had crowned the squalid and featureless Crofts with a beautiful church and imposing school-buildings to cater for the teeming thousands living within the very extensive boundaries of the new Mission but more particularly for those nearest to him, in heart and distance, in the immediate vicinity of his Mission church. By his own untiring efforts, he had spread the light of his Mission to deprived Catholics at Deepcar, at Howard Hill, Stannington and Hillsborough. He had also given to all Sheffield Catholics their own final resting place and chapel at Rivelin. In any or all of these places, it may be as truly said of Father Burke as was said and inscribed of Christopher Wren on his completion of St. Paul's - "Si monumentum requiris, circumspice" - " If you are seeking his monument, look around you".

He toiled unceasingly to improve the sad lot of his poverty-stricken parishioners of all denominations.

He endeared himself equally to his opponents but never feared to stand out firmly for what he considered right and just. He was the prime mover, guide, mentor and spiritual director in the most literal sense, of all the lay societies and organisations which still remain as a further memorial to his great dedication to his mission work. He did not come to labour in the Lord's vineyard in Sheffield. Rather, he came virtually to a spiritually barren land, prepared terraces on the slopes of the Crofts, planted the seeds, watered vines and gently but firmly nurtured the growths until, at his parting, he was able to look around at the flourishing and fruitful ground which others following after him were to harvest.

Although his own memoirs are written with an underlying spirit of humility, an inescapable source of real humour is clearly apparent in many of the incidents which he relates and this writer can find no words to express genuinely how valuable and entertaining these records are in the original history of Saint Vincent's parish. Whether his heart, as well as his health, was broken on leaving Sheffield we shall never know but, sadly, he died, at the age of 54, in Dublin on March 26th 1865 just over a year after leaving the Crofts for the last time and was buried in the College grounds at Castleknock from where he had set out on his historic mission on November 7th 1853. May he rest in peace.

CHAPTER 13

1864-1874

A New Rector

On Fr. Burke's final departure in 1864, the Rectorship of St. Vincent's was taken over by Fr. Cornelius Hickey, who was to make his own mark upon the spread of Catholicism in Sheffield for the next 18 years. His accession to the position of Superior of the Sheffield Mission was less than three weeks old when he was witness to a considerable part of the north western sector of his parish inundated by the historic Sheffield Flood on March 11th and 12th.

Regrettably, after Fr. Burke's departure, it would appear that the day-by-day details of the parish history were not maintained or if any journals exist regarding the major incidents in the parish life, they have not come to the writer's notice. In consequence, the "history" for the next 40 years or so becomes rather more of a simple chronology. However, these were very important years of consolidation, gradual development and expansion of the foundations laid during Fr. Burke's rectorship of St. Vincent's.

Shortly after Fr. Hickey became Superior, he was re-joined at Garden Street by Fr. Myers who had been in his novitiate for the priesthood when he first came to Sheffield. Now, at the age of 34, he returned to St. Vincent's and took his final vows in Sheffield, thus becoming the first "Sheffield-made" Vincentian. Among the first duties which Fr. Myers took over after his return to the Sheffield Mission was that of C.Y.M.S. Spiritual Director, a responsibility which he continued to discharge throughout the remainder of his time in Sheffield alongside such Branch executive officers as John Allen, Dan O'Neill, Michael Hogan and Francis McDonnell among others. He was to give also much wider valuable service to the parish until his departure for Maynooth as Spiritual Director in 1884 and during his time at St. Vincent's, being a natural leader of youth, he instituted the Junior Boys' Hall in the junior schoolrooms, where he taught, with the assistance of a Mr. Boucher, the arts and crafts of the printing, carpentry and cutlery-making trades, on machinery installed by Mr. James Taafe of Dykes Hall Road. Fr. Hickey's team at Solly Street was also strengthened by the arrival in 1864 of Frs. Michael Mullen and Patrick O'Grady.

Howard Hill Expansion and a Memorable Appeal

Fr. Hickey also very soon saw a new wing added, at a cost of £1,700.00, to St. Joseph's Home and on August 26th 1864, this was officially opened to cope with the increasing demand for girls' accommodation. According to the architect's record, preserved in the valuable archives of Messrs. Hadfield, Cawkwell and Davidson, "the wing comprised a series of large rooms on the ground floor, refectory, school and work rooms with a dormitory 110 feet by 30 feet with open timber roof, an infirmary, an isolation room and a room for refractory inmates on the upper floor. With this addition there was accommodation for 100 girls."

In 1867, the continued need of funds for the maintenance of the Howard Hill Girls' Reformatory was highlighted by a sermon of appeal in St. Marie's church by no less distinguished a person than Archbishop (later Cardinal) Manning of Westminster. This is probably the best indication of the great importance and value of the work being done for the girls by Sisters of Charity and the high esteem in which this work was held by the authorities.

The Second Presbytery

In 1866, Fr. Hickey purchased a large house in its grounds at the Broad Lane end of Red Hill. This house, No. 142 Broad Lane, had been built at the beginning of the century by Mr. Samuel Smith, a partner in the silver-plating firm, Ashforth, Ellis & Co, whose works were at the top of Red Hill. The house had gardens and orchards extending almost to the hill top and, presumably, was built as Mr. Smith's private residence. The priests now moved from their founding home, No.90 Garden Street, to the Broad Lane House which was to be their presbytery for the next 12 years. A letter of April 6, 1867 recording the convening of a Domestic Assembly is signed by the five priests serving at the time in Sheffield, C.Hickey, J. Fitzgerald, John J. Myers, F. McNulty and P. Ennis. The last-two named Vincentians had arrived in Sheffield in 1866 to fill the vacancies left by the departures, after two years, of Fr. Michael Mullen and Fr. Patrick O'Grady.

A New Organist - A New Organ

October, 1866, saw the departure of the organist, Mr. Kirk, to take up the position of organist at St. Marie's. This gentleman, who had occupied the harmonic seat for some seven years, is believed to have been immediately succeeded by the 15-year old Miss Cecilia Valantine, daughter of Mr. Bernard Valantine who had played such an important role in the foundation and training of the choir at St. Vincent's in 1854. So far as can be established Miss Valantine remained as organist at White Croft until her marriage in 1884.

The small harmonium which Fr. Burke had purchased from his meagre funds in 1854 was finally consigned into retirement in 1868 and, at a cost of £260.00 raised by public subscriptions, a new foot-pedal and pipe organ was erected in St. Vincent's church. There, for the next 42 years, this organ was to provide the sacred music until, in 1910, it was replaced by a much larger instrument. This first organ, a venerable part of the parish's musical history, still served since it was installed in the gallery of the chapel at St. Joseph's, Howard Hill, until it was sold for £100.00 as scrap in 1987.

A short-term arrival to join St. Vincent's mission in 1868 was Fr. Gerald Kelly who returned to Ireland in the following year and died, at the age of only 34, on August 26th, 1875. He is buried at Lanark.

A New Church for the East End

In August, 1868, to serve the growing number of Catholics in the Sheffield East End sector of St. Marie's parish, the new church of St. Charles, including a presbytery, was opened at Attercliffe. The new building was largely a benefice, at a cost of £4,500.00 of Mr. and Mrs. William Wake, in remembrance of their eldest son, Charles William, who was accidentally drowned in the Serpentine on Jan 15th 1867. The primary donation of £500.00 from the Wake family was matched by a similar donation from the Duke of Norfolk and the site of the new church was given by Mr. Wake, a resident of Osgathorpe. The first Rector of the new church was Fr. Joseph Hurst, a priest from St. Marie's. The schools appertaining to St. Charles' church were built in 1871 and the building of the church itself was completed in 1887, at a further cost of £2,300 defrayed in equal amounts by the Wake and Norfolk families.

A New Boys' School Head

Mr. Godsil, St. Vincent's boys' school headmaster since June 1863, vacated his position in August 1869 and was succeeded in the post by Mr. Francis McDonnell who, according to the Hadfield "History of St. Marie's", was still incumbent as headmaster in 1889. His fellow teachers of the boys at that time (1869) were Mr. James Costello and Mr. Bernard Valantine.

Mr Robert John Gainsford R.I.P.

Very early in 1870, on February 6th, Mr. Robert John Gainsford died very suddenly whilst holidaying in Rome, where he is buried. As these chronicles have shown, Mr. Gainsford had been a most devoted and important key figure in the formative years of St. Vincent's and more recently in the developments at Howard Hill where, by the time of his sad passing, almost 100 girls were receiving training in the Reformatory. Following Mr. Gainsford's death, his important position as Treasurer for the Reformatory was taken over by Mr. M. J. Ellison. Since its opening in 1861, the number of girls receiving training at the Reformatory had doubled. It was particularly sad that Mr. Gainsford did not survive to witness the foundation, later in the year, of the first St. Joseph's school, in a single room in the basement of the Howard Hill house, by Sister Stephanie, assisted by Sister Agnes (Murphy). This development was undertaken by the nuns to cater better for the children of the Walkley and Crookes areas of the parish.

Start of the new Church Tower

In 1870 also, towards the end of the year, Fr. Hickey undertook, at a cost of £650.00, the original building of the church tower up to a height of 40 feet and including therein the south porch and the White Croft entrance to the (then) Lady Aisle.

The Origins of Kirk Edge

Fr. Myers, devoted as ever to the youth of the whole area, felt that there was a great need for similar training amenities for orphan boys as already existed for the girls in the Howard Hill house and, shortly after his return to Sheffield in 1864, he was in fact using two old disused houses at the top of Hollis Croft for this purpose. He campaigned in the town for such an establishment and, once more, the Duke of Norfolk opened his bountiful purse for the building of an orphanage out in a remote country district named Kirk Edge, high above the old village of Worrall. The April 1st 1871 edition of "The Builder" records on Page 253 - "Kirk Edge Orphanage. The plans of this new institution for poor boys and girls of the Roman Catholic religion of the town and neighbourhood of Sheffield at Kirk Edge, near Bradfield, which had been prepared by Messrs. Hadfield & Son, have been adopted by the committee and work is to be forthwith commenced. The whole pile, when complete will give accommodation for 300 children. The building will be of stone and, including the courts, will cover an area of 300 feet square." The orphanage was opened for occupation by the boys, under the care of the resident Sisters of Charity, before the end of the year.

The Building of Saint Joseph's Chapel

The wonderful work performed in the previous ten years by Sister Stephanie and her sister nuns on behalf of the unfortunate girls at the Howard Hill Reformatory had inspired in the Superioress a dream and an ambition for the area to have its own chapel. Once again, the problem was a dearth of funds for such a scheme but the determined Sister Stephanie sought and obtained an audience with the Duke of Norfolk to whom she pleaded her cause with such effect that His Grace straightaway gave the good lady a cheque for £1,000.00. To this was added £500.00 from the members of the Committee of the Home and £1,000.00 from the Gainsford family. So with many individual smaller contributions boosting Sister Stephanie's appeal, work had started on the building of a new chapel adjoining the Home and, at a cost of £2,800, the work was completed and the resplendent chapel was opened on April 21st 1872 by the Rector of St. Marie's, Canon Walshaw, deputising for the sick Bishop of Beverley. The 'Building News' in its May 3rd 1872 edition records "The new Church of St. Joseph, at St. Joseph's (Roman) Catholic Girls Home, Sheffield was dedicated on the 21st.ult. Messrs. Hadfield & Son of Sheffield are the architects. The dimensions of the building are 70 ft. long 24 ft. wide and 55 ft high. It is a nave in one span, having a semi-circular apsidal sanctuary. The ceiling is wagon-headed with moulded arches and ribs of wood at intervals, the intermediate spaces being left plain for decoration. The design is Early English Pointed. The stained glass is Lavers, Barrand & Westlake." The architect's records add "The lie of the land made it possible for a day school and heating chamber to be built under the chapel. Although intended formerly for the inmates, the chapel was arranged so as to be easily accessible to visitors."

The bequest from the Gainsford family was devoted to erecting the altar, the chancel and surrounding fittings as a memorial to the late Robert John, who had been for several years, up to his sudden death in Rome, Chairman and Treasurer of the Committee for the Home and one of its principal benefactors. His memory is preserved in a small memorial stone set into the chancel wall at the gospel side of the altar, "Reward with Eternal Life O Lord, the soul of thy servant, Robert John Gainsford who hath done us good for thy Name's sake. Amen. This altar was raised and this sanctuary adorned that he might be held in perpetuala remembrance. He died in Rome on the 6th February 1870" The new chapel became a chapel of ease to St. Vincent's Parish, served by the Vincentian priests for the celebration of Holy Mass which was a tremendous boon not only to Sisters and girls of the Reformatory but also to the many Catholics in the surrounding areas who had been, in the main, obliged hitherto to walk to the White Croft church to fulfil their duties.

A Missioner laid to rest at Rivelin

The close of the year 1872 saw the first burial of a Vincentian priest in St. Michael's cemetery when Fr. Peter Ennis was interred there following his passing on November 17th 1872. The presence of Fr. Ennis at St. Vincent's, according to the local history library, is first recorded in 1867 but he could certainly have been with the parish only a fairly short time since he was aged only 30 when he died. It has been stated elsewhere that Fr. James Fitzgerald was the first Vincentian missioner to die in Sheffield but the central Vincentian archives in Dublin have shown that this niche in the parish history belongs to Fr. Ennis. In fact, three Vincentian priests had been laid to rest at Rivelin Glen before Fr. Fitzgerald was interred there in 1883.

The Choral Flynns

In 1874, the records show that a member of a family which was to play an important part in the history of St. Vincent's choir for the next sixty years had been appointed to the position of choirmaster. He was Mr. James Flynn. Another scion of the Flynn family, the famous John, had joined the choir in 1870 at the age of six years and was to leave his own indelible mark on the parish choral history until the early 1930's

CHAPTER 14

1875-1879

In 1875, three Vincentians are recorded as joining the Community in Sheffield:

Fr. Jean Genouvrier is believed to have come to the parish from the French Province. He is previously recorded present, as a newly-ordained priest, at the foundation-stone laying ceremony for St. Ann's church at Deepcar in 1859. On this present visit, he is recorded as leaving Solly Street in 1876.

Fr. Christopher Dooley, listed in Dr. Denis Evinson's "The Lord's House", is recorded as being in Sheffield for three years (1875-78) but is not in the writer's information received from the Dublin Provincial archives.

Rather more is known regarding Fr. Michael? Quish who came at the age of 32, four years after his 1871 ordination, to join Fr. Hickey and to remain at St. Vincent's for 16 years, the final two years of which (1888/91) he was Rector of the parish.

The Founding of St. Catherine's

On June 7th 1876, the first school-chapel and presbytery of Saint Catherine's, a new branch of St. Marie's Parish and costing £6,650.00 was opened at Burngreave. A further development of this area followed eight years later with the building of a separate new chapel-of-ease. The present Loreto-style church of St. Catherine on Burngreave Road was opened on November 25th 1926.

Sister Catherine Labouré, Daughter of Charity

In the Rue du Bac house in Paris on December 31st 1876, Sister Catherine Laboure passed peacefully away at the age of 70. A visionary to whom the Blessed Virgin had appeared in the Rue due Bac chapel in 1830, giving to the world through Catherine what we now know as the Miraculous Medal, the favoured Sister was beatified on Sunday May 28th 1933 and canonisation followed fourteen years later on November 28th 1947. In devotion to Our Lady and honour to St. Catherine in commemoration of these events, weekly permanent novena devotions took place in the church and chapels of St. Vincent's Parish which from its inception had been dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and from its early years had very close historical ties with the Sisters of Charity.

A New Church for Rivelin

The next important development, so far as the local history of St. Vincent's took place at Rivelin in 1877 when a former Methodist gentleman, George Harvey Foster, a local businessman in the tailoring and gents' outfitting trade, and his wife Mary Ann undertook the entire cost of £2,000.00 for building a new church at the cemetery to replace the temporary chapel which had served since the opening of the burial ground in 1862. This gift is marked by a commemorative marble plaque on the right (epistle side) wall of the chapel, bearing the legend "A.M.D.G. To the Honour and Glory of God, This Church was erected Anno Domini 1877 by George Harvey Foster and Mary Ann Foster of Sheffield R.I.P." The occasion of the opening of the new church is recorded in the May 25th 1878 edition of 'The Builder' - "New Roman Catholic Church at Rivelin Glen. The new church at the Catholic Cemetery in Rivelin valley was opened a few days ago. The church is dedicated to St. Michael. It is in the Early English style of architecture and built of hammer-dressed Greenmoor wallstone with Worrall stone dressings. It is 22 feet wide and 72 feet long internally and has an open roof covered with Staffordshire tiles. At the Western end a bell-turret, in which hangs a bell by Mears of London, rises to a height of 60 feet and in the gable of the south porch is a niche, with a fine figure of St. Michael slaying the dragon. The chancel floor is laid with encaustic tiles and there is an altar of polished marble and veined alabaster with a sculptured figure of The Dead Christ underneath in white alabaster by Boulton of Cheltenham. Messrs Hadfield and Son were the architects and Mr. M. J. Dowling was the contractor." A similar, almost verbatim, report on the opening of the new chapel also appeared in "The Building News" of May 24th 1878. To adorn the new chapel, the Stations of the Cross, the Siennese Crucifix and Calvary and the statue of St. Patrick, presented by the men of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. in December 1863 as a memorial to the deceased members of the Society, were transferred to and erected in the new chapel. The chapel, complete with the 5 cwt. bell, blessed, before raising by the Bishop on December 11th 1877, and the carved figure of St. Michael installed above the porch entrance, was opened and blessed by Bishop Cornthwaite (now Bishop of Leeds) on May 9th 1878. The opening ceremony was followed by the celebration of Solemn High Mass in the chapel by Fr. James Fitzgerald, with an appropriate sermon preached by the Bishop. This wonderful benefaction by the Foster family stemmed from the personal admiration which the Fosters felt for the work being done among the Sheffield poor by Fr. Fitzgerald and was to be a tribute to and memorial of that work. The name of Fr. Fitzgerald is first mentioned in the record of the opening of the new St. Vincent's church in 1856 as "also assisting at the ceremony". The intention to use the Sheffield House as a base and springboard for the Vincentians' missionary activities in England was put into effect very shortly after the White Croft Mission itself was started and the writer believes that Fr. Fitzgerald along with others, Fr. N. Barlow and Fr. P. McKenna first came to Sheffield as itinerant missioners before settling down to their more parochial service to St. Vincent's. Hadfield's "History" records that Fr. Fitzgerald had laboured for Christ's poor in Sheffield over 27 years and he is reputed to have had an intense dedication to the care and maintenance of the Rivelin cemetery as well as to the corporal works of mercy towards all, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, with whom he came into contact during his perambulations inside and outside St. Vincent's very extensive parish.

A New Priests' Home - for 105 Years!

A little uncertainty surrounds the establishment in St. Vincent's of the Confraternity of the Sacred Heart in respect of the actual year of formation. Certain it is that it was founded in the latter half of the 1870's during a Mission given by a Fr. O'Connor C.M. on the 11th December but whether this important event took place in 1877 or 1878 the writer has been unable to establish with any certainty although 1877 seems to be more probable. No such mystery attends the building of the former presbytery in Solly Street. With the ever generous Duke of Norfolk again footing the bill of £11,000.00, the priests' new house was built at the junction of Solly Street and the former Garden Walk upon the site of the actual gardens from which Garden Street had taken its name. The house, complete with its own oratory-chapel purpose-built as the principal Vincentian mission centre in England, in the architectural style of the large French clerical houses and with accommodation for upwards of 14 clergy plus staff, was completed by the early summer and occupied by the missioners for the first time on Saturday July 6th 1878. The new presbytery was built by M. J. Dowling, Contractor, to a Hadfield design. The architect's archives record that the accommodation provided included two parlours en-suite, refectory, porter's room, kitchen and ancillary rooms on the ground floor chapel with vestry, library, community rooms on first floor and two floors above containing 14 rooms for clergy. Many times within the writer's own recollections, the house has been filled with resident priests serving the parish, priests visiting for the Lenten ceremonies and Easter and Christmas celebrations and Vincentian missioners from Ireland and the other English and Scottish houses, using the presbytery as a base for their missionary journeys throughout northern England, and among the House's first guests (from 1878 to 1879) was Fr. Michael Gleeson who, as already recorded, had left the service of the parish in 1855 to become a Chaplain in the Crimean War..

Fr. Nicholas Barlow C.M.

The happiness attending the opening of the new house was somewhat diminished by the death in Ireland on the 19th of the same month of Fr. Nicholas Barlow at the age of 49. Fr. Barlow had come to Sheffield as a young priest, and, although the precise date of his arrival is not recorded but probably circa 1859, the Hadfield history lists his presence at the commemorative requiem service in St. Marie's for the late 14th Duke of Norfolk on December 5th 1860. He was also a co-celebrant with Fr. Burke at the first Mass celebrated in the original chapel at St. Michael's cemetery on November 2nd 1863.

The Red Hill Convent

The occupation of the new house by the priests made way for a more substantial home for the Sisters of Charity, whose numbers in Sheffield were, by this time, also growing. The original house of Mr. Samuel Smith at the corner of Broad Lane and Red Hill was enlarged with the help of donations of £900.00 from the Duke of Norfolk, £150.00 from George Harvey Foster and £50.00 from Mrs. Wake and, in the latter half of 1878, the nuns moved into the refurbished house to provide a home for servants and young girls. The convent also became a training home for pupil teachers.

More Catholic Education Development

The following year, a further development in the area cared for by St. Marie's clergy was the building at the Heeley end of Shoreham Street, of schools for 800 children, dedicated in the name of St. Wilfrid. The project, costing some £19,000.00 was financed by the Duke of Norfolk and the completed buildings, under the spiritual care of Fr. Bradley, seconded from St. Marie's, were opened on November 23rd 1879, with the boys' school serving as a chapel to seat 300. The scheme allowed for later building of a church and presbytery. About this time too, the original house of the Vincentian priests at No. 90 Garden Street had been adapted and established as St. Vincent's Boys' Academy. This was the first Catholic boys' secondary school to be opened in Sheffield, the secondary education of the girls by this time being well established by the Notre Dame nuns at their school in Cavendish Street. The head of the Academy was Mr. James Hourigan; Fr. Myers was given the responsibility of General Manager of the Academy where he also taught Religious Knowledge and Science, giving lectures in Chemistry. Fr. Martin Quish who is believed to have been assigned to the Sheffield Mission in succession to the late Fr. Barlow also lectured at the Academy, teaching the boys Latin and French. The caretaking of the Academy was in the hands of Mrs. Fagan, who resided there with her son, Philip. Most of the foregoing information concerning the Academy is by courtesy of extracts from a letter written in April 1938 by a former pupil of the new Academy, Mr. Joseph Vincent Simmons of Long Eaton whose particular friend at that time was Cornelius (Corny) Smith who, in turn, had his own name and that of his family perpetuated in St. Vincent's church as the donor of the beautiful stained glass circular window installed behind the former St. Joseph's altar to replace the original Patrick Fay window of 1857, depicting Our Lady's Assumption, which was completely destroyed in the 1940 air-raid. Another of the first pupils of the Academy was Aloysius O'Neill, son of Dan O'Neill.

CHAPTER 15

The 1880's

Miscellany

With the recent establishment of the new Mission House in Solly Street, many Vincentian priests arrived, most to use the Sheffield home as a staging post for their missionary journeys to other parts of England, some to stay and serve the parish itself. Among these was Fr. Simon Donovan who, dying at the age of only 33, could only have been with the parish a short time and is recorded buried at Rivelin after his early death on January 27th 1880. In the same year, the death is also recorded of Fr. John Stein on December 6th at the age of 40 and also interred at Rivelin.

The Sheffield Cutlers Hall was the rendezvous in 1880 for a grand bazaar organised jointly with other Catholic parishes in Sheffield to raise funds once again for St. Joseph's Home.

Although the next event of record was only indirectly connected with St. Vincent's parish, almost certainly the major milestone in Sheffield Catholic history was the acquisition in 1881 and the consecration on June 9th of that year, of an area of ground at the municipal (later City Road) cemetery, reserved for the burial of Catholics who, up to that time, had only the consecrated grounds of Rivelin and St. Bede's at Rotherham for burial, other than being interred in the unconsecrated grounds of the many municipal cemeteries in Sheffield.

St. Joseph's Handsworth

Almost two years earlier, on August 27th 1879, the foundation stone of a new Catholic church for the growing Catholic population of the south-east sector of Sheffield had been laid and on June 7th 1881 the new church, St. Joseph's at Handsworth, with a presbytery for two priests and schools for 150 children, was opened for the first time.

A Rectorial Record

In the month of May 1882, after 24 years unbroken service to St. Vincent's and his parishioners, including 18 years as Rector in immediate succession to Fr. Burke, Fr. Cornelius Hickey left Solly Street to take up the position of Superior at Phibsborough. It was not until more than 80 years later that Fr. Hickey's record of continuous devotion to the parish was eventually surpassed by Fr. Edward McDonagh (later the parish priest at Lanark) who came to Solly Street in 1937 and remained to complete more than a quarter of a century at St. Vincent's, the final eight years as Rector of the parish, before his departure in August 1963. Fr. Hickey still, however, retains the distinction of the longest serving Parish priest of St. Vincent's and, since the Vincentian priests, by virtue of their calling, are essentially a mobile community, it would be interesting to discover whether this record has ever been surpassed at any single Mission within the entire and now world-wide Vincentian community. Fr. Hickey's duties as Rector were passed to the newly-arrived Fr. Daniel O'Sullivan, who, at the age of 54, was sent to St. Vincent's as Parish Priest for the following two years (1882-1884).

Bernard Valantine, Magister Choralis

The passing, on April 8th 1883, of the pioneer Mr. Bernard Valantine takes from the history a gentleman whose work in the first years of both St. Marie's and St. Vincent's Missions had placed him at the focal centre of early events in the restoration of the Catholic Church in Sheffield, particularly as academic and musical teacher and as accomplished organist. It was under Mr. Valantine's discipline that the first choir of St Vincent's had been founded and at the time of his death he had served over 25 years as St. Vincent's choirmaster and many years as a teacher in St. Vincent's Boys' School. He is laid to rest at Rivelin almost opposite to the resting place there of the priests and nuns.

Fr. Hickey Remembered

So impressive had been Fr. Hickey's service to the Mission in Sheffield that a parishioners fund was started, not long after his departure, for a suitable tribute to his work and, on August 15th 1883, the west windows of the church were fitted with stained glass depicting the twelve apostles, two to each of the six tall arched stone panels. On Sunday the 9th of the following month, the dedication of these windows took place in the presence of a large congregation and of Fr. Hickey himself together with Fr. Daniel O'Sullivan who had succeeded to the Rectorship at Fr. Hickey's departure. Like so many of the beautiful old features of the church these windows were irreparably damaged in the blast from the air-mine at the further end of the church on the dreadful night of December 12/13th 1940.

Father Fitzgerald R.I.P.

In the month following this dedication, the long-serving and greatly loved Fr. James Fitzgerald passed to his eternal reward. On October 16th 1883 and, fittingly, he was laid to rest at Rivelin amid the surroundings which he had so carefully tended during his service at St. Vincent's. His sterling work over the 24 years he served the Mission in Sheffield are already and deservedly recorded in these chronicles.

The Burngreave Mercy Convent school

It was also during 1883 that the Burngreave convent of the Sisters of Mercy was established as a preparatory school for young ladies, the Sisters also taking upon themselves the duties of teaching in the parish school of St. Catherine's church which had been founded and opened as a chapel of ease to St. Marie's on June 7th 1876 at a cost of £6,650.00 From the outset of the Burngreave convent, the Vincentians took on the responsibilities of confessors to the good nuns there, a tradition maintained to the closure of the school and the departure of the nuns in the early 1980's. A further long-standing tradition, that of a Vincentian priest celebrating the Christmas Midnight Mass at the Burngreave convent, was only discontinued in 1980 due to the depletion in strength of the numbers of the priests at Solly Street.

Memorial to Father Fitzgerald

Little time had elapsed following the death of Fr. Fitzgerald when, in 1884, a fine and lasting tribute was paid to the memory of this great priest by the Foster family in undertaking the rich ornamental decoration of St. Michael's chapel at Rivelin. The work of adorning the walls surrounding the altar was entrusted, at a cost of £430.00, to a London artist Mr. Westlake assisted by Mr. Charles Hadfield who, before the end of this decade, was to publish his own detailed comprehensive and valuable contribution towards the history of Sheffield Catholicism in his "History of St. Marie's Mission and Church". The ornamentation of the Rivelin chapel was completed in 1884 by the gift from Mrs Foster of the West window depicting St. Vincent carrying an infant and guarding a cripple child watched over by the guardian angel. The base of the window bears an inscription dedicating the gift to the late Father Fitzgerald. The brief rectorship of Fr. Daniel O'Sullivan ended in 1884 when he left to return to Ireland to be succeeded in Sheffield by Fr. James Potter.

The Cardinal and Kirk Edge

An important and historic "first" took place also in 1884 with the visit to Sheffield of Cardinal Manning, the first Cardinal to visit the town since the Reformation. As Archbishop of Westminster, Dr. Manning had previously visited for a sermon of appeal in 1867 but now, even as a Prince of the Church, the Cardinal honoured the Catholics of Sheffield for the similar purpose of preaching yet again a sermon of appeal in St. Marie's Church to defray the costs of extensions and improvements made during this year to the Kirkedge orphanage which had been at the heart of Fr. Myers' service to Sheffield Catholics. The results of Cardinal Manning's appeal allowed the addition to the orphanage of a new wing which was opened on June 29th 1885. The wing comprised a chapel, 90 feet by 26 feet, a dormitory, lavatories and an infirmary. With this addition, according to the records of the architects, there was now said to be accommodation for 200. 'The Building News' of July 17th 1885 reports "Kirkedge, Sheffield. On the feast of Saint Peter and Paul, a new wing just added to the Roman Catholic Industrial of St. Vincent at Kirkedge was solemnly opened. . . . .The chapel is in the Renaissance Style, plain in character and designed with a special regard to the traditions of the Filles de la Charite. The whole is built in stone and is at right angles to the rest of the building. The new wing is heated by low pressure water pipes". The Cardinal's appeal, though successful, only staved off the closure of the orphanage for a couple of years until, in 1887, due to water supply difficulties, every drop of water having to be pumped by windmill from the lower levels of the valley, the orphans, girls and boys, were transferred back to the Home at Howard Hill and Kirkedge was again left desolate and empty in its imposing wilderness.

The closure of Kirkedge orphanage virtually coincided in 1887 with the additions and improvements at Hollow Meadows, outside the Western boundary of Sheffield, an industrial school with accommodation for up to 60 truant boys. Although no record has come to the writer's notice regarding the origins of this school, the spiritual care of the boys was the responsibility of St. Vincent's Missioners, the administrative body being the Sheffield School Board.

A Vincentian Musical Genius

The autumn of 1884 saw the arrival at St. Vincent's of Fr. E. Gaynor and the musical and choral history of the parish and its choir was to be greatly enhanced by his appointment. Already nationally known in Catholic circles as composer, conductor and music teacher, Fr. Gaynor was to reinforce further, with his great expertise, the already soundly-based choir which, by this time numbered among its members at least three of the Flynn family (Michael, James and John), an already great voice in Tom Lally, a choirboy since 1876 at the age of 7 and members representing many of the old families which had seen the birth and development of the parish over the previous 30 years. During his time in Sheffield, Fr. Gaynor fulfilled for some time the duties both of choirmaster and organist at St. Vincent's. He pioneered the use of Tonic Sol-fa form of notation in the choir and in the parish Musical Society of which he was the founder. Reference must also be made to Francis Flanagan, a choirboy in the 1880's, who was almost certainly trained by Fr. Gaynor and subsequently became organist at St. Vincent's, probably when Cecilia Valantine left in 1884 to be married. Mr. Flanagan went on eventually to take his Doctorate in Music. Father Gaynor left the parish in April 1889 and the writer is pleased to have possession of a copy of a letter, written in copper-plate hand, his farewell letter of April 2nd 1889 to Mr. Hanlon, the President of the Musical Society with which Fr. Gaynor had been so closely associated during his four and a half years in Sheffield. This letter was written on the day following a formal tribute paid to Fr. Gaynor by members of the Society in appreciation of his work.

The Passing of a St Vincent's founder

Almost the last of the strong links, forged in the foundation of St. Vincent's Sheffield Mission, was broken on March 9th 1885 with the death, at the age of 72, of the greatly loved, trusted and respected Matthew Ellison Hadfield. Not only had Mr. Hadfield selected the site of the original school-chapel and the subsequent church but he had also masterminded the successive designs of both buildings, overseeing on behalf of Fr. Scully the complete building of the former from its foundations and following this, in 1856, with a similar service to Fr. Burke in the building of the present church. He had been a stalwart in helping to pilot the new missioners through the initial stormy waters into which they had sailed in Sheffield and, in the following years, had kept a guardian eye on the various developments of the Mission, being, moreover, a generous subscriber to the appeals which these developments entailed. His remains were laid to rest in St. Michael's cemetery on the 12th of March 1885.

The death is also recorded on December 4th of the same year, at the age of 58, of Fr. M. Mullen, who had served the parish as a local missioner. Fr. Mullen, so far as can be ascertained, is believed to have moved to Sheffield as a resident in 1877 at roughly the same time as Father Martin Quish (1875) and Father Simon Donovan (1879).

Farewell to Fr. John Myers

The year 1886 saw the final return to Ireland to take over in September as Spiritual Director at Maynooth College, of Fr. Myers who, as our writings have tried to show, played such a vitally important part in the early work of the parish, particularly among the children and orphans throughout Sheffield. On Father Myers' return to Ireland it is recalled by Aloysius O'Neill that the Spiritual Directorship of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S., which Fr. Myers had held since 1864, was now inherited by Fr. Patrick McNamara who had come to St. Vincent's in September 1886. Fr. Myers remained at Maynooth for ten more years and died there in 1896. The vacancy left by Fr. Myers' departure in 1886 was filled by the arrival together at Solly Street of Frs. Joseph Cussen (until 1890) and Patrick MacNamara.

1887/1889

In 1887, Fr. Eugene Gavin arrived to start his service at St. Vincent's, a service which was to span an unbroken 20 years. His arrival coincided with the foundation of the Sacred Heart Association of which he became spiritual Director at the outset and remained in that important post in the parish life until he returned to St. Peter's, Phibsborough, early in 1908. Also in 1887, the "school" at St. Joseph's was divided into mixed and infants departments with Sister Louise Ennis and Miss Langton as respective Head Teachers, and the Howard Hill "Home" was finally registered and certificated under the Industrial Schools Act.

On November 1st 1887, the death occurred of Fr. Patrick McNamara at the age of 30. In Fr. McNamara's case, history records that he died in Sheffield from smallpox. At the time of his demise he was Chaplain to St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. and he is laid to rest at Rivelin. A new arrival at St. Vincent's in August 1888 was Fr. John Brady. He was to remain in Sheffield for a period of eight years, including five years as Rector of the parish, until 1896.

The year 1889 was also a saddening one in the local history witnessing as it did, the deaths of three of the priests who had played important parts in the origins and developments of St.Vincent's parish. Fr. Michael Gleeson died on March 22nd at the age of 63. As already recorded, the popular Fr. Gleeson had joined the new Mission in 1854 until his departure for the Crimean War areas whence he sent a large portion of his military pay to the fund for the building of the new church. The Very Rev. Fr. James Potter, who had taken over the Rectorship five years earlier, died on Oct 1st aged 51 and Fr. James Kelly, one of the original little group to found the new Mission, died at the age of 70 on November 27th, coincidentally the 36th anniversary of the first Holy Mass to be celebrated in the new parish.

A Fr. Edmund Corcoran, referred to in Dr. Evinson's book as resident at St. Vincent's 1889/1890 was almost certainly a short-term Missioner - guest seconded to the House for Missions and Retreat duties to places in the North of England, a practice which became common during the history of the Sheffield parish.

Founding of the Ladies of Charity

However, all was not unrelieved gloom in 1889, as earlier in the year on March 3rd, Fr. Potter had the happiness and blessing of founding in the parish an association which still survives doing great charitable work among the poor, the lonely and the needy. This was and is the Ladies Association of Charity, a ladies' equivalent in works and objectives to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and able particularly among the needy women and girls, to perform works beyond the scope of mere men. The first President of the Ladies Association was Lady Margaret Howard, sister of the Duke of Norfolk. Later in the same year another lady, whose works and influence on the life of St. Vincent's through the Ladies Association and many other media, were to have far-reaching effects over the next forty years, was received into the Church. A daughter of the famous Walsh family she was Mrs. Clara Benson, whose name and works will become notable in later writings in the history.

A New School for St. Joseph's

Most historic of all in 1889 was the opening of the former St. Joseph's School at Howard Hill in May. The limited accommodation of the small schoolroom adjoining St. Joseph's Chapel had soon been overtaxed by the numbers of children seeking education from the Crookes and Walkley areas and it soon became apparent that expansion of the schooling facilities was very necessary. Prompted by Sister Magdalen (Weld), an associate at Howard Hill of Sister Stephanie, a purchase was made of two fields on sloping ground immediately opposite the Home and chapel and, with a large part of the cost defrayed by Sister Magdalen's own family, added to donations from other notabilities and not least from parishioners, work had commenced on building the school as we knew it. The opening of the school itself on May 23rd 1889, was carried out with grand ceremonial with Solemn High Mass celebrated in St. Joseph's Chapel by His Lordship the Bishop of Salford, Bishop (later Cardinal) Vaughan, in the presence of a great concourse of people including all the parish societies and associations, with the Duke of Norfolk as the chief guest of honour.

The gap left by the tragic death of Fr. Potter as parish priest was filled before the end of the year by Fr. Martin Quish who carried the mantle of Rectorship of the parish for the next two years

CHAPTER 16

The 1890's

A Memorial in marble

The new decade was only two weeks old when the death occurred on Jan 14th of Fr. Patrick Duff at the age of 72. His survival to this good age was, of itself, remarkable since, after his two years of arduous service in the new Mission from 1856 to 1858, which included bursary duties gathering and controlling funds for the building of the new church, he had been obliged to return to Ireland a very sick man. So was severed another of the links with the early years.

In company with his predecessors and many of his successors, the name of Father Duff was to be preserved for posterity before the close of 1890, graven in a marble tablet which was bought and erected by the parishioners "to commemorate the services of zealous and devoted Vincentian Fathers and as a tribute to the late Very Rev. J. Potter C.M." listing the names of "deceased Vincentian Fathers who have laboured in this Church and Mission". Recording of the demises of the various priests who served St. Vincent's since its foundation was continued until 1928 and this historic tablet remains intact in the church high upon the east wall above the baptistry.

Fr. Joseph Cussen left Sheffield in 1890 after four years service but the parish's numerical strength very soon after was enhanced by the arrival of no les than three priests - 29 years old Fr. Michael Kiernan and two younger priests, ordained earlier in the year - 26 years old Fr. Michael O'Farrell and 24 years old Fr. Maurice O'Reilly.

Changes at St. Joseph's school

About the early 1890's, Sister Louise (Ennis) gave up the Headship of St. Joseph's Mixed School due to failing health and was succeeded by Sister Mary (Hickey) who, in turn, was succeeded by Miss A.Wildman from 1895 to 1897. Miss Wildman left in 1897 to join the Sisters of Charity and her place was taken by Sister Gabriel (Harrington) for one year until, in 1898, Sister Agnes (Haigh) took charge of the Howard Hill School.

Another purchase in Solly Street

In 1890, the property situated in Solly Street at the east side of "the gennel" known as Norris's Joinery Shop, came up for sale and was purchased by the clergy. This property adjoined the West side of the boys school yard, a former court which was now known officially as St. Vincent's Place. The first development by the parish of the former Joiner's Shop took the form of a conversion to three cottages with the rents payable to the priests but, shortly, this was to prove a financial liability rather than an asset, presumably because the occupants would not pay their rents, and, in 1891, the cottages were evacuated and were re-adapted as a Parish Refreshment and Recreation Hall, and subsequently became the Reception Class for incoming Infants.

Changes at the Presbytery

In 1891, Fr. Quish vacated his Rectorship and returned to Ireland, being succeeded in the position by Fr. John Brady for the next five years.

Two of the young 1890 arrivals at Solly Street, Frs. Kiernan and O'Reilly, left in 1892 and were replaced by Fr. James Dunphy (who served St. Vincent's for nine years until 1901) and Fr. Martin Nolan who, according to Dr. Evinson's records, remained until 1894.

A quiet arrival at Solly Street in 1892 was that of lay-brother, Michael Murphy C.M. who, for the next 39 years, devoted himself to the domestic care of the Vincentian priests within the Community of the presbytery for the remainder of his earthly life.

The First Parish Hall

Since its foundation in 1854, the members of the C.Y.M.S. had held their meetings, without any social amenities, in the school rooms, and the newly-developed Recreation Hall, which, although an amenity for all the parishioners, soon became, with the blessing of the clergy, the rendezvous for the C.Y.M.S. members. A subscription share list was started among them to buy the property from the priests. This objective was never achieved but was the origin of the idea of a C.Y.M.S.Club. Even for their short-lived social activities in the recreation Hall a member-steward, Mr. Jim Gerrard, was appointed and, after a short time in this position, Mr. Gerrard was succeeded by Mr. Jim Moran. Very shortly afterwards, after further conversion, the property, vacated as a parish Hall, was to become St. Vincent's Infants' School, the accommodation in the original school in White Croft having, by this time, become overburdened by the numbers of girls and infants.

The founding of the C.Y.M.S Club

Following the departure of the Sisters of Charity in January 1864 for their larger house at No. 222 Solly Street, their original house at No. 151 had been rented out by the clergy and became St. George's Liberal Club. By 1892, the Liberals had vacated the premises, which had been put up for sale. Encouraged by the limited funds accruing from the subscription shares started in the previous year, two of the C.Y.M.S. stalwarts, Tom Hogan and Philip Fagan, managed to obtain a key, went in and found a relict balance sheet showing how a licensed Club was conducted. Despite their misgivings about approaching Fr. Brady for permission and encouragement to convert the empty house into club-premises, they were prompted by the then C.Y.M.S. Chaplain, the 26-year old Fr. Maurice O'Reilly, to make the approach. Fr. O'Reilly, newly-ordained, had come to Solly Street in 1890. Eventually, they received Fr. Brady's consent and his agreement to let the place to them on rental with the proviso that Tom and Philip made themselves responsible for the good conduct of affairs. They lost no time in cleaning down the interior of the house with the help of other members, acquired two billiards tables which were set up in the upstairs rooms and took in hand social arrangements. It is not certain whether these included a licensed bar but the refurbished No. 151 was the first exclusive club for C.Y.M.S. members and the club was opened, apparently without much formality, in 1892 with Tom Hogan as President, Philip Fagan as Treasurer and Jim Moran as steward and caretaker. An agreed rent was paid by the C.Y.M.S. Committee to the Parish Priest for the use of the premises and the Branch was maintained there until November 1896.

On August 8th of that year, the death is recorded of Fr. Francis McNulty at the age of 64. Fr. McNulty had served as a missioner in the parish first in 1868 and returned later, under Fr. Potter for a further two years from 1885 to 1887.

The Sacred Heart Chapel

The year 1892 also witnessed a historic and very beautiful addition to the church's decor when the Foster family caused to be built, at a cost of over £2,000.00, beside the South (Lady Chapel) aisle, a sacred Heart chapel and altar complete with its own stained glass windows. The chapel was completely furnished for the celebration of Holy Mass and this wonderful gift is commemorated by a simple plaque set into the chapel wall bearing the inscription - "In your charity Remember at the Altar the Souls of George Harvey Foster and Mary Ann Foster who erected this chapel to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the year 1892 and were also most generous benefactors of St. Vincent's church and Mission. May they Rest in Peace. Amen"

Brother John Bradley born 1822, vows 1848, who accompanied Fr. Burke to found the parish, died in 1892 and was buried in Cork.

1893 - 1895

Perhaps the most significant record for 1893 in the parish concerned the departure of just one Vincentian Missioner and the arrival from Ireland of two.

Fr. Michael O'Farrell left Solly Street after three years of service to the parish and was destined for higher office on the other side of the world ending as Bishop of Bathurst in Australia where he died and was buried in 1928.

The year saw the arrival in Sheffield of Fr. Martin Whitty, aged 34, one year after his ordination, for his first four years of service to St. Vincent's until 1897. Fr. Whitty returned for a further two years from 1909 to 1911 and died in Sheffield on April 22nd of that year. He is interred at Rivelin Cemetery.

Fr. James Hanley also came to Sheffield about the same time as Fr. Whitty, served three years "in the ranks" in Sheffield before assuming the mantle of Rector which he carried with distinction for 10 years before his departure in 1906. Fr. Hanley was also destined to go far in his calling, being recorded as having died in 1920 in Sydney, Australia, where he is buried.

An update on the Parish C.Y.M.S.

The Report of the C.Y.M.S. National Conference held at Liverpool in 1894 throws a little more light on the development of St. Vincent's Branch, under the Spiritual Directorship of Fr. J. C. Dunphy, who served St. Vincent's from 1892 to 1901, after his ordination in 1889. The Report states that the Branch numbered 150 members and 6 Guilds. "Meetings are held in the Boys' schoolroom every Sunday night. There is a club attached to the Society which provides billiards, draughts, chess, cricket and football". The Branch delegates at this Conference were Dan O'Neill, Jim Moran and Tom Hogan. Dan merits a special mention in the Conference Report as being one of the few if not the only survivor of those men first enlisted by Dr. O'Brien into St. Vincent's Branch of the Society on Tuesday May 9th 1854.

The Fosters R.I.P

On August 8th 1894, George Harvey Foster died at the age of 67 and, within twelve months of his death, his wife Mary Ann 62 years old, also passed to her eternal reward on August 8th 1895. The magnificent benefactions which both had bestowed upon the Vincentian Mission have already been recorded in detail in these writings and both were laid to rest at Rivelin cemetery close to the chapel which they had built in 1877. The activities and growth of St. Vincent's Branch of the C.Y.M.S. lead us into the closing years of the 19th century with the Mission now well rooted for 42 years and the parish branch of the Society only six months younger.

1896/97. The C.Y.M.S. Branches out

In 1896, Spencers Iron Works and yard which stood between the north side of the church and Solly Street came up for sale and was purchased by the clergy in September. At Fr. Brady's suggestion to Tom Hogan that the old ironworks premises could be used as a club, instead of paying the heavy rent at No. 151, the C.Y.M.S. accepted, taking over the entire building. Obviously, some hard and dedicated work was performed on the empty factory premises during the next few weeks to make it a club worthy of the Society's No. 1 branch. Tom Hogan, Philip Fagan and Jim Moran joined forces to buy a new billiards table, chairs and other furniture and the club was formally opened with due ceremony by the Duke of Norfolk on November 2nd 1896 with Fr. Dunphy as Spiritual Director, Tom as President, Jim Moran as Vice-President, Philip as Treasurer, Jim Ford as Secretary and John O'Hara as Steward. Notable among those providing entertainment fit for the occasion was the Band of the Connaught Rangers from Hillsborough Barracks whose C.O., Colonel Brookes, was one of the principal guests along with "Messrs. Walsh, Baines, Barnascone many doctors and prominent citizens". The entire ceremony was presided over by Fr. John Hanley who, earlier in the year, had succeeded to the Rectorship on the departure of Fr. Brady. Inevitably, the Duke of Norfolk made a generous donation to the expenses involved for the occasion.

Yet one more chapter in the history of No. 151 Solly Street resulted directly from the move of the C.Y.M.S. members in 1896. After being vacated by the Branch, this original house in Sheffield of the Sisters of Charity now became St. Luke's Church Army Labour Home for the unemployed until 1909 and the neighbouring house No.149, eventually to become St. Vincent's Catholic Repository, was adapted as the Church Army Lodging House.

As a result of the work involved in establishing the new club and the immediate surroundings, the Boys' school which by this time had been divided into Senior and Junior sections, now enjoyed the benefit of a large school playground behind the club and adjoining the school. Two more of the "old school" of Sheffield Vincentians passed away in 1896. Fr. J. Myers, quite literally the first "Sheffield Vincentian" having taken his final vows here in 1864, died at Maynooth on April 9th aged 66 and Fr. P. McKenna, one of the earliest itinerant Missioners who was eventually based in Garden Street, died on November 9th at the age of 67.

The parish in 1896 welcomed only one new Missioner, the newly-ordained Fr. Thomas Kickham who, on this occasion, remained for only one year but was to return in 19107 for a further four years service to St. Vincent's. After handing over the Rectorship to Fr. Hanley in 1896, Fr. Brady returned to the ranks at St. Vincent's in 1897 and was to remain serving the parish for a further nine years until 1906.

Other Missioners arriving in 1897 were Fr. James Rooney (for four years) and Fr. Maurice Cotter for a single year. Both were to return to Solly Street for further service during the first decade of the new (20th) century.

December 1897 saw the passing also of the greatly-loved Sister Stephanie Crawford. Her successor as Superioress at Howard Hill was Sister Magdalen Weld whose family had been largely responsible for financing the building of St. Joseph's School opened eight years previously. Sister Stephanie's 37 years of devoted labour as Superioress of the Sisters of Charity in Sheffield had left their marks on practically every aspect of Catholic life and education throughout the city.

The 1898 Conference

St. Vincent's had been chosen as the venue of the 1898 National Conference of the C.Y.M.S., the first Conference of the Society having been held here in 1859. In the preparations for the latest Conference, extensive and important improvements were undertaken on the club-premises and its amenities. The work was subsidised and largely carried out by the company of John Walsh & Sons in the complete fitting of linoleum floor covering throughout the club. One hundred new chairs, plus special chairs for the smoking room, were purchased from the sale of effects of the George's Hotel. With a membership now at 280, Philip Fagan offered to buy another billiards table and Fr. Dunphy, Tom Hogan and Chris O'Reilly, (a local first-class billiards player), went to Manchester to buy the table from Ormes. In addition to the Branch officers already listed, a special Committee was formed to take on the responsibilities for the organisation and arrangement of the Conference and included Aloysius O'Neill, Edward Finnigan, D. Wiseman, Denis Neylan, Jimmy Lodge, Louis Swift, Ted Maher, T. Pardon and Jimmy Dunn.

When the three-day Conference took place on July 30th to August 1st, present again as a delegate for St. Vincent's was Dan O'Neill, by now the last surviving member of the first C.Y.M.S. recruited in 1854. Dan had been an active and lifelong member of the Branch from that first day and this merited another special mention in the Conference report.

The Foster Shield

A direct result of the improvement to the club amenities was the gift by the Foster family in 1898 of a sterling silver shield trophy to be competed for annually by the club members at billiards. This was yet a further memorial to the late George Harvey Foster and Mary Ann Foster and the competition for this trophy, named the Foster Shield, first played in the year of its presentation, continued for over 95 years and there remained among the club members great rivalry to compete for and to win this historic trophy.

John Denham, Virtuoso

Another important chapter in the history of St Vincent's choir and musical society began in 1898 with the arrival as parish organist and choral major-domo of 40-years old Mr. John Denham. A brilliant musician, who was ultimately invited by King Edward VII to be Honorary Professor of the Royal College of Music, John had started his public career as organist in 1872 at St. William's, Darlington at the age of 14 years. Nine years later he became organist at the Benedictine Monastery in Coventry which he left after four years to become private organist to the Marquis of Bute where he remained for ten years until 1895. His final appointment before coming to Sheffield was for a period of three years at St Mary's, Croydon. He was to remain at St. Vincent's, the keystone of the parish's choral and general musical development, until his retirement in August 1937 after 39 years of devoted service, during which the firm foundations laid by Fr. Gaynor in the 1880's were built upon so well and truly that the name of St. Vincent's for its choir, its musical society and (later) its operatic society, became known and admired over a wide area. Apart from his brilliance at the keyboards of both organ and piano and his ability par excellence as a choral musical director, who went to infinite pains to bring out the best in the voices of his choir, men and boys, John was also an extremely gifted composer of masses, motets and hymns, the compiler of the parish hymnal and, not least, a virtuoso exponent on the mandolin. Some of his masses were sung in St. Vincent's church and his memory is also imperishably preserved in the singing at the processional entry to every Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Vincent's of a hymn which, words and music, was entirely his own work - "At hour of silent midnight". He also became, through the years, a regular and expert accompanist at the increasingly numerous social events in the C.Y.M.S. club and parish musical events and, of course, an absorbing exponent of solo recitals on the piano and the church organ.

A New Lady Aisle

From the building of the church in 1856, it had been separated from Solly Street by buildings abutting on the north side wall, a passageway leading to Spencer's yard gate, the metal foundry itself, an open works yard separating the works from Spencer's offices on the upper floor and the warehouse and despatch department on the ground floor. It was the latter building, upper and lower floors, which was taken over as the C.Y.M.S. club in 1896. Two years later, thanks to a magnificent donation of £3,000.00 from Mr. John Walsh, work was started on the demolition of the abutting buildings and the laying out of the site we now know as the Lady aisle. The June 11th 1898 edition of 'The Builder' page 571 reports - "Proposed New Aisle, St. Vincent's Church, Sheffield. It is proposed to erect a new aisle in connection with St Vincent's Roman Catholic Church. Plans for the erection of the new aisle have been prepared by Mr. Charles Hadfield and it is anticipated that the work will cost about £3,000.00". The plans included the enlargement of the school playground on Spencer's old works yard and the construction of a wide slopeway leading from the top school yard adjoining the main church entrance down to the Solly Street gates. The area to the East side of the gates was now occupied by what was known as the Croft Board School for boys, girls and infants with their two playgrounds adjoining Baker's Lane. This school had followed in the wake of the demolition of the old Ragged School in Baker's Yard and the main part of the Board school still endures, externally at least, and in the course of time was to play its own part in the later parish history.

Work proceeded apace on the building of the 22 feet wide north aisle whilst, at the same time on the other side of the church, an organ chamber was being built behind the south (Lady Chapel) altar. Up to the provision of this special place for the organ, the instrument had been located at the north (gospel) side of the high altar actually on the main chancel adjacent to what is now the direct access door from the new sacristy to the chancel. Shortly after work on the new aisle commenced, the parish bade "au revoir" in 1898 to Fr. Thomas Cotter and "welcome back" to Fr. Quish, the former Parish Priest, accompanied by Fr. John Kelly. They were the last two Vincentians to come to Sheffield before the turn of the century. On this occasion, Fr. Quish remained as an assistant priest until 1903 and Fr. Kelly stayed for only one year but returned in 1907 for a further two years service with the Sheffield Community.

A new heating system for the church was also installed at the same time underneath the new aisle and slope. This subterranean part of the building soon became known to St. Vincent's scholars as "the underground" and gave direct access from the boys' playground by a cavernous route to the old and small playground behind the original school now entirely occupied by the girls.

In 1899, before the completion of the north aisle, a new set of marble-topped moulded stone altar rails was installed to enclose completely the main chancel and the north and south transepts, replacing the original wooden rails. This decorative surround of the three main altars remained a distinctive feature of the church for the next 97 years.

The new aisle with its own entrance door at the top of the newly-constructed slopeway was opened officially on September 10th 1899 by His Lordship the Bishop of Achoury, Dr. John Lyster, D.D. and, for the occasion, the whole church was resplendent not only with the gift of the new aisle but complete throughout with new oak benches for all three aisles, a further gift from the Walsh family. The generosity of Mr. John Walsh in the construction of the new aisle was commemorated by a silver plaque on the interior north wall bearing the inscription "John Walsh, R.I.P. In grateful memory of the magnificent donation towards the erection of this aisle". The September 15th 1899 edition of 'The Building News' records - "St Vincent's Roman Catholic church in Solly Street, Sheffield which was begun in 1856, has just been completed by the erection of a "South" (this is wrong and should read "North") aisle 100 feet in length and 22 feet wide. The church has also been re-seated and an altar of St. Joseph erected, the total outlay being about £3,000.00. Messrs. C. & C. M. Hadfield are the architects and Messrs. O'Neill & Sons of the same city the builders. The aisle was formally opened on Sunday last".

Later information confirms the extract quoted above that the new North aisle opened in 1899 was originally St. Joseph's aisle with the St. Joseph's altar installed and surmounted by a large painting of St. Joseph carrying the Infant Christ. The South (later St. Joseph's) aisle remained the Lady aisle, with a large altar, above which was a large statute of the Virgin, the head surrounded by a large halo of 12 gold stars until, in 1912, by which time the new (North) aisle had become the Lady Aisle, the new Lady Altar and Carrara marble statue, which survived until the closure of the church in 1996, were presented by the Barnascone family.

So ended almost half a century of development of "the parish in the Crofts" which had seen "a rookery of old tenements" and a steeply sloping courtyard at the top of White Croft transformed into what was, in time, to be considered one of the most beautiful churches in the whole of Sheffield. Its dominant position was still hidden by a huddle of the Crofts tenements, dwellings and works but was gradually to be revealed as the 20th century progressed.

CHAPTER 17

THE 20th CENTURY

First Decade

The beginning of the new century showed little superficial change in the Crofts area compared with the start of St. Vincent's Mission in 1853. The establishment of the parish and the building of the church with its attendant schools, chapel-of-ease, presbytery and convents had been the root of almost all the structural changes in the area. Although the church itself was built upon a promontory of hills which constituted the Crofts, its prominence and its magnificence, later to be further enhanced, was still largely hidden by the original tiers of slum dwellings, works, pubs and schools. The poverty, aggravated by inevitably increasing populations, was still very much in evidence and, ironically, was only to disappear or at least be lessened, as the inhabitants of the Crofts and their immediate surroundings of streets, lanes and alleys, were ultimately dispersed from the parish to the suburban housing estates in the 1930's. Nevertheless, the relatively more prosperous areas of Crookes, Walkley, Hillsborough and Stannington all showed ample evidence of the extensive spiritual and material influence of the Vincentian Missioners over the previous almost half-century. St. Joseph's chapel, industrial home and school, the Revell Grange chapel at Stannington, the Barracks chapel at Hillsborough and the now independent parish of St. Ann's at Deepcar were all thriving centres of Catholicity which owed much if not all of their vitality to the work of the Vincentian priests and their many lay helpers.

Closer to St. Vincent's, the former Pea Croft became a re-named extension of Solly Street in 1901 and, in the same year the old main Grindlegate, extending from the top of Furnace Hill to West Bar Green, became an extension of Scotland Street although a short spur of alleyway at the West Bar Green end continued to bear the old name of Grindlegate for many years to come.

A New High Altar

In October 1900, a new and very beautiful elaborately-carved white marble altar was presented by the members of the Foster family as yet one more impressive memorial to the late George Harvey Foster and his wife Mary Ann. The Foster altar, which replaced that erected in memory of Fr. Plunkett in 1861, was to be the impressive centrepiece of the church until December 1940 when it was damaged beyond recovery during the air-raid which destroyed so much of the church and its historic appointments.

Founding of Diocesan C.Y.M.S.

1903 witnessed the founding by the Officers of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. in conjunction with other C.Y.M.S. in the Leeds Diocese, of a Diocesan Council of the Society at which all areas and branches of the Society within the See of Leeds were represented.

The Beginnings of the Sacred Heart Parish

Locally, the same year saw the opening on July 19th to a design by C. M. Hadfield, grandson of Matthew Ellison and son of Charles Ellison Hadfield, of the first Sacred Heart School-chapel as a chapel-of-ease served by the Vincentian missioners. Since the end of 1856, most of the Hillsborough and Lower Walkley Catholics had attended their Mass at the Barracks chapel but housing developments and consequent growth of population in the area had necessitated a more spacious place of worship, and a site bounded by the present Forbes Road and Ripley Street was purchased for £1,080.00. Until their development as residential areas, the Hillsborough and Lower Walkley districts were very much suburban and abutting on the countryside. The present Sacred Heart presbytery was, until 1921, occupied by a Mr. John Henry Wilson, Surgeon, and was adjoined by another residence owned and occupied by another surgeon, Mr. Alex Forbes from whom Forbes Road takes its name. Up to that time it was a short cul-de-sac, a spur from Langsett Road, named Storth Road, and ending in open fields.

In that year (1921) however, the two properties were acquired as a residence for Father Robert Joseph Dunford, the newly appointed parish priest. The name of Storth Road was eventually changed to Forbes Road in 1924.

The district at the time (1903) was the responsibility of Fr. Edmund Comerford who did tremendous work in connection with the building and the development of the school-chapel which still serves the Sacred Heart parishioners as a school. Father Edmund Comerford C.M. must have left Sheffield not long after the foundation of the Sacred Heart school-chapel as his name is recorded, in June 1904, as Bursar of St. Vincent's College, Castleknock, in that year's annual College Chronicle and it was a position he was still occupying in 1906.

By the time of its opening, the cost of launching the new parish school-chapel amounted to £3,000.00. The new school was committed to the care of Miss Langton who had been Infants' Head Mistress at St. Joseph's school since 1887. The present Sacred Heart church in Forbes Road of which the foundation stone was laid on July 7th 1935, was completed and opened on March 25th 1936, exactly on the 60th anniversary of the foundation-laying ceremony of the present St. Vincent's Church.

A New Pope - and Saint

Shortly after the achievement of this new landmark in Sheffield's Catholic history, the entire Catholic world was rejoicing in the elevation, on August 4th 1903, of Cardinal Joseph Carto to the dignity of the Church's Supreme Pontiff as Pope (now Saint) Pius Xth, from whose teachings and sanctity the whole Church was to reap benefits and blessings until his death on August 20th 1914. Although 1903 also marked the Golden Jubilee of the founding of the Crofts Mission, the writer has been unable to discover a single reference to any event of celebration to commemorate this historic anniversary of St. Vincent's.

A New Parish for Ecclesall

On November 26th 1904, the foundation store of another small mission church in Ecclesall Road was laid and, on the 8th June in the following year, the Church of St. William designed by Messrs. C. & C. M. Hadfield and accommodating about 100 worshippers was opened. The original church was considerably enlarged by re-designed additions in 1925 and was re-opened on October 20th of that year.

John Walsh R.I.P.

So far as St. Vincent's is concerned, there is very little of historical record between 1903 and 1908. It is recorded that, in 1905, in Southport at the age of 68, Mr. John Walsh, the magnificent benefactor and builder of the Lady Aisle died on June 7th and was buried at St. Michael's Rivelin; Mr. Akern joined the boys' school teaching staff remaining until December 1915; that the Rector, Fr. Hanley returned to Ireland in 1906 and was succeeded by Fr. John Conran; that Mr. Jim McGrady who had already been an outdoor collector for over 26 years, took over in 1907 as chief collector. The same year also marked the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Sisters of Charity in Sheffield, an occasion commemorated by the establishment of a Testimonial Fund, the proceeds of which were devoted to defraying the living and teaching expenses of the nuns at both the parish convents and schools. The influence which the many good daughters of St. Vincent had exerted in those 66 years on the education of Catholic children, on the relief of poverty and in the extension of charity to the needy, sick and distressed of the area could not be measured.

Far away from Sheffield, another important event which was to have marked bearing on the chronicles of St. Vincent's Sheffield history took place on June 24th 1907 in the ordination, at the age of 26, of Fr. Charles Bagnall, whose work in the parish will be recorded in later writings.

Sadly, in 1908, the original church of the Scottish Mission, St. Mary's at Lanark built in 1859, was almost completely destroyed by fire. Only the chancel gable-end wall and large stained glass window survived the conflagration. Rebuilding of the church was commenced very promptly and, happily, the completed new church which still stands was re-opened in 1911.

A Magnificent Marble Pulpit

It is reasonable to assume that the Sheffield church built and opened in 1856 contained a pulpit, since no reference exists to the separate provision at a later date of this important part of the appointments of the church. The pulpit from which the successive Vincentian priests preached their charitable message of faith and hope to the Crofts Catholics was, until 1908, a simple wooden structure situated at the end of the north side of the nave. In 1908, the Ladies Association of Charity, with an eye to the magnificence of the church extensions completed over eight years earlier, organised at the Sheffield Cutlers Hall a grand three-day bazaar on May 7th, 8th and 9th to raise the sum of £200.00 the cost of a new pulpit which the ladies had already commissioned to grace the completed church. The bazaar, a tremendous success, was patronised and visited by Dr. Brindle, Bishop of Nottingham, Bishop Robert Cowgill of Leeds, Lady Mary Howard, sister of the Duke of Norfolk and the incumbent Mistress Cutler, Mrs. H. H. Bedford. The superb new pulpit, still a graceful feature of the church, was made in Italian marble and erected on the site of the old pulpit by the company of J. Alberti of Manchester and was officially blessed and opened by Dr. Brindle on May 22nd 1908. Several years later, probably during the 1914-1918 war, the pulpit was moved to its final position at the south side of the nave, but the original base on which it was erected in 1908 still remained on the opposite side of the church. In sculpted marble, the four corners of the pulpit depict the four evangelists, John, Luke, Mark and Matthew and between these four prominent figures, also in marble-relief, are three panels, the centre one depicting Christ preaching the Sermon on the Mount, the left depicting John the Baptist preaching and the right hand panel showing the figure of St. Vincent de Paul in his work of ministering to the sick and the poor. The elaborately produced programme for the bazaar lists for posterity with their miniature photographs, the members of the Ladies Association responsible for the success of this venture which made a worthy addition to an already lovely church: Mrs. McClory, President, Mrs. Flynn, vice-President, Mrs. H. Barnascone Honorary Secretary, Mrs. Neal, Honorary Treasurer, Mrs. P. J. Benson, Mrs. W. J. Foster, Mrs. Durman, Mrs. Dewsbury, Miss Law, Mrs. Pardon, Mrs.Wordsworth, Miss Langton, Miss Hargitt, Mrs. Blower, Mrs. Yates, Mrs. McFarlane, Mrs. Gilligan and Miss O' Neill.

Fr. James Rooney, spiritual Director of the C.Y.M.S. at the time of the installation of the new pulpit, left the Sheffield Mission later in the year after serving the parish for four years.

The Passing of "Brother Tim"

The parish suffered a great and sad loss on May 26th 1909 by the death at the age of 71, of Brother Timothy O'Donnell (or Brother "Tim" as he had become affectionately known to all the parishioners of St Vincent's and St. Joseph's). He had arrived at Garden Street in 1862 following in the footsteps of Brother John Bradley, the first lay-brother who had accompanied Fr. Burke in 1853. For 47 years, Brother Tim had devoted a full life of service as sacristan of St. Vincent's church. Following his death, the duties of sacristan were taken over by a lady, Miss Mamie Swycher, a lay resident at the Red Hill convent who, so far as can be ascertained, continued to discharge her duties of caring for the church until her departure from Sheffield in 1924. Brother Tim was laid to rest in Rivelin Cemetery and it is a mark of the high esteem in which he and his work were held that, possibly in the same year as his death or, more probably in the following year (1910), the present marble floor of the chancel and its adjoining altars were laid in his memory, a tribute permanently recorded in an inscribed marble inset. "The Marble floor of this chapel is a tribute of many friends to the memory of Brother T. O'Donnell, C.M. 47 years sacristan of this Church on whose soul may Jesus have mercy".

In the summer of 1909, Fr. Charles Bagnall was assigned to duties at the Sheffield Mission, two years after his ordination.

CHAPTER 18

Into Modern Times

Despite the tragic intervention, for more than four years, of the First World War, the second decade of the new century was to witness almost certainly the greatest era of activity and development in St. Vincent's Church and its immediate surroundings since the building of the church in 1856. This decade was to end with the church completed almost as we see it today, allowing, that is, for the subsequent destruction of so much in the 1940 air-raid. Mention has been made in the previous chapter regarding the marble altar flooring in memory of Brother Tim O'Donnell and in the spring of 1910, work was commenced on the building of new sacristries at the East end of the new North aisle.

The New Sacristies Completed

In the month before this work was completed, news was received of the death, at the age of 91, of Fr. Cornelius Hickey, the second parish priest, whose lengthy service to St. Vincent's has been earlier recorded. On Sunday June 5th 1910, the completed new sacristies consisting of a two-storey building in stone, with the priests' vestry at church level and a lower sacristy used for vesting by the choir members and altar servers, were officially opened. The sacristies had been built from funds collected by the Ladies Association of Charity and were completely furnished, walls and floors included, in solid oak at the sole expense of Mr. Walter John Walsh, son of the original John Walsh who died in 1905, a gift acknowledged by a small illuminated parchment script set into the upper sacristy wall below the clock. Access from the outside to the lower sacristies was by a door from the lower end of the slopeway constructed in 1898 as part of the building of the new (North) aisle. From the two lower sacristies a wooden stairway, immediately to the left of the entrance door led the choir and mass servers up to the vestry (the main sacristy), the eastern wall of which was almost completely taken up with a vesting press, about 18 feet in length, the large shallow drawers of which contained all the various vestments, altar linens et cetera required for even the most formal of church ceremonies. The north and south walls of the vestry were mainly taken up with tall narrow cupboards, individually named for the priests, to store their personal belongings (cassocks, surplices, birettas etc). This main sacristy gave access to the church itself through an arched double-doorway opening onto the eastern end of the north aisle, leading to the main chancel by way, outside the altar rails, around the new north aisle altar.

And a New Organ

At the same ceremony, a new two-manual foot-pedal pipe organ built by Norman and Beard Ltd of Norwich, was also officially opened. Half the cost of the new organ had been paid by the Carnegie Foundation, the balance being met by many public subscriptions. The opening ceremonies were marked by a solemn choral High Mass at 11.15 a.m., the full choir of 50 men and boys, to the accompaniment of the new organ, filling the church with the sounds of plain chant and Haydn's Mass No. 1. This was followed by a John Denham organ recital at the evening devotions, consisting of a solemn procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the accompaniment of sacred music concluding with solemn Benediction. At both of these ceremonies the guest preacher was Dr M. Antonius Keane, O.P. The installation of the new organ at the chancel end of the south aisle necessitated the re-positioning of the (Lady) altar to a new base about 4/5 feet forward of its original position. The space thus provided not only allowed sufficient room for the organ console and seat but also enough room between the organist's seat and the eastern wall of the chancel to permit the subsequent laying of a short stone stairway leading down to a large basement/cellar (part of the lower original school-chapel) which found use for storing many of the church effects either after being dismantled or no longer in use. It is known that much of the contents of this store-room were very badly damaged in the 1940 explosion. A very spacious area, it extended from below the organ and altar, under the old sacristy (later St. Justin's chapel), to the original border in White Croft in what was the kitchen and cloakroom attached to the 1853 school-chapel.

St. Mary's Lanark Rises Again

Following the tragic destruction by fire of the Vincentian Scottish Mission at Lanark in 1907, a new church of St. Mary's, including only the east gable and high altar of the original 1859 church, was built and was finally opened on September 22nd 1910.

Fr. T. Kickham, who had previously spent one year at St. Vincent's about 1897, returned to Solly Street in 1910, this time for a longer period of service to the Mission, remaining until about 1915.

The Building of the Parish Hall

At the instigation and expense of Mrs. P. J. (Clara) Benson, a daughter of the Walsh family, two properties and a rear courtyard facing the top of Brocco Street, and adjoining No. 151 Solly Street, were acquired and the buildings demolished. On this site, on September 14th 1910, Mrs. Benson laid the foundation of the former Parish Hall. The completed building was integrated with No. 151 (the Sisters of Charity original house) and this part of the premises was designated and used as a girls' club. The entire cost of the project was met by the Benson family. The building and conversion were carried out without delay and the Hall was officially opened at the beginning of December 1910, an occasion commemorated by a small marble plaque on the interior west wall which records "To the generosity of Councillor P. J. Benson and Mrs. P.J. Benson, St. Vincent's Parish is indebted for this Hall and Girls Institute. Date of opening December 1st 1910".

The end of that year also saw work well under way towards finishing the church tower from the height of 40 feet to which it had been raised in 1870 during the Rectorship of the late Fr. Hickey.

Whit Processions

So far, no reference has appeared in these records, due only to the complete absence of any earlier written records on the subject, regarding the traditional Catholic processions on Whit Monday of each year. The absolute origin of these occasions which served both as great social events and as a public witness of the Catholic faith in Sheffield, appears to be lost in time but the writer believes that they extend back as far as the Rectorship of Fr. Burke and are mainly due to the generosity of the Norfolk family, who opened their estate grounds at Norfolk Park for this great annual occasion. In her recollections at the age of 79, an old parishioner, Mrs. Annie Green, who was born in Sheffield in 1850, recalled that at the age of seven (i.e. in 1857) she went as a schoolgirl in procession at Whitsuntide "down West Bar Green, up Snig Hill, on to the Moor, Duke Street and so to the Park" with the St. Vincent's school children. The writer has been fortunate to acquire a programme (price one penny) detailing the arrangements of procession etc. for the Whitsuntide of 1911, involving the parishes, in order of procession, of St. Vincent's, Sacred Heart, St. Joseph's, St. Wilfrid's and St. Marie's, with St. Catherine's and St. Charles processing to the park by a separate route. It is worth recording in detail some of the information contained in the programme since, at the time of writing, some of the names will still be familiar to our senior parishioners and to those now scattered to the suburbs of Sheffield.

"The 1911 Procession Committee for St. Vincent's (including the chapels-of-ease of St. Joseph's and the Sacred Heart) were Fr. P. J. Dowling, Chairman, Mr. Hugh B. Slavin, Hon. Secretary, Mr. P.J. Benson, Aloysius O'Neill, J. Molloy, Tom Hogan, Philip Fagan, C. Ketterer, J. Flynn, Jim McGrady and P. Horan.

"The Procession at 10.45 a.m. from Solly Street was led by very Rev. John Conran, Frs. Dowling, R. Jones, Hullen, Kickham, J. Wigmore, J.Murray, J. McDonnell and C. H. Bagnall. Then followed the children of St. Vincent's Schools, a total of 1,130 on the rolls, including 392 from the girls' school and 381 from the infants' school, the remaining 357 comprising the senior and junior Boys' Schools.

"Senior Boys Head Teacher, J, Podmore, Assistants, T. Baston, N. Akern, P. Keating.

"Junior Boys: Head Teacher, Sister Gabriel, Assistants, Misses F. Selkirk, H. Selkirk, Stephens.

"Girls: Head Teacher, Sister Teresa, Assistants, Sister Gertrude, Misses McCarthy, Kavanagh, O'Reilly, Brennan, Hinsley, Griffin and Flynn.

"Infants: Head Teacher, Sister Winifride, Assistants, Misses Murphy, Rooke, Nott, Tracey, Griffin and Lanigan.

"Next came the Sacred Heart mixed schools, numbering 243 children under the guidance of their Head, Mr. Hugh Slavin and his assistants, Misses N. F. Moynihan, C. Smith, K. Ryan, A. Dearlow, W. Walker and M. Heaney, with the rearguard of this contingent brought up by the 260 children on the rolls of St. Joseph's mixed schools with their Head Teacher, Sister Louise and assistants Misses O'Shea, Herbert, Cleary, Warren, Dale and Brady and the 90 St. Joseph's infant scholars shepherded by Head Teacher Miss Helen Brown and Assistant, Sister Martha. Interspersed in the magnificent procession were the brass and drum and fife bands, the colourful banners of saints and schools and the many societies taking part in the walks and, probably most colourful of all, several brilliantly-dressed and decorated tableaux arranged on wheeled drays drawn by magnificently turned-out horses loaned free for the occasion by various generous local businessmen, builders, breweries, haulage dealers and others, all making for a splendid sight in a final concourse entering Norfolk Park in a procession more than two miles long."

One Vincentian sadly absent from this occasion was Fr Martin J. Whitty who, after his initial work at Solly Street from 1893 to 1895, returned to the parish once more in 1909 and, at the age of 52, died in Sheffield on April 22nd 1911. Page 3 of that year's Whitsuntide programme carries a memorial photograph a tribute to Fr. Whitty alongside a beautiful poem which he had written on the Blessed Trinity entitled "The Voice of the Shamrock". He is buried at Rivelin Cemetery.

A further great occasion for the children of the schools was their participation in a Grand Rally of all Sheffield schoolchildren at the Sheffield United football ground in celebration of the Coronation of King George V.

Welcome the Carmelites

About the same time too, the former orphanage and naval boys' training establishment at Kirk Edge, which had lain empty and desolate since 1887, found its real and probably most meritorious purpose when, in 1911, at the suggestion of a Notting Hill Carmelite nun, sister of the Duke of Norfolk, whose forbears had built the original edifice, the Carmelite nuns, on Sunday July 16th, established there their third English house and convent which remains up to the present day despite the isolation, rigours and hardships of the area. The first Mass celebrated in the new Carmel chapel was served by two St. Vincents' boys, Hugh and Bernard O'Neill, sons of Aloysius and grandsons of Dan.

The Tower Completed

By October of 1911, St. Vincent's church tower was completed by virtue of a magnificent donation of £1,400 by Mr. Philip Wake. It had been Mr. Wake's intention to provide the church with a peal of bells similar to those of St. Marie's but realising that such bells could not be housed in the tower as it then was, he opted instead for the completion of the tower, based in design upon the Norman tower of the French town of Domray, to its present height. At a ticket- only ceremony (tickets were priced at half-a-crown, one shilling, and six-pence) the tower was blessed and opened on Sunday October 28th 1911 by Cardinal Logue with Bishop Robert Cowgill of Leeds celebrating Pontifical High Mass to mark the occasion in the presence of the Wake family and His Grace the Duke of Norfolk.. The Rev. Fr. Hilary C.P. preached during the Mass and the parish Priest, Very Rev. Fr. Conran used the occasion to issue a handbill of appeal for funds for a suitable bell for the new tower. This important event is marked by an inside plaque at the foot of the tower which records: "The Completion of this Tower due to the generosity of Philip K. Wake, Esq., was blessed by His Eminence, Cardinal Logue, Primate of All Ireland, October 28th 1911". A quote from the trade publication "The Builder" edition of September 13th 1912 records on Page 313 - "New Tower, St. Vincent's Church, Sheffield. The tower of this church shown in our illustration (P.314) has been completed at the cost of a benefactor of the parish, the opening ceremony being performed on October 28th last, in the presence of His Eminence, Cardinal Logue.

The church, which is situated in the slum quarter of Sheffield stands on the summit of rising ground and the position of the tower, as seen from distant parts of the city, is a very commanding one.

It was originally opened in 1856 and the north aisle was added in 1898. The lower part of the tower was built in 1870. Its dimensions are width 22 ft square at belfry level and height from ground to the top of the parapet 93 ft. The architects of the whole of the works described have been the late Mr. M. E. Hadifield and Messrs. C. & C. M. Hadfield. The contractors for the recently finished tower were Messrs. D. O'Neill & Sons".

The above report is accompanied on Page 313 by a plan drawing, as seen from above, of the church at the time and the following page (314) carries an excellent photograph of the new tower taken from the White Croft end of Baker's Lane, showing also the entire south wall of the church and girls' school, including the original entrance to the White Croft school-chapel

One of the most vivid memories of those who witnessed the preludes to the opening of the tower was the sight of both sides of Solly Street and the church slopeway lined up to the main west door of the church, by C.Y.M.S. members, complete in sashes and regalia, forming a guard of honour from St. Vincent's presbytery. The first procession from the House was that of the Bishop of Leeds followed shortly by the procession of Cardinal Logue and his retinue, both these senior prelates resplendent in their ceremonial robes. Assisting at the ceremonies was a new priest, to St. Vincent's Mission, Fr. J. Henry, who remained at Sheffield for three years before his departure for wider fields in the U.S.A. on December 13th 1914.

The Rise (and Fall) of the Tower Bell

The appeal made by Fr. Conran met with a ready and quick response with the result that on Easter Sunday, April 14th 1912, a 25 cwt. bell costing £350.00 raised by public subscriptions, was blessed by Bishop Cowgill and raised into the new tower. The bell had its own historic beginnings, being cast in the same foundry of the old-established (1573) company of Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel Road, London which had seen the casting of Big Ben and the eight bell peal of St. Marie's church among other famous bells. The occasion of the raising of St. Vincent's bell was again marked by Solemn High Mass at which the guest preacher was Fr. Brampton, S. J. From its installation until the late 1970's the bell could be heard over a radius of many miles summoning the faithful to the daily Masses, the several Sunday Masses, ringing the Angelus at mid-day and 6 p.m., intoning the moments of High Mass Consecration, welcoming visiting prelates and high dignitaries to many solemn and splendid occasions, adding a joyful note often to nuptial ceremonies and often, in a muted tone, bidding a solemn requiem farewell to the departed.

Sadly, in the early 1970's, by which time general use of the bell had severely declined it was decided, in order to combat the depredations of the local pigeons which previously had been deterred by the bell's regular tolling, to board-up most of the belfry arch-openings and gradually thereafter the sound of the bell became muted until in the early 1980's it finally fell into unused silence.

The Holy Shop

Earlier in the second decade of the new century, probably at the time of the building of the parish Hall in 1910, the former Church Army Lodging House at 149 Solly Street had been closed and acquired as an extension of the parish property. Occupied by a parishioner, a bookseller Mr. James Judge, this was the start of St. Vincent's Catholic Repository, soon to become affectionally known as "The Holy Shop", and subsequently in the care of the Hale family, the Sands family and the Gaffney family, all long-established Vincentians.

A New Lady Altar and Statue

The gift, in 1912, by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Barnascone of a new white stone altar, inlaid with coloured marble panels, for use as a Lady altar, occasioned some changes in the old appointments of St. Vincent's Church. From the church's opening, the south aisle had been used as a Lady chapel completed, in May 1861, with its own marble altar and large statute of the Madonna, head surrounded by a large halo of gilt stars which, on special occasions, could be illuminated, each star having its own gas-jet. The new north aisle became, on completion in 1899, St. Joseph's aisle with its own altar depicting in marble inset, the death of St. Joseph. This altar, in the north-east transept adjoining the upper level of the new sacristies, was surmounted by the previously-described painting of St. Joseph. With the presentation of the Barnascone altar, together with a life-size Carrara statue of Our Lady sculpted to fit the central niche of the new altar, the St. Joseph's altar was transferred to its present position in the south-east transept below the 1857 stained glass Assumption window and fronting the new organ chamber. The new Lady altar and statue were installed as they are now and the gift is commemorated very simply by a small marble plaque at the side of the left-hand column of the altar carrying the brief legend "Pray for the donors, Mr. & Mrs. H. Barnascone". Following the installation of the new Madonna, a tradition was established which carried on unbroken for 77 years, of a ceremonial crowning of the statue on the first Sunday of May each year. This coronation, an imposing and moving ceremony, carried out in alternate years by a privileged schoolgirl chosen from St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's Schools, was the culmination of a procession of the May Queen, with train bearers from the infant schools, the crown borne on a velvet cushion by one of the junior boys and a retinue of schoolchildren from both schools, and was carried on until the final closure of St. Vincent's school in July 1989. It has now been established with reasonable certainty that the original Lady Altar found its final home on the main chancel of the Sacred Heart church at Hemsworth, a gift in 1912 to the parish priest there, Fr. Leteux, who had previously served as a much-loved and respected priest among the clergy of Sheffield.

Unfortunately, it has not so far been possible to establish either the origin of St. Joseph's altar or the ultimate fate of the original star-crowned Madonna. It is a sad speculation, and nothing more than that, that the statue may have been stored away in the cellar immediately below the new organ. If that is so, it is unlikely that it could have survived the tremendous blast of the air-mine explosion which destroyed so much of that corner of the church in the 1940 air-raid.

The Start of the Operatic Society

Music has always played a great part in the history of St. Vincent's and another great leap forward in this field was made in 1912 with the foundation by sisters-in-law Mrs. Patrick J. Benson and Mrs. Walter Walsh, of St. Vincent's Operatic Society. Both ladies were accomplished musicians and singers of the time, studying under the tutelage of the famous local music teacher Dr. Coward.

The foundation of the operatic society in 1912 was to bear fruit very soon when, the following year, the Society presented and performed to full houses for an entire week in the new Parish Hall a lavish and highly praised production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado".

Fr. John Hanley R.I.P.

On August 4th 1912, the death occurred at the age of 72, of another former parish priest of St. Vincent's, Fr. John Hanley, who had served the parish for 13 years, including 10 years as Rector until his return to Ireland in September 1906.

From Convent to Lodging House to Boys' Hostel

A combined operation of the St. Vincent de Paul conferences of St. Marie's, St. Vincent's and St. Catherine's parishes inspired by Mr. P. J. Benson resulted, in the early part of 1913, in the former house of the Sisters of Charity at 222 Solly Street being taken over for conversion as a Catholic Boys' Hostel. After the nuns had vacated the house to move to Red Hill in 1878, it had remained as a parish property and, prior to its conversion in 1913, it had been put to good use as a lodging house mainly for itinerant Irish labourers under the careful eye of Mr. Joe Ward who had been for many years and still was at the time Master of Ceremonies at St Vincent's Church. On May 16th 1913 the Hostel was opened by the Bishop of Leeds, Dr. Cowgill and was to serve orphan boys from all the Catholic parishes in Sheffield. Its door, as a Hostel, was opened for the first time to admit 10 homeless boys under the care of the Sisters of Charity and its purpose was to provide not only a refuge for these lads but also training in various trades so that eventually they might find their own way back into normal society. Shortly, the Hostel was extended by the local Catholic builder, Mr. Dan O'Neill, taking in the adjoining properties of Nos. 218 and 220.

C.A.N.I.S.

Another recent development with an office attached to the C.Y.M.S. Club was the Catholic Approved National Insurance Society under the secretaryship of Mr. John Milner, the Secretary of the C.Y.M.S. Branch.

Debt and Slow Redemption

Much of these developments had, at the same time, been a drain on the parish purse and, in mid-1913, Fr. Conran formed a Debt Redemption Fund Committee to try to clear the then deficit of £6,593.00. So diligently was this scheme pursued that, despite inevitably increasing day-by-day and year-by-year expenses, this debt by the end of November 1918 had been reduced to £2,500.00. In spite of this, however, there still remained a further debt of £3,000.00 on the Sacred Heart school-chapel at Hillsborough, which was still the responsibility of the Sheffield Vincentians.

The Birth of "The Vincentian"

March of 1914 was an important month, so far as these annals are concerned, being the month when the parish magazine, "The Vincentian" price one penny, was born under the editorship of Fr. P. J. Dowling. Without the invaluable information, notes and jottings in successive issues of the parish magazine, much of what has been written in these records would not have been possible. The front cover of the new magazine showed beneath a full length photograph of the church interior taken from the west door, that the clergy in residence at the time at Solly Street comprised of the Rector Very Rev. J. Conran and Fathers P. J. Dowling, P. Hullen, N.J. Comerford, Kiernan, J. Henry, J. Murray, P. J. McElligott, T. McCarthy and C. Bagnall.

The earliest issues of the magazine record 56 boys and 58 girls as First Communicants on Feb 8th and 69 boys and 64 girls as First Communicants on Holy Thursday April 9th; the success of the Catholic Ball on Monday February 23rd at the Victoria Hotel raising £100.00 for the Ladies Association of Charity; the presence of Bishop Cowgill at the Whitsuntide gathering in Norfolk Park; the founding in the parish of the Knights of the Blessed Sacrament; the death on August 20th of Pope Pius X after 11 years as Head of the Church and subsequent election on September 3rd of Pope Benedict XV. Of particular interest to the chronicles is that a special billiards cup, presented by and named after Fr. Conran as a one-off competition for C.Y.M.S. members was won on Friday October 23rd by one Dan Cummings who beat, in the final round, Ted Cassinelli by a mere seven points.

The Sacred Heart Statue

Earlier in the year, following a week's childrens' retreat given by Fr. Henry, more than 800 children received Holy Communion on the morning of the final day of the retreat, Saturday March 21st.

Renovation of the Sacred Heart chapel, built by the Foster family in 1892, was completely undertaken in 1914 by a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Henry Barnascone (Mrs. Barnascone was a daughter of George Harvey Foster and Mary Ann Foster) and this benefaction was completed by their presentation of a new statue of the Sacred Heart which still graces this quiet chapel on the south wall of the church. On May 8th 1914, Mr. & Mrs. P. J. Benson were hosts at an official reception in St. Vincent's Hall to visiting African dignitaries in the persons of Prince Joseph of Uganda, Stanislous Mugwonja, Ugandan Regent and Chief Justice and Alexis Sebowa Head Chieftain of Uganda, accompanied by the Right Rev. Dr. Hanlon, Bishop of Uganda.

The End of One Era of Whit Processions

The last Monday of that month was also to be the last occasion on which all the combined Catholic schools were to use Norfolk Park as their rendezvous for the Whitsuntide processions. The Vincentian priests leading their children on this occasion were Fathers Conran, Dowling, Hullen, Kickham, T. J. McCarthy, Bagnall, C. Dineen, P. J. McElligott, J. Henry, J. Murray, N. J. Comerford and N. J. Kiernan. Among the societies represented in the procession were the C.Y.M.S led by their President Jimmy Lodge, Vice President George Lynch, Secretary John Milner and Treasurer Joe Savage; the St. Vincent's Conference of the S.V. de P. with president, Henry Barnascone, Vice-President Tom Hogan and Secretary Hugh Slavin; The Ladies of Charity's President, Mrs H. Barnascone and the Sacred Heart Associations president, Mrs. J. Benson. Happily for all involved, the holocaust of world war was still a few months away and did not spoil the usual happiness of the occasion.

Soon, however, war, though distant, was to embroil the parish and its many active helpers.

On September 22nd 1914 evening classes were instituted at the Boys' Hostel with 18 students, shortly increased to 28, under Mr. Hugh Slavin teaching general studies and a Mr. Podoski teaching shorthand

Shirle Hill - Haven for War Refugees

Two weeks earlier, on September 7th, the S.V. de P., the Ladies of Charity and the London Organisation of the Catholic Womens' League had acquired the use of Shirle Hill House, Sharrow, completely rent free from the trustees of the brewing family, S. H. Ward, as a hostel to accommodate up to 100 Belgian refugees, seeking haven from the war fronts. The house was provided with furniture and beds given by members of local firms and Mrs. McClory volunteered her services, without any reimbursement, as Matron of the Home. The House was (temporarily) re-named St. Vincent's House for Belgian refugees and on September 21st 1914 the first party of 53 bewildered refugees, after being greeted by a cheering crowd of 2,000 people at Sheffield's Midland Station, arrived at the House, to be followed by a further party of 40 on October 3rd. Prominent among the local notable citizens giving their services to this charitable and merciful cause were Henry Barnascone as Committee Secretary, Walter J. Walsh as Treasurer and a leading figure in the local steel industry, Mr. Arthur Balfour, founder of the Sheffield steel company bearing his name. The House was maintained by small and large donations of cash and goods (food, clothes, bedding etc.) given by many, ranging from small children donating pennies to large city firms giving cash or goods to the value of hundreds of pounds. Thus, so early in "the war to end wars", some of the human sufferings which all wars entail, were brought very sharply to the very doorsteps of Sheffield Catholics and the parishioners of St. Vincent's were not slow to help in alleviating the distress with their personal and financial aid.

CHAPTER 19

1915-1919

War and After

With the advent of war, many of the men parishioners of St. Vincent's stepped forward to volunteer themselves for the fighting services and more were to do so as the war progressed. Many of the ladies were not only maintaining their homes and families for the fighting men, but were additionally ready helpers in the voluntary welfare services so essential in wartime. Many women and those men who for various reasons were unable to undertake military service were working in the many ammunitions factories in Sheffield. Apart from the lady parishioners who had volunteered their valuable services for nursing and other duties in the battle areas, there were many more doing great supportive work in their home town as hospital nurses, V.A.D's and public transport workers. Not least, in St. Vincent's parish under the driving force of Clara Benson and Mrs. Walsh were those ladies of all ages making woollen garments and preparing food parcels to be sent wherever they were most needed. So St. Vincent's parishioners at home, though remote in distance from the sounds and horrors of the fighting war, were geared for their own war also in their active concern for those of their fellow parishioners more directly involved in the fighting lines.

On the parish front efforts were made to carry on with as near-normal life as was possible in the circumstances and the Annual General Meeting of the Branch C.Y.M.S. on Feb 17th 1915 saw the election of Harry Pybus as President, supported by the re-election of the previous year's executive officers. The 1915 Foster Shield final saw victory for J. Concannon who beat teacher Tom Baston on Friday March 5th. The same month (shades of Women's Lib) marked the first recorded occasion of ladies being invited to the C.Y.M.S. St. Patrick's Smoking Concert which took place on the Wednesday which marked the Saint's feast day.

March also brought from Ireland the sad news of the death at Blackrock on Thursday the 4th, of Fr. Charles Dineen at the early age of 41. Fr. Dineen had served some two years at the Sheffield Mission and was recalled to Ireland in the autumn of 1914. Two of his colleagues at Solly Street, Fr. James Dunphy and Fr. Stanislaus Power were recorded in May 1915 as chaplains to the armed forces.

St. Patrick's Statue - A Recognition of Faithful Labours

The lifetimes of work already devoted to St. Vincent's in so many fields by Philip Fagan and Tom Hogan earned them remarkable recognition when, on Sunday March 21st 1915, the clergy of St. Vincent's, no doubt with the additional help of those surviving priests now absent from Sheffield but whom Tom and Philip had known, installed in the church a magnificent statue of St. Patrick which was unveiled by Fr. Conran and dedicated to the two stalwarts as a commemoration of, among other services, their 35 years each of duties as church collectors.

The Last Sheffield C.Y.M.S. Conference

High among Tom and Philip's interests was still the activity of the parish branch of the C.Y.M.S. and they were at the forefront in helping to organise what was, sadly, to be the last National Conference of the Society to be held in Sheffield where the English organisation had been born, at St. Vincent's, just over 60 years earlier. Officially designated, for wartime reasons, as a one-day Conference, it was inaugurated on Saturday evening May 22nd 1915 with a concert and reception to delegates in St. Vincent's Hall. The concert programme lists the artistes as Miss Beatrice Guest (Soprano) Miss Aggie Lee (Violinist) Miss Florence Marshall (Elocutionist) Mr Tom Lally (Baritone) and Mr. Charles Flynn (Tenor), the gentlemen singing solos and duets and the whole accompanied on the piano by Mr. John Denham. The following day, Whit-Sunday, saw the opening of the Conference proper with Pontifical High Mass at 11 a.m. celebrated by the Right Rev. Dr. J. Vaughan and an address preached to the delegates by St. Vincent's Branch Chaplain, Fr. P. J. Dowling in the presence of His Grace, the Duke of Norfolk, Chairman of the Conference. The Duke also took the Chair at an evening Catholic Demonstration, addressed by a noted Catholic speaker, Mr. C. E. Chesterton, at the Hippodrome, Cambridge Street to conclude the Conference.

Fresh Fields for the Whit Procession

The following day, Whit Monday May 24th was the occasion of the first Whitsuntide gathering of St. Vincent's, St Joseph's and Sacred Heart schoolchildren at their new destination, St. Vincent's Sports and Recreation Ground at Crosspool. With the onset of war, security reasons had compelled the discontinuation of the use of Norfolk Park as the Whit Monday Catholic rendezvous and, with considerable foresight, a Committee under the chairmanship of Henry Barnascone with Walter Walsh as Treasurer and Patrick Benson as Secretary had sought and found a suitable open site at Crosspool, a large field opposite the Kings Head Hotel and extending a considerable distance in the direction of Ranmoor church. No record has come to light regarding when the ground was actually acquired but it was almost certainly in early September 1914. The August 1914 "Vincentian" makes initial reference to the "Sports Ground at Manchester Road, within easy reach of Fulwood and Crookes tram cars." It also noted a proposal, in connection with the planned use of the new rendezvous, of the possible foundation of "St. Vincent's Sports Club" at a minimum membership subscription of one shilling per year, plus additional subscriptions from playing members in various sections cricket, football, tennis, hockey, rounders, bowls etc. One of the direct results of this project was the formation of a new football club for the members of St. Vincent1s C.Y.M.S. Within two months, more than 400 paying members had been recruited to the new Sports Field project. Henry Barnascone paid the first half-year's rent for the grounds which were initially opened on Easter Monday 1915.

For the whit-Monday occasion, a full programme of childrens' sports events was organised by St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. and St. Vincent's Sports Club members and, despite war time restrictions, some refreshment stalls also plied their wares in the grounds. In the event, it was to prove a literally unique occasion as the Whitsuntide gatherings did not take place any more at Crosspool after 1915 due to lack of organisers since so many parishioners were away at the war or engaged on war work duties. It has been established with certainty, through a retired and now late school teacher, Mr. Patrick McGloin, that the processions had been resumed not later than 1921 after the Duke of Norfolk had again made available a part of his estate, this time at the extensive Farm Grounds, bounded by Granville Road, Farm Road and Norfolk Park Road. In 1919 and 1920 the processions organised for St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's schoolchildren and parishioners returned to their pre-war rendezvous in the grounds of Norfolk park. In 1921, however, they went in procession to use the northern side of the extensive Farm Grounds adjoining Granville Road whilst the St. Marie's schools went in separate procession to the Southern half of the grounds adjoining Farm Road and Norfolk Park Road. Mr. McGloin in that year was not only teaching at St. Marie's School but was also a prominent member of the St. Marie's organising committee under the direction of Mr. Sam Wolfe.

The Boys' Hostel Enlarged

By June of 1915, the combined properties at Nos. 218, 220 and 222 Solly Street had been purchased outright for £1,600 "by the kindly influence of Mr. Philip Wake" and considerable extensions, renovations and refurbishing of the houses were undertaken by the builders, Dan O'Neill and Sons, concluding with the official re-opening of the Boys' Hostel on Thursday December 16th 1915 by the Duchess of Norfolk. The very distinguished gathering at the re-opening ceremony included His Lordship the Bishop of Leeds, His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Sheffield the Master and Mistress Cutler and many other clergy and civic officials. By this time, the Hostel was capable of accommodating 50 boys. The actual numbers in residence, under the care of resident Sisters of Charity, were 26 boys, including 10 Belgian refugees, all the boys engaged in learning a trade or applying themselves in early apprenticeships. Also cared for in the Hostel at the time were seven small boys, aged between 4 and 10 years, whose fathers were in the fighting services and mothers either dead or convicted for gross neglect.

The Parish Cinema

Among the diverting entertainments enjoyed by the Hostel children as well as many of the parishioners at the time were the films which, by the end of 1915, were being shown in the parish. The Parish Hall had been adapted as a Picture Hall for showing, on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, the silent films of the time, complete with appropriate piano accompaniment. On all three days, the films were shown at two separate "houses" at 6.50 p.m. and 9 p.m. and there was also a Saturday matinee programme at 2.30 p.m. The prices of admission to this new wonder entertainment were 2 pence and 4 pence.

Fr. Patrick Dowling R.I.P.

Notably and sadly absent from the Hostel re-opening ceremony was the much loved and greatly lamented Fr. Patrick Dowling who had passed away quite suddenly at Solly Street on November 2nd at the age of 57. Fr. Dowling came to St. Vincent's in 1906, involving himself quickly in many of the parochial activities including most recently, the founding of the parish magazine, "The Vincentian" of which he was Editor from its inception until his death. His passing brought to St. Vincent's a host of messages of sympathy and tributes from bishops, fellow priests, national and local heads of the many Catholic societies and organisations with which Fr. Dowling had been associated in England and Ireland and from local civic dignitaries with whom he had worked in so many causes during his nearly ten years at St. Vincent's. The church was filled to overflowing for his requiem by a sorrowing congregation who also took part in the obsequies which preceded his internment at Rivelin cemetery.

Another New Monstrance

At Benediction on Christmas Day 1915, a new and very beautiful Blessed Sacrament monstrance came into sacred use for the first time and happily is still used 75 years later. This jewel-encrusted repository of the Sacred Host took the form of a "Sunburst" design around the central window for the lunette case containing the Host, surmounted by a jewelled cross and supported by a gilded stem and base. An ornate brass stand was also provided for the new monstrance which had been purchased through donations by parishioners including the schoolchildrens' halfpennies from both St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's schools, at a cost of £55.00. To remain in keeping with the splendour of the new monstrance, the door of the High Altar tabernacle was re-gilded at the same time at a cost of £3.00.

The Passing of Patrick Joseph Benson R.I.P.

Following Fr. Dowling's demise, the Editorship of the parish magazine was immediately taken over by Fr. Charles Bagnall. Regrettably, no copies of the 1916 issues of "The Vincentian" have come to the writer's hands so the history of that year is very sparse but it marked the sad passing, on September 6th of Patrick Joseph Benson, whose interest in and charitable works for the many facets of St. Vincent's parish had produced their own memorials, principal among which was the building of the Parish Hall. Following his death, his widow Clara became inevitably the hub of most of the activities of the girls' and women's societies and organisations of the parish, in her efforts for which she seemed completely tireless. The Girls' Institute and Club, the Ladies Association of Charity, the Children of Mary, the Women's Sacred Heart Association, the Catholic Women's League, the Catholic Mothers' Union and the Belgian Refugee Home were just a few of the activities in the parish which benefitted from Mrs. Benson's leadership, and her further financial and material donations to St. Vincent's Mission itself were to be enhanced as the years progressed.

A Processional Madonna

Although it is not officially recorded, it is quite probable that Mrs. Benson was involved in some way, large or small, in the provision in mid-1916 of a new statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary intended primarily to be carried by the Children of Mary in the many processions taking place at St. Vincent's both inside and outside the church.

One of the Vincentian Missioners present on the occasion of Mrs. Benson's reception into the Church in 1889 was Fr. Eugene Gavin and sad news came from Ireland of his death at the age of 56 on July 9th 1916. Fr. Gavin came to St. Vincent's almost newly ordained in 1887 and was to remain for nearly 21 years in the service of the Sheffield Mission and its parishioners until his departure in 1908.

The Concert Party

Tom Lally was responsible for the initial formation of a concert party whose purpose was to bring brightness and entertainment to the patients and staff of local hospitals and to the hardworking war factory workers in their canteens. Apart from the Great Tom himself, the nucleus of this pioneer group comprised a very young team of entertainers, a seventeen year old singer and dancer, Miss Lilian Hague (later to become Mrs. John Cummings), Tom's own fifteen year old daughter singer Agnes and a rising young pianist, eleven years old Teddy Milner. From time to time reinforced by other voluntary artistes, this blend of concerted experience and youth delivered themselves regularly of their many talents for the remaining war years with evening concerts at various hospitals and early morning (7 a.m.) concerts at the large local works.

Farewell, Fr. Conran - Welcome Fr. James Bennett

In December 1916, Fr. Charles Bagnall became the Sheffield Area Director for the Crusade of the Knights of the Blessed Sacrament. By February 1917, Fr. John Conran, his ten and a half years of service as Rector of St. Vincent's aggravated over the most recent two and a half years by the strain of watching over a large parish under war conditions having taken their toll on his health, he returned that month to Ireland where, happily, he was to recover his health and to live for many more years. Except for occasional visits, he did not return again to Solly Street and he died in November 1934 at the good age of 76. His place as Rector in Sheffield was taken immediately by Fr. James Bennett who held the unique distinction for many years of being parish priest of the Sheffield Mission twice. The departure of Fr. Conran coincided with the deaths, within a few days of each other, of two men who, each in his own way and often in joint venture, had left their respective marks upon the parish in the Crofts. On February 13th 1917, the 15th Duke of Norfolk died and four days later came the death of Charles Henry Barnascone. The works and benefactions of both these good men have found their way into these annals and the deaths of both were sadly lamented by the clergy and parishioners of St. Vincent's.

Jack (Music) Hogan

In March 1917, in the final round of the C.Y.M.S. Foster Shield Billiards competition, Jack Hogan came out the winner over Willie O'Hara. It has been said (jokingly, of course) that Jack, an inimitable comically entertaining character, only won the trophy because "everybody else was away at the war" but Jack, a big man in heart as well as stature, used to laugh as heartily as anyone at this brotherly jest. The 1917 Annual General Meeting of the C.Y.M.S. in March appointed George Lynch as Branch President and confirmed John Milner as Secretary and Joe Savage as Treasurer. "The Vincentian" of the following month, April 1917, records the St. Vincent's clergy as Very Rev. Fr. Bennett, Frs. McElligott, Hullen, Bagnall, Kiernan, J. Murray and G. Robinson. Fr. Murray, a Solly Street missioner since 1909, died on August 11th 1917 at the age of 45 and two months later Fr. McElligott left Sheffield to take up duties at the Mission House at Lanark. This was followed in the same month by the appointment of Fr. P. Wilson to the Sheffield Mission to replace the late Fr. Murray.

The Statue of Saint Vincent

On July 19th 1917, the feast of St. Vincent, a further statue, that of the parish's patron saint himself, was unveiled between the main chancel and St. Joseph's altar at the evening devotions. Some secrecy at first surrounded the name of the donor but it was, in fact, the gift of Mrs. McClory, an ardent worker and former president of the Ladies of Charity and still, at the time, the voluntary Directrix of the Belgian Refugee Home. The fact, commented upon by many parishioners after the unveiling, that the St. Vincent statue was a perfect match for the earlier statue of St. Patrick pedestalled at the exact location on the other side of the chancel, was no coincidence since both had been designed and sculpted by the same Dublin artist, George Smith.

The Old Boys Association

With the welfare of serving parishioners still very much in mind and no signs to an end of the bloody conflict on land and sea and, now, up in the skies, a Committee was formed to try to establish and maintain contact with the service parishioners, particularly those abroad. This development took place in September 1917 and was to pursue its purposes for the next eighteen months. The organisation was eventually to be titled St. Vincent's Old Boys Association. One of its greatest supporters among the clergy was Fr. Nicholas Comerford who, after a short spell of duty at Hammersmith, returned to Solly Street to replace the transferred Fr. McElligott. At the beginning of 1918, of the 150 recorded members of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. Branch, 80 were serving in the armed forces. Some members had already given their lives, others had suffered wounding or gassing or both along with other serving parishioners not members of the Society. The services of a number of parishioners had been recognised by military decorations including Military Medals won by Thomas Kelly, Tommy Cassinelli, Harry Page, Laurence Gensavage, Joseph Henry Peck, Bernard Doherty and Edmund Gregory. In all, 950 men of the parish served in the forces throughout the 1914/1918 war, and of these 253 gave their lives.

The St. Anthony Statue

On Sunday February 10th 1918, a large painted statue of St. Anthony of Padua, presented by the Living Rosary Society was unveiled and blessed by Fr, Hullen and installed at the western end of the church, between the main nave and the south transept.

In March, the C.Y.M.S. Foster Shield was won by Pat Collins who triumphed in the final over Pat Murray. On the 28th of the same month the C.Y.M.S. joined forces with the Sacred Heart Association, the S.V.D.P., and the Old Boys Association to form and establish a Boys' Club in the lower rooms of the C.Y.M.S. club, with a supervisory body which comprised representatives of the adult societies involved.

A Missioner killed in action

Tragedy visited the Sheffield Vincentians in May 1918 when it was learned from the war front that Fr. John McDonald, who had joined from the Lanark House as Army Chaplain had been killed instantly during a German shelling attack on the front lines on May 9th. Fr. McDonald was 40 years old and had served the Sheffield Mission from 1908 to 1912 before he went to Lanark.

A little while after Fr. McDonald's tragic death, St. Vincent's welcomed the arrival of Fr. Tim Manning who stayed with the Sheffield Mission for about two years until 1920.

By the time, in November 1918, that victory (such a hollow word!) had been achieved over the Germans and the Armistice signed, the Parish Debt Redemption Fund had worked its own wonders by bringing down a £6,593 deficit in April 1913 to £2,500.

The Return of the First Heroes

Already in the previous month two events had taken place which were forerunners of the joy and relief which was to be expressed at the end of hostilities. On October 13th, a Grand Concert was organised in St. Vincent's Hall to celebrate the 20 years completed by Mr. John Denham as parish organist. Mr. Denham was also presented with a purse containing £60. collected among his choir members and other admirers. Ten days later, at the same venue, a Welcome Home Party was held on the evening of October 23rd at which the returned service guests were Billy Boul, John Cummings, Chris Doyle, Jack Lawler and Jack O'Malley. There were to be many more of these welcomes as the old soldiers and sailors returned from their war.

In December 1918, the Living Rosary sodality made yet another magnificent presentation to St. Vincent's clergy in the form of a beautiful ceremonial cope made entirely in cloth-of-gold which was first used at Midnight Mass 1918.

A Young Deputy for John Denham

Present at that Midnight Mass but hidden by the frame of the church organ was a recent addition to John Denham's musical staff. The 13-years old Ted Milner had been appointed as apprentice and deputy organist to the revered John and used to occupy the console on the occasions when Mr. Denham was absent. Ted served that apprenticeship for about four years after the end of the "Great War".

The February 1919 Annual General Meeting of the C.Y.M.S. resulted in the election of Mr. George Fletcher as Branch president, Mr. Joe Cavell as Vice President and again confirmed John Milner and Joe Savage in their respective offices of Secretary and Treasurer. The same month also saw the departure of Fr. M. J. Kiernan from the Sheffield Mission to which he had come in 1911.

A veteran member of the C.Y.M.S. Branch, Joe Rattican, who had joined the Society in St. Vincent's in 1884, was the winner of the Foster Billiards Shield in March 1919, proving successful over John Mahon.

April brought news from Dublin of the death on the 8th of the month at the age of 76, of Fr Martin Quish whose two year Rectorship of the Sheffield Mission is the shortest on record, although it must be stressed that before succeeding Fr. Potter on October 1st 1889 after Fr. Potter's sudden death on that day, Fr. Quish had been serving the Sheffield Mission continuously since 1878.

The Baptistry

A permanent tribute within the church to the memory of Patrick Joseph Benson was commissioned early in 1919 by his widow, Mrs. Clara Benson. This took the form of a marble-railed baptistry and marble font surmounted by a bas-stone relief of John the Baptist baptising Christ in the Jordan. This addition to the church's decor was sited at the base of the tower behind the White Croft entrance doors. A memorial tablet "Pray for the soul of Patrick Joseph Benson to whose memory this baptistry is erected R.I.P." was affixed to the west tower wall and more than 1400 people attended the Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert Cowgill of Leeds to mark the opening of the new baptistry and blessing of the new font on Sunday June 1st 1919. The first baptism to take place at the new font was administered by Fr. Hullen when he conducted on Sunday June 8th the christening ceremony of Sarah Ellen Boyle born on May 18th the daughter of James Boyle and Florence Agnes Boyle (née Walsh)

The Philip Wake Mosaic Marble Floor

Soon after the opening and dedication of the new baptistry, the work there was completed, again by the generosity of Philip K. Wake, in providing a Venetian marble mosaic floor. This floor surrounding the baptistry was to be the pattern for the eventual surfacing of those parts of the church floor not covered by the oak pews.

On Parade in Peace at last

On Sunday August 19th 1919, St. Vincent's church at the 11 a.m. Mass was the scene of a commemorative service held by the Sheffield Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Servicemen in honour of their fallen comrades. Over 2,000 ex-servicemen of all denominations mustered in Paradise Square at 10 a.m. and headed by a drum and fife band organised by a St. Vincent's parishioner, Mr. Hugh Hale, marched via Queen Street, Bank Street, Snig Hill, Fargate, Leopold Street and Townhead Street to Solly Street where they proceeded through a Guard of Honour of sash-wearing C.Y.M.S. members into the church for the full choral Memorial Mass celebrated by the parish priest, Fr. Bennett and a Remembrance sermon preached by Fr. Bagnall.

New Confessionals, Stations and Electric Lighting

Later in 1919, Fr. Bennett obtained from Belgium the present set of eight confessional boxes and the present Stations of The Cross. Up to that time, separate confessionals had been sited at various points of the church - near the north-west door, below the large windows near the new sacristy doors and at the baptistry end of St. Joseph's aisle. The new confessionals not only fitted in materially with oak decor of the Lady aisle but also into the alcoves of the interior north wall of that aisle. About this time too, fresh light quite literally was cast upon the beauties of St. Vincent's church by the installation of electric lighting. A general fund had been opened at the end of the war inviting parishioners to defray the costs of the electric equipment and installations and the purchase of the new Stations of The Cross.

The Roll of Honour

Subscribers nominated, with their donations, deceased relatives and friends who had died in the war and whose names were inscribed on an illuminated Roll of Honour designed and executed, at the request of Fr. C. H. Bagnall, by Miss Genevieve Pilley. The Roll was encased in a marble frame and affixed to the West end rear wall of St. Joseph's aisle. The entire memorial was dedicated to the late Fr. John McDonald who had given his life as Army Chaplain in 1918. The scroll bears the legend "Of your Charity, pray for the souls of those whose names are inscribed hereon to whose Memory the Stations of the Cross and the Electric Lighting have been given by their Relatives and Friends". The head of the parchment scroll bears the name "Father John McDonald, C.M." flanked at the top of the marble frame by the significant dates 1914 and 1918.

A special Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated by Fr. Nicholas Comerford to commemorate the erection of the new Stations of The Cross, and, at the same Ceremony, to dedicate the installation of the Roll of Honour unveiled by Dr. Charles Wiseman. The Mass Intentions were for the repose of the souls of the parishioners killed in the war, many of whose names appeared of course on the Roll of Honour.

In 1919, Sister Magdalen Weld, to whose family fortunes were due the building of St. Joseph's schools in 1889 and who had succeeded to the position of Superioress at Howard Hill in 1897 on Sister Stephanie Crawford's death, left Sheffield but she returned not long afterwards to her Sheffield home where she remained until her death in October 1921.

Fr. P. J. Hullen who had been at St. Vincent's for more than eight years, left Sheffield for Phibsborough in September 1919. One month later, after ten years at the Mission, Fr. Charles H. Bagnall was transferred for duties as Dean and Bursar of the Vincentian Training College at Hammersmith. At a Choir Concert presented on November 24th 1919 in the Parish Hall under the artistic direction of Mr. John Denham, funds were raised towards the cost of the recently installed War Memorial Roll of Honour. Among the last major social events to be recorded in December 1919 was a Grand Official Welcome Home celebration party, on Tuesday November 11th, organised by the C.Y.M.S. at which 130 people sat to dinner during which Master Teddy Milner played selections on the piano. The dinner was followed by a Grand Concert expertly accompanied once again by Mr. Denham.

The departure of Father Bagnall, who had involved himself in so many aspects of Sheffield life both inside and outside St. Vincent's parish, sounded the death-knell of the parish magazine which he had edited during the previous four years. After keeping "The Vincentian" going until the December 1919 issue, the Rector, Fr. Bennett decided to discontinue publication. The last issue of that period records the arrival at St. Vincent's in November of Fr. T. Slavin and the fact that St. Joseph's Home at Howard Hill was now a registered industrial school for girls, teaching cookery, dressmaking, laundry and domestic work.

CHAPTER 20

The '20s Years of Relief

The end of the publication, in 1919, of St. Vincent's parish magazine, "The Vincentian", caused another grey gap in the available history of the parish activities. However, the parishioners were not immune or isolated from the sense of relief, sometimes verging upon euphoria, in the first years followinq the end of the recent war. Personal memories of older parishioners indicate that the parish social and community activities enjoyed the understandable upsurge which followed more than four years of bloodshed, conflict and worry. Societies flourished, amateur operatic and choral events abounded and dances, garden fetes, bazaars and other social functions were the order of the day, many of them organised to raise funds for the parish.

A notable occasion in 1920 was the provision in the early months of a further new gold Monstrance purchased, after much diligent collection of hundreds of small contributions from the parishioners of St. Vincent's, at an approximate cost of £60. This beautiful addition to the effects of the altar as the benedictional and processional repository of the Sacred Host is still in use today in all its splendour.

Sacred Heart Parish Becomes Independent

Fr. James Bennett, who had assumed the Rectorship of St Vincent's in 1917, returned to Ireland in 1920 and he was succeeded at Solly Street by Fr. Patrick Kilty. On August 5th of that year, the Sacred Heart parish, which had grown very considerably due to housing developments in the area, finally became independent of St. Vincent's whose priests had founded the Hillsborough chapel over seventeen years earlier, and the Hillsborough parish was handed over to the care of Fr. Dunford as its first parish priest.

50 years and still going strong

A Golden Jubilee was the high point in St. Vincent's in 1920, when celebrations took place commemorating the fifty years unbroken service given to the choir by Mr. John Flynn. Born in the year of Fr. Michael Burke's return to Ireland, John, since joining as a choirboy at the age of six in 1870, had seen the choir grow in musical and numerical strength. Mr. Bernard Valantine, the original choir-master, remained in that post until the early 1880's and, on retirement, was succeeded as choir master by James Flynn, an elder brother of John, who eventually took over the choirmastership from James in 1895. In his early twenties John had enjoyed the expert tutelage and guidance of Fr. Gaynor and later had been John Denham's right-hand man and original guide and mentor in regard to the parish and the choir when Mr. Denham took over as organist in 1898. By the time of his Golden Jubilee, for which a special souvenir booklet was produced, John was second-in-command of a choir which comprised 26 men and 25 boys, a choir with a wide repertoire of more than thirty Masses by Mozart, Gounod, Niedermeyer, Weber, Farmer, some original Masses composed and arranged by John Denham himself and a wide selection also of Palestrina's sacred music. On November 7th 1920, John Flynn's long and devoted services were commemorated socially by a dinner given by the Rector, Fr. Kilty and the Spiritual Director of the choir, Fr. J.R. Wilson, attended by all the senior members of the choir, the immediate past spiritual Director, Fr. Hullen and other parish workers. The occasion was marked for posterity by a special telegram from the Vatican conveying to Mr. Flynn a Papal Blessing.

Almost exactly two months after this celebration, Fr. John Brady, who had been Parish Priest when John took over as choir-master in 1895, died in Ireland at the good age of 84 years on January 21st 1921. Present at John Flynn's Jubilee celebrations was Fr. Charles Bagnall who had recently returned to St. Vincent's to stay for a further short period of service until 1922.

The arrival of the Christian Brothers

The start of the new school year in 1922 marked a historic change in St. Vincent's senior boys' school with the arrival in the parish of members of the teaching order of Christian Brothers. When Bro. Louis took over the headship that year from Mr. J. Podmore, the boys' school headmaster for over eleven years, the occasion marked the end, at least for the next 26 years, of a long historical line of lay headteachers which had begun with Mr. Dignam 58 years earlier in 1854.

Civic Reception for two stalwarts

On April 3rd 1922, two of St. Vincent's most notable parishioners, Torn Hogan and Darby Tannion, were elected to the Sheffield Board of Guardians, an acknowledgement and public recognition of their humanitarian work and interests among the poor of the Crofts and elsewhere.

Grand Bazaar at Howard Hill

The social events calendar for 1922 included a grand three day bazaar and garden fête on June 29th and 30th and July 1st in the House and grounds of St. Joseph's Home to raise £1,500 in aid of the parish and, in particular, the works of the Sisters of Charity.

A Man of Great Voice

Such charity events were almost the breath of life to Tom Lally. Born in Liverpool on June 13th 1869, Tom was only a few months old when his parents moved to Sheffield to live in Hollis Croft. It was therefore natural that in 1876, at the age of seven years, Tom joined the choir at St. Vincent's. Although an accomplished boy singer, the real beauty and quality of his voice only became truly apparent as it matured into a young full rich baritone which twice gained him first prizes at Albert Hall concerts before he embarked professionally upon a tour of the famous Moss Empires in England and Scotland. He also earned himself a reputation for daring when, after a circus manager had heard him singing in the old Golden Ball in Townhead Street, the manager asked him to sing in a cage of lions in the circus which was occupying "the Jungle" sheds at the bottom of Hawley Street. Tom accepted the invitation as a challenge and carried off the stunt with great aplomb. His work in promoting concerts for hospitals and works in wartime is already on record and his charity concerts and fund-raising efforts continued in the years after the war until, with his fine voice still resonant, his sudden death on April 16th 1924 came as a tremendous shock to the whole parish.

Sister Teresa retires

In 1924 also came the retirement from girls' school teaching duties and headship of Sister Teresa (Walker) after 34 years. To commemorate her retirement a group of Sister's former girl pupils and members of the Children of Mary provided, at Sister Teresa's own request, a large and ornate silver-plated sanctuary lamp which, suspended from the rood screen, graced the centre of the main chancel at St. Vincent's until the refurbishing of the church in the early 1960's.

General Strike

The post war gaiety and euphoria of people freed from war was steadily losing momentum and being replaced all too quickly by increasing unemployment and lengthening dole queues at the labour exchanges and poor-relief offices. The poor areas of the Crofts were among those most badly hit by the onsetting industrial depression and the work of the Vincentian priests, the Sisters of Charity and the charitable societies attached to the parish once again came into great prominence in endeavouring to alleviate the growing distress of the district. The General Strike of 1926 did nothing to ameliorate the situation in the 100-year old back-to-back houses and tenements which still surrounded the church. In order to give shelter and warmth and a social centre for the men of the parish, St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. Club rooms remained open for most of the waking hours of each day.

The Gang Wars

The infamous and well documented "Sheffield Gang Wars" of the mid 20's had more than a tangential effect on the parish of St. Vincents. These wars, commencing in early 1923 involved mainly two criminally violent gangs disputing their claims to illegal gambling proceeds from their control of pitch and toss rings and pony tracks, but mainly the former and it is sad to record that the majority of one of the gangs were not only of Irish descent but "parishioners" of St. Vincent's parish. Before the gangs were finally broken in the second half of the 20's by the most rigorous action by the local police under the respective Chief Constables, Hall-Dalwood and Sillitoe, criminal violence, including the use of firearms, had been perpetrated and witnessed in Solly Street (at the Red House), in West Bar, Edward Street, St. Philips Road, Furnace Hill, Trinity Street and, several times, in Corporation Street, all within a quarter of a mile from the church to which several of the miscreants purported to belong. It is even reliably reported that several of the more local gang members were, on one occasion, proposing to enter St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. Club en masse, but, because information had preceded them regarding their nefarious visit, they were confronted, on their arrival at the bottom of the Club stairs, by a solid phalanx of members fronted by two Vincentian priests, including Father Patrick Kilty carrying a stout shillelagh. At this sight, they immediately turned tail and never troubled the club again.

Whitsuntide and Coppers

Despite the hardships of the 20's, there was always a brilliant and colourful turnout of schoolchildren in their new Whitsuntide clothes when the traditional Whit processions took place to the Farm Grounds. In many, many cases, parents had skimped and saved to provide their children with new outfits for this annual occasion and the children took great delight in going the rounds of relatives and friends on Whit Sundays showing off their finery and collecting the ha'pennies and pennies such as the grown ups were able to afford to put into the pockets of their new clothes.

A New Head for the Boys

In 1926, Bro. Louis was succeeded as senior boys' headmaster by Brother Peter who, in turn, was succeeded the following year by Brother Pius (Joseph Lyng). Bro. Pius, in fact, assumed the headship of both senior and junior boys' schools which had been amalgamated on the previous April 1st into the large school building which Fr. Burke had been forced by the education authorities into having built and opened 64 years earlier.

After the departure of Mamie Swycher as Church Sacristan in 1924 the lady's duties were quickly taken over by Mr. William Austin Magill for the next five years. In fact, Mr Magill's services were scarcely interrupted by the arrival in Sheffield in September 1926 of a certain newly-ordained Brother William Smith C.M. intended to be the Vincentian successor to the late Brother Tim O'Donnell (died 1909) as Parish Sacristan. However, Brother Smith's stay was brief. At the time, heavily industrialised Sheffield was notorious for its low-lying smogs and fogs and, as brother Smith later told this chronicler in person, his view from the window of his top-floor bedroom overlooking the Neepsend/Hillfoot areas, being blanketed in grey, green, brown and black fogs which lay at the River Don level was so depressing that he immediately sought and was granted a return to Ireland. It is, perhaps, understandable that, born in Enniscorthy and coming, as a young man from the beauties of his home county of Wexford, he found the autumnal prospects of Sheffield too daunting even for his vocation. He left after only about two to three weeks and was glad to do so.

However, it is apposite at this point to pay deserved tribute to William Austin Magill, then a young and handsome man who continued his sacristan duties through from 1924 to 1929. A versatile gentleman and related by marriage to the Hale family, he also combined a love of music and musicianship, arranging most of the popular Latin and English hymns into simplified accompaniments for the organ, was widely respected and popular with the priests and parishioners for his pusuit of duties inside and outside the church and well deserves special mention in these writings. He died in 1948 at the young age of 46, after serving as a soldier during the 1939-1945 war, and is buried in the Hale family grave in Rivelin.

The advent of "The Merriest Fellows"

Another bright and happy event in the otherwise miserable mid-twenties happened almost by coincidence. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in those days was performing the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire of comic operas for two successive weeks at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre. One of the theatre staff, Tommy Clark, was also an active member of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. and had the initiative to invite the Catholic male members of the Company to share the warmth and the hospitality of the C.Y.M.S. Club rooms in Solly Street during the "limbo" weekend separating their two weeks of performances. The grateful response of the opera singers for this gesture, which gave them a social "home" in Sheffield was first to use their vocal talents spontaneously in the club itself and secondly, after developing a very warm friendship with Fr. Nicholas Comerford in particular, to organise a number of their colleagues into a party to share the C.Y.M.S. and parish hospitality and to present a Sunday evening concert in St Vincent's Hall. Thus started, in 1927, a tradition which was to last for many years whenever the opera company was in Sheffield and to avoid embarrassment to their Company and infringement of copyright, they came to pour their masterly musical talents over the very receptive parishioners of St. Vincent's under the pseudonym of "The Merriest Fellows". Their performances, given gratuitously for the benefit of parish funds, eventually embraced as many as 20 performers, ladies and gentlemen, including the Company's musical director, Isidore Godfrey. The combined wealth of their musicianship never failed to fill St. Vincent's Parish Hall completely to a situation of standing room only.

Vale Fr. Patrick Kilty

In 1927, Fr. Patrick Kilty stepped down from his Rectorship and his place as parish priest was taken by Fr. Thomas Cleary who had joined the Sheffield Mission in 1925. Apart from the long serving Fr. Nicholas Comerford, Fr. Cleary's staff of priests at Solly Street had been, in 1926, reinforced by the arrivals of Fr. P. J. Bannigan and Fr. M. Twomey and by the return, after 12 years absence, of Fr. J. Henry. The year of Father Cleary's accession to the Rectorship in Sheffield also saw his staff further strengthened by the appointments of Fathers H. Delany and Vincent Allen.

New Lamps for Old

In 1928, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Sheffield Mission was marked by the installation, financed by widespread private and public subscriptions, of new electric pendant lamps which still serve the church and which, on Sunday November 28th, brightly illuminated the church for the celebration by Bishop Cowgill of Leeds of a Pontifical High Mass. The Choral Mass included a sermon delivered by the principal guest for the anniversary, Bishop Shine of Nottingham, in the presence of all the Sheffield Vincentian Missioners and guest priests from other Sheffield parishes.

Joe Carrington, Speed Merchant

The sporting lustres of St. Vincent's school in the war years and, later of the C.Y.M.S., were enhanced by the long term and consistent performances of Joseph Carrington, a sprinter of great ability who came to the fore as a schoolboy champion in 1915. Joe progressed through the years to Olympic trials and to noteworthy membership of the nationally famous Hallamshire Harriers, winning local and county prizes mainly over the 100 yards and 220 yards distances with commendable consistency through the 20's netting 40 firsts, 20 seconds and 4 thirds all in high class racing company.

"The Vincentian" Returns

The entire parish was delighted when in March 1929, after a lapse of over nine years, the parish magazine "The Vincentian" was re-published under the editorship of Fr. Nicholas Comerford. The new magazine was contained inside a green cover which for the next 29 years was to become familiar in many parts of the world. Apart from Fr. Comerford, the Sheffield Vincentian priests recorded in the first new issue were Very Rev. Fr T. Cleary, P.P., Frs. J. Henry, H. Delany, M. Twomey, V. Allen and P. Bannigan. Among the reports in the same edition was that of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. Annual General Meeting of February 10th recording (as if time had stood still) the election of Harry Pybus as Branch President and John Milner as Secretary with John O'Hara still as resident Club Steward.

Ordination of Fr. James Donovan C.M.

On Passion Sunday March 17th 1929, the church filled to overflowing, was the setting for the ordination as a Vincentian priest, of one of its own parish sons, James Donovan, by Bishop Cowgill at the 11 a.m. Mass. In the same month the Foster Billiards Shield was won by J. Kain, who defeated J. Collins in the final round. A Notable feat by Mr. Collins in an earlier game in the club rooms was the making of a Member's record break of 131.

St. Vincent's Scouts Foundation

After ordaining Fr. James Donovan, Bishop Cowgill fulfilled another duty on the same day in blessing the new troop flag, given by Mrs. Clara Benson to the newly formed St. Vincent's Scout Troop. Under the direction of Fr. Vincent Allen and with the assistance of Mr. Wood, Scout Master of St. Marie's Troop, the 177th Sheffield (St. Vincent's) Troop was established in the previous January. The pioneer leaders of this troop, under Fr. Allen as Group Scout Master and Chaplain, were Patrol Leader and Rover Scout Steve Hale (who was to become first Master of the Cub pack) and Assistant Scout Masters Cyril Conroy, Joe Hale and Martin Higgins. The first parish scouts to be trained as patrol leaders were Joe Brown, Joe Donnelly, John Lawler, John Mahon and Bernard Riley.

How Many?

One detail recorded in 1929 was that, by that year, the number of burials at St. Michael's Rivelin cemetery had exceeded 15,000!

Three In - Three Out

The departure of Fr. Michael Twomey from Sheffield in May 1929 was followed by his replacement in June by Fr. Michael Heron. Fr. H. Delany left in August of that year and the departure of Fr. J. Henry in the following November was followed in the same month by the arrivals in Sheffield of Fr. Christopher O'Leary and Fr. Joe McDonald to join Fr. Cleary's band of Missioners.

The Juggernaut Starts to Roll

The last half of the 1920s saw the start of a slum-clearance programmer which, over the next 13 years, before the start of the Second World War, and its completion after the years of that war, added to the wartime destruction itself, was to decimate St. Vincent's parish, both structurally and numerically. There is no doubt that such social improvement plans were absolutely necessary in such a grossly overcrowded area of tenements and old houses but it removed from the very heart of the parish literally thousands of people living in close proximity to the church, which, ironically, became a greater and more prominent landmark of the area as the waves of demolition progressed.

The first areas, within a quarter mile of the church, to feel the impact of the bulldozers and demolition squads, lay between Scotland Street and Shalesmoor, including Lambert Street and Furnace Hill and, steadily, the clearance gained momentum all around the circumference of the church, as parishioners were moved out to the newly-constructed housing estates miles away from the Crofts area.

The Start of a Historic Record

Among these departures and arrivals was one which was to add a further chapter of history, lasting to the present day, in the annals of St. Vincent's parish and its Community. This, on August 17th 1929, was the return to Sheffield, this time to stay, as sacristan to the Sheffield church of Brother William Smith C.M. At the time of writing, Brother Smith has completed over 60 years of devoted and unbroken service to the priests and parishioners of St. Vincent's. The writer was privileged at the age of six years in Miss Tannion's Standard 1 class of St. Vincent's school, to be chosen by Brother Smith as one of six boys to be trained in his first class of altar servers.

So, for this scribe at least, the depressed and poverty stricken late 1920's ended on that happy note.

CHAPTER 21

The 1930's - Part 1

The Flock is Scattered

The early editions of the 1930 "Vincentian" magazine, apart from bidding a not too sad farewell to the depressing '20's recorded the re-installation of Harry Pybus as C.Y.M.S. President with Jimmy Dunn as Vice-president, Dan Lawler as Treasurer and John Milner as secretary all under the spiritual directorship of Fr. Cleary. Also recorded was the Foster Billiards Shield success in that year of George Smith who defeated T. Kain in the final round and, in the wider sporting field, the triumph of St. Vincent's team in winning the Sheffield and District Catholic Games League Championship Shield including the winning of the Roper Cup for gun-shooting, achieving the highest aggregate of points in this section through the season.

K.S.C. Council 47

The former Boys Hostel in Solly Street was now the venue for meetings of the newly formed local Council No. 47 of the Knights of St. Columba and had been renamed Columba House.

Father P. J. Bannigan, who had been appointed to Sheffield shortly after his ordination in 1926 left in August 1930 and was replaced the following month by Fr. Gerard Tierney. One month later, Fr. Vincent Allen also left and his place was filled by the arrival in the same month of Fr. Edward Conran. The year also marked the 60th anniversary of choir-master John Flynn's continued service to St. Vincent's choir.

The Church is Consecrated

Most of the year saw intense activity within the walls both of the church and the parish hall involving both in interior decoration from top to bottom and culminating in the formal re-opening of the beautifully decorated church on November 23rd 1930 by Bishop Robert Cowgill who, in that same month, was also celebrating his own Silver Jubilee as Bishop.

One of the most attractive features of the newly-decorated church was literally over the heads of the congregations. On a perpendicular section of the walls of the nave, between the base of the high leaded-light roof windows and the tops of the arches on each side, and stretching the full length of the nave on both sides from the pulpit arch to the baptistry arch, were hand-painted in Old English script in brilliant gold lettering on a dark-blue background the first four lines of the traditional closing Benedictional hymn,

ADOREMUS IN AETERNUM SANCTISSIMUM SACRAMENTUM on the Epistle side

LAUDATE DOMINUM OMNES GENTES LAUDATE EUM OMNES POPULI on the Gospel side.

This beautiful artistic addition to the church's decoration lasted, like so many other church adornments, until the redecoration of the damaged church after the 1940 blitz.

The beautifying of the church was carried out by John Walsh and Sons not only to the honour and glory of God but also had a secondary purpose in making a suitable setting for the Bishop's next visit to the parish, this time, on Thursday June 18th 1931 at a special Mass at 8.30 a.m. to consecrate the church and the Lady altar, the church having been finally cleared of debt.

Just over two weeks earlier on Trinity Sunday, May 30th at Upholland College near Wigan, one of St. Joseph's sons, Charles Horan had been ordained to the priesthood. The joy and pleasure of the St. Vincent's parishioners in that occasion was echoed in the gladness attaching to the historic event of the consecration of the church which marked the beginning of four days of rejoicing in the parish and the culmination of preparations for the event by the residents of the Crofts, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. They had practically scrubbed the streets which surrounded the approaches to the church before decorating those streets and their houses with bright bunting, green white and gold silks and papal flags to welcome the three Bishops, Cowgill of Leeds, T. Shine of Middlesborough and Henry C. Graham of Tipasa who were to be the main sacerdotal centres of this momentous occasion. The actual consecration ceremony lasted most of the Thursday morning and at 9.30 a.m. on Saturday June 20th, Fr. James Bennett, Dublin Provincial, celebrated a Solemn Requiem Mass for deceased priests, benefactors and parishioners. This was followed on Saturday afternoon by a sun-drenched grand Garden Party at Howard Hill, attended by all three Bishops and a host of clergy and nuns as well as hundreds of parishioners. The following day saw the conclusion of the ceremonies with the 11 a.m. celebration by Bishop Cowgill of Solemn Pontifical High Mass with a sermon preached by Bishop Graham and, at 6.30 p.m. Solemn Benediction, Te Deum, Rosary and Sermon preached by Bishop Shine.

Operatic Society Reborn

Preceding the consecration of the church, Monday June 15th witnessed the founding of the Columba Operatic Society formed from members of the K.S.C. Council by the Council's Recorder, Mr. Frank Finnigan prompted by the K.S.C. Chaplain, Fr. Nicholas Comerford. This Society was to prove a worthy successor to the original parish operatic society which had been born in the years immediately before the war but which had lapsed its activities during the depressed years of the 1920's. One of the new Society's leading lights, tenor soloist, Sam Hughes was the unlucky runner-up to Vincent Maher in the 1931 final of the Foster Shield Tournament.

Ordination of two ex-parish pupils

At the C.Y.M.S. Annual General Meeting on Feb 8th 1931 a new Branch President, Peter Fitzsimmons, had been appointed to succeed the long serving Harry Pybus but the executive continuity was maintained by the re-election for the 22nd successive year of John Milner as Branch Secretary. Mr. Milner's family name was again honoured on June 29th 1931 in the ordination at Dax in southern France of one of his sons, James, another former St. Joseph's schoolboy, as a Vincentian Missioner. Fr. Milner was the celebrant in St. Vincent's on Sunday July 19th of the Solemn High Mass in celebration of the feast of the patron saint. This celebration itself foreshadowed another historic occasion on August 2nd 1931 in St. Vincent's church when Bernard Hynes, a former St. Vincent's schoolboy and son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hynes, was ordained into the Order of St. Benedict by Bishop Cowgill in the presence of his parents in the place of honour in a church completely filled by parishioners and friends of the Hynes family.

A Missioner from China

September 1931 marked the arrival at St. Vincent's of Father Patrick Barry who had served some years in the Chinese mission field and whose enthusiasm and drive in the cause of the parish's Sacred Heart Confraternity were to have their effects on that organisation for many years after his departure from Solly Street.

Brother Michael Murphy is laid to rest

The valuable works performed by the lay brothers within the Vincentian Community are often overshadowed by the more public works and contacts of the ordained Missioners themselves but such auxiliary service within the Community is not only desirable but essential. So it was that on October 27th 1931, the parish mourned sincerely the death at Solly Street at the age of 83 of Brother Michael Murphy. Born on May 8th 1848, Brother Michael joined the Community in 1888 at the age of 40, spent the next three years at Blackbrook, Castleknock and Phibsborough before coming, in 1891, to spend the remainder of his life in the humble but most necessary duties caring for the priests household in Solly Street. He is laid to rest at St. Michael's Cemetery at Rivelin, which he had helped to care for and came to know so well during his forty years of service at St. Vincent's.

A New Home for the Scouts

In November 1931, the St. Vincent's scout troop, having used a ground floor part of the C.Y.M.S. club-rooms as their original headquarters, now moved their base of operations to the wider spaces of Columba House, although the cub scouts continued to hold their pack meetings in the old room adjoining the lower churchyard.

On January 29th 1932, the parish was once again favoured by a visit of no less than twelve singing members of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company to give their usual brilliant and now traditional concert to a packed and appreciative audience in St. Vincent's Hall.

The Passing of Great Tom

The following month, however, brought great sadness not only to St Vincent's parish, priests and people, but also to his legion of friends throughout Sheffield in the death on February 18th at the age of 81 of the stalwart Tom Hogan. Tributes from all quarters of Sheffield civic life, from clergy of other parishes, from the widely scattered surviving Vincentian Missioners whom he had known in his lifetime in the parish and from the many societies which he had served poured in expressing their condolences, and sense of great loss in Tom's passing. Born on November 25th 1851, Tom was brought from Ireland at the age of 3 to live first in Oughtibridge in 1855 and four years later to Kenyon Street almost in the shadow of the new St. Vincent's church where his father was already an outdoor collector and member of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. As a boy, Tom was among the band of helpers to clear the site, at Rivelin Glen, of the new St. Michael's Cemetery before its opening in 1862. He quickly and readily became involved in work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and was appointed to the local Board of Guardians. His work for St. Vincent's Branch of the C.Y.M.S. of which he was President for 20 years was legendary. He led the spiritual activities of the Branch and with his close friend, Philip Fagan, pioneered the founding of the Club in 1892 and developed the new club premises close to the church in 1896. Rather more in the public eye were his services from 1883 as church door collector, a duty which he was still fulfilling after 48 years on the Sunday morning immediately before his death. His work for the parish in general, coupled with that of Philip Fagan, earned a unique tribute in his lifetime when, in March 1915, the statue of St Patrick, which had been donated by the priests in honour of these two great laymen, was ceremonially unveiled in St. Vincent's church. Tom's last journey from St. Vincent's on Sunday February 21st was escorted from Solly Street to the Kelvin by no less than 200 of his sash-wearing fellow C.Y.M.S. members who also walked in escort of the hearse from Malin Bridge along the length of Rivelin Valley Road to the gates of the cemetery where Tom was laid to his final rest in bright sunshine at 3 p.m. Apart from the hundreds of laymen paying their final respects to Tom Hogan, almost every priest in residence at Solly Street at the time participated in the final rites. These were Frs. Cleary, Comerford, Conran, Barry, Heron, O'Leary, McDonald and Tierney. Visiting Vincentians for this solemn occasion were Frs. J. Gill and J. Rooney. At the C.Y.M.S. St. Patrick's concert on Friday March 18th, Fr. Cleary paid a further tribute to Tom as a founder of the Club and all present paid a standing silent tribute to his passing. That occasion also witnessed the presentation of the Foster Shield to Joe Pizzuti, who had beaten Frank Cocker in the Final.

A Frank Success

Another celebration dinner and concert a month later, on April 20th in the main Club room, marked a further triumph of St. Vincent's teams and individuals in the Catholic Games League. Once again the teams had won the Championship Shield and Roper Cup for shooting prowess and individual members were "frankly" superior, a trio of Franks - Cocker, Fletcher and Howson - proving themselves respective champions at Crib (Maher Cup) shooting (John Smith Cup) and Billiards (Matchless Shield).

The Howard Hill Orphanage Closes

March 29th 1932 saw the final closure of the orphanage at St. Joseph's. Since 1887, when Kirk Edge was abandoned, the Howard Hill establishment had cared for orphan girls and boys but economies forced the issue and the children of St. Joseph's were transferred with their caring Sisters of Charity to the Home at Blackbrook, St. Helens.

Fr. Martindale tells the world

The parish in the Crofts merited a reference on the national wireless network when, on Sunday April 10th, in a 15 minute broadcast to commemorate that day's Feast of the Translation of the Relics of Saint Vincent, the eminent Jesuit broadcaster, Fr. C. C. Martindale, in his summary of the Saint's life and works referred in warm tones to the English foundation in 1853 and to the Vincentian Fathers "who dwell in the house on the hill under the smoky clouds which hang over Sheffield"

The Clearance Continues

That description was true at the time but already the very face of St. Vincent's parish or at least of those parts immediately surrounding the towering church were being radically altered. The social conscience aroused by the unemployment, poverty and depression of the 1920's had exploded in the second half of that decade in plans for the wiping out of slum areas (which could fairly describe almost all within a half mile radius of the church) and the re-housing of those compelled by these schemes to leave. New and more spacious houses were being built on large estates in the suburban areas of Wybourn, Manor, Woodthorpe, Arbourthorne, Shiregreen and elsewhere, all, on average, some three or four miles from the centre of the city. The first impact of these slum clearance schemes fell on St. Vincent's parish when, between 1929 and 1932, over three acres of old properties in Lambert Street, Furnace Hill and Scotland Street were evacuated and demolished. It was perhaps ironic that the Crofts flock was being struck and scattered only less than two years before the church, which they and their forbears had built and maintained over the previous nearly eighty years, was to be consecrated free from the debt which had always been a feature of the Mission's existence. The first clearance of slums from around the church was to set off a chain reaction of demolition which was to continue for the next nine years and only be suspended, uncompleted, by the imminent threat of war in 1938.

A "Congress" of Vincentians

Our Lady of Beauchief (Our Lady and St. Thomas) opened on June 2nd 1932. Many parishioners from St. Vincent's travelled in June 1932 to take part in the 31st Eucharistic Congress in Dublin spanning the week from June 20th to the 27th. According to the reports of the time the spiritual well was not the only source of the pilgrims' imbibings and this is understandable when such St. Vincent's names as Hynes, Lodge, McAvoy, Tannion, Doyle, O'Hara and the Hayes brothers Ned and Pat were met in "congress" under the benign eyes of Fathers Cleary and Kilty, Canons Dolan and Beasley and others who were household names in Sheffield.

More G & S from the C.O.S.

The musical offering under the direction of Frank Finnigan of the Columba Operatic Society in 1932 to the entertainment of St. Vincent's parishioners and to the K.S.C. funds, was a two day full-house presentation on April 8th and 9th of Gilbert & Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore". Entry prices were 1/6d 1/- and 6d with a programme costing 2d.

John O'Hara Bows Out

For one of the Dublin summer pilgrims John O'Hara Snr., the Eucharistic Congress was a most fitting conclusion to his 38 years as the faithful resident steward of the C.Y.M.S. Club. John chose to retire in November 1932 from the position which he had graced so well from the start of the new Club in 1896. He was succeeded as Steward by Jack Archbould. At the time of his retirement, John O'Hara was 68 years of age. He was born in Snow Lane in the year of the Sheffield Flood 1864, joined St. Vincent's choir in 1874 under the choirmastership of Mr. James Flynn, became a member of the C.Y.M.S. in 1892 and represented the Branch as delegate at the C.Y.M.S. National Conference at Glasgow in 1897. John was to enjoy a further eighteen years of retirement until his death in 1950 at the age of 86.

John Milner R.I.P.

In February 1933, Fr. J. Lavery came to join the Sheffield Mission and was to remain at St. Vincent's exactly one year. Only a month after Fr. Lavery's arrival, the parish and its many societies were again in mourning for the passing on March 14th of John Milner. Apart from his 23 successive years of service as Honorary Secretary of St Vincent's C.Y.M.S. and Club, Mr. Milner had been an active worker in many other fields of parish activity, particularly those connected with the well-being and welfare of his fellow men through the St. Vincent de Paul Society and his foundation, before the 1914 war, of the Catholic Approved National Insurance Society (originally the Catholic National Benefit and Thrift Society) . A tireless organiser also within the Sacred Heart Confraternity and of the Whitsuntide processions, Mr. Milner was 63 when he passed to his eternal reward, but not before he had witnessed the ordination into the Vincentian Community of one of his sons, James and another son Harry, well advanced in his studies for the Jesuit priesthood. John was, as are many converts to the Faith, a powerhouse of Catholic Action in his lifetime and his death left a considerable gap in the life of St. Vincent's parish. He was succeeded as C.Y.M.S. Secretary by Jack Tracey, another long serving member already on the Branch Committee.

John Milner's sudden death cast a cloud over the annual traditional C.Y.M.S. St. Patrick's concert but the affair went ahead as planned with Joe Pizzuti receiving, for the second year in succession, a gold medal to mark his final round success in the Foster Shield tournament by beating Billy Stephens. Joe was in peak form with the cue in the three-ball game since he went on in the following month, April 1933, to win the Marshall Bowl, a trophy equating to the Sheffield individual championship.

On Sunday April 3rd, to a crowded Parish Hall, the visiting "Merriest Fellows" again displayed their vast musical repertoire and, as usual, a good time was had by all.

Holy Mass Revived at Padley Chapel

Through the offices of Fr. Nicholas Comerford, in his capacity as Chaplain to the Padley Society, the parishioners of St. Vincent's had a considerable interest in the restoration of the old Derbyshire chapel which had played such a vivid part in local Catholic life (and death) during penal times. For several years, pilgrimages had been conducted from St. Vincent's to the historic shrine and a large contingent of parishioners was present at the old farm chapel when, on July 13th 1933, the Chapel was re-opened and Holy Mass celebrated on the site for the first time in more than 300 years.

Fr. James Bennett Returns

September 1933 marked a change once again in the Rectorship of St. Vincent's with the return to Ireland of Fr. Thomas Cleary and the return to Solly Street for the second time as Parish Priest of Fr. James Bennett. One of Fr. Bennett's first acts on his return as Rector was to install in the church a statue, obtained from Paris, of Sister Catherine Labouré who had been accorded the title of "Blessed" in a solemn beatification ceremony by pope Pius X1th on the 28th of the previous May.

Philip Wake R.I.P.

In the same month that Fr. Bennett resumed charge of St. Vincent's all Sheffield Catholics were saddened by the death of Mr. Philip K. Wake, a generous benefactor throughout his life to many of the Sheffield Catholic churches. Outstanding among his many gifts to St. Vincent's Mission are the magnificent church tower opened in 1911 and Venetian marble mosaic church floor donated in 1919.

Retirement after 63 Musical Years

The close of 1933 brought to a conclusion the magnificent record of choral service with the retirement in December of choirmaster John Flynn, after 63 years unbroken service to St. Vincent's choir. Thirty-eight of those years had been spent by John as choirmaster and he was in his seventieth year when he made the decision to stand down from the master's podium.

Another retirement after long and devoted service occurred in January 1934 when Mrs. Clara Benson resigned, for reasons of ill-health, from the position of President of the Ladies Association of Charity, and from her other valuable works with several of the Ladies' societies in the parish.

From Solly Street to Command Performance

The choir endured a further significant loss in 1934 when the principal treble boy soloist Jimmy Fletcher, whose vocal abilities had become known on a national basis, left St. Vincent's and Sheffield to join the famous Sandy Powell Road Show. The following year, Jimmy was to be the youngest performer to appear in the Royal Command Performance of 1935.

Miscellany

Following Fr. Lavery's departure in February 1934 came the newly ordained Fr. James Gilgunn. Another departure from Sheffield in the same year was Fr. Joe McDonald.

At the 1934 C.Y.M.S. St. Patrick's Smoking Concert, the Foster Shield was presented to Albert Dowling who had beaten veteran Joe Lynch in the final round.

On Sunday April 22nd 1934, eleven "Merriest Fellows", accompanied for the first time by three merriest ladies, gave their now traditional charity concert in the Parish Hall, again to a packed house.

A new development in St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S spiritual activities was the inauguration on Sunday August 26th 1934 of the Daily Mass Crusade Week which was a devotion originated by the Scottish National Society and already established in other C.Y.M.S. branches in England and Wales.

The vacancy created by Fr. Joe McDonald's departure earlier in the year was filled in October 1934 by the arrival of Fr. T. Finnegan who arrived in time to enjoy that month the Columba Operatic Society's presentation under the musical direction of Frank Finnigan with his brother Hugh in the title role from Wednesday October 17th to Saturday October 20th, of a highly colourful and successful version of "The Mikado".

November brought news from the Phibsborough House of the death, at the age of 76, of Fr. James Conran who, in 1917, had returned to Dublin due to ill health after eleven years as Rector in Sheffield.

Meanwhile, the juggernaut of slum demolition and clearance rolled on, encroaching like a tidal wave along the Crofts and coming nearer to the church itself as the months went by. So the scattering of the flock begun in the late 1920's continued relentlessly and was to have far-reaching effects upon the entire life of the parish. By the middle of 1934, not without protests from the clergy and other authorities in St. Vincent's, more than a thousand people, mainly Catholics, had been moved to the outlying housing estates from the area bounded by Scotland Street, Edward Street, Furnace Hill, Copper Street, Lambert Street, Snow Lane, Allen Street, Solly Street, Trinity Street and Allen Street - all within about 300 yards of the church which crowned White Croft.

CHAPTER 22

THE 1930's - PART 2

The years of Phoney Peace

As the scything of the parish slums proceeded unchecked in the middle years of the 1930's, the members of the parish population having been depleted by 1935 by no less than 5,000, concern was growing throughout the nation regarding the developments of the dreaded National Socialist Party in Germany.

The Catholic Social Guild

These middle years saw the establishment in the parish, as well as in the Sheffield Council of the K.S.C., of the Catholic Social Guild whose purpose was to raise in all interested Catholics a better appreciation of the implications of social problems, material, political and spiritual. Parish leaders in this movement were Ted Milner, Bernard Doherty and Bernard Sherlock among others and the Guild was responsible for the organisation of debates and discussions and the distribution of literature expounding the Catholic viewpoint on matters of controversy. An attempt had been made during the first World War, following the 1915 C.Y.M.S. National Conference at which the Jesuit Father, Charles Plater, founder of the C.S.G. was present, to establish the Guild's activities in St. Vincent's but this appears to have been short-lived. The revival of the Guild in Sheffield, with regular meetings and discussions in the C.Y.M.S. club-room, was stimulated by a visit and address by the Guild's National Director of the time, Fr. L. 0' Hea.

Miscellany

The start of 1935 was marked by the death, in January, of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Bourne. The brief initial service to St. Vincent's of Fr. T. Finnegan also ended in January on his transfer to Lanark, although he was to return to Solly Street some years later for a much longer term.

The pupils, teachers and parents of St. Joseph's also had their farewells when in February 1935, after 28 years of devoted teaching service at the Howard Hill school, Miss Helen Jane Brown, the Infants' Head Teacher, retired. The 1935 Annual General Meeting of the C.Y.M.S. on February 9th affirmed its confidence in the Officers by returning the executive unchanged from the previous year and the St. Patrick's Smoking Concert was the occasion for the presentation of the Foster Shield for that year to Len Gibbons following his victory over Joe Maher.

A regular visitor to St. Vincent's for the ceremonies of Holy Week marked his tenth successive year for this solemn occasion in 1925. Fr. James Thompson came to Sheffield year by year from the Vincentian house at Mill Hill and was later to become Rector of the Sheffield Mission.

The departure from Sheffield in April 1935 of Fr. Gerard Tierney was followed very shortly by the arrival in the same month of Fr. Dan O'Connell, another priest who was to carve his own niche in the parish history.

A New Purpose for St. Joseph's Home

In May 1935, St. Joseph's Home at Howard Hill was again in the news when the next chapter of its merciful works started with its doors opened to receive the first of the mentally retarded children, the vanguard of the many who have been cared for at Walkley ever since, up to the early 80's.

Padley and Back - Ten Old Pence

A mark in both parish and C.Y.M.S. history was reached when the Society was responsible for organising a pilgrimage to the martyrs' shrine at Padley. This took place on Easter Tuesday 1935 and involved a return fare from Sheffield Midland Station to Grindleford of ten pence (4.n.p.)

C.O.S. stage "Iolanthe"

The musical talents of the Columba Operatic Society were now being regularly aired in St. Vincent's Hall and their 1935 production of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "Iolanthe" was indeed an ambitious one. The ambition was justified by packed houses every night from Wednesday October 16th to Saturday the 19th. The Society also introduced the delightful practice of giving an additional private performance of their complete production for the entertainment of clergy and nuns from all parts of Sheffield. This special performance was staged on the Sunday afternoon of the weekend of the visits by these highly-talented singers.

Requiem for a dead King

In common with all the nation, the parish mourned on January 21st 1936 the passing of King George V and the occasion was suitably marked within the services in the church. This sadness was heightened in February by news of the death of Fr. Patrick Hullen, whose eight and a half years of service to St. Vincent's had included the whole of the 1914/18 war.

Brother John Cummings - C.Y.M.S.

The 1936 A.G.M. of the C.Y.M.S. on Sunday February 9th was notable on two counts. No less than 24 names were submitted for election to the Committee, a healthy sign of the increasing influx of youthful members graduating to C.Y.M.S. membership from the adjoining healthy and thriving St. Vincent's Boys Club. Secondly, at the other end of the age scale, a new Vice president, John Cummings was adopted. John's membership of the Branch stretched back in an unbroken line to 1897, the year before the now 38-year old "new" Club was opened. Having served for many years as a rank and file committee man, John was to go on to become not only Branch President but also to become the oldest C.Y.M.S. member in the entire country. This distinction earned him elevation within the Society to the position of Honorary National Vice-President before his death in November 1973 at the age of 93 with more than 76 years of service in the Society.

Presentation by a Visiting Bishop

One of the new generation of C.Y.M.S. members earned himself distinction in 1936 when at the age of 19, Austin Page became, at that time, the youngest ever victor in the Foster Shield tournament after defeating Jim Kelly in the final round. Austin also had the singular distinction of receiving the Shield from the hands of a visiting Vincentian, Bishop C.A. Wollgarten, Bishop of Limon, Costa Rica who honoured the Society's St Patrick's Smoking Concert with his presence.

A New Sacred Heart Church

Despite the lapse of 15 years since the Sacred Heart Parish had separated from St. Vincent's, all the Vincentian parishioners shared the rejoicing of their Hillsborough brethren when on March 25th 1936, the present Sacred Heart church at Forbes Road was officially opened and blessed. The minds of many of those present at the ceremony inevitably turned back to the pre-1903 days of the Barracks chapel and even further to the work in the area of the first Sheffield Vincentian missioners. The combined choirs of St. Vincent's and St. Marie's assisted at the opening ceremony.

John Flynn R.I.P.

One great character who remembered much of those days very well died only four days after the opening of the new Hillsborough church. John Flynn passed to his eternal reward on Passion Sunday, March 29th at the age of 72 years of which sixty three had been spent in the services of St. Vincent's choir. Born in the parish in 1864, the year of Father Burke's return to Ireland, John, a scion of a great choral family, was laid to rest at Rivelin close to the chapel which, as a thirteen year old chorister, he had helped to inaugurate in 1877. Many of John's old comrades were still among the 500 people in St. Vincent's Hall on the following Sunday April 5th to enjoy once again the brilliant musical renderings of "The Merriest Fellows" giving their annual charity concert.

The End of a Notable Bishopric

In May 1936, the entire Leeds diocese was plunged into mourning by the death of the revered Bishop, Dr Robert Joseph Cowgill, after nearly thirty years in the bishopric which, nationally, had grown in stature during his years of office. A regular visitor to the Sheffield Vincentian Mission since his first recorded occasion to open and bless the new pulpit in 1908, he always expressed his delight on these occasions in walking down a Solly Street lined on both sides by cheering Crofts parishioners, Catholics and non-Catholics, and up a church slope lined by members of the many parish societies.

Scholars' Sports at the Farm Grounds

The same societies were again much in evidence when, on June 1st 1936, on the coldest Whit Monday on record up to that time, 800 children from St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's schools went in brisk procession to the Farm Grounds. It may have been the coldness of the day which caused a young scholar, Ernest Gay, to run so fast in the quarter mile race to earn himself for the second successive year not only the winner's place but also the Joe Carrington Cup presented for the event by the parish's nationally known athlete. Ernest showed his heels at the tape on this occasion to a younger Joe Clarke as runner up and an older Morgan Sweeney in third place.

The Blessed Horans

Sunday June 21st 1936 saw another of the much blessed Horan family offered to the service of God when James, an ex-pupil of St. Joseph's school, was ordained at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. The Horans were to become completely unique in the parish's history, giving two sons to the priesthood and five daughters to take the nun's veil, three to the Sacred Heart order, one to the Carmelite order and one to the order of La Sante Union, Ireland.

A Unique Double

Another rare ceremony took place in St. Vincent's church on Saturday July 4th 1936 when, with appropriate ceremonies, two daughters of a very old parish family, Agnes and Margaret Crosby were married at the one ceremony by Fr. Nicholas Comerford with, respectively, Mr. Joe Hale and Mr. Terry Fannon in front of a crowded congregation.

A New Bishop for Leeds

The new Bishop of Leeds, Monsignor John Henry Poskitt, was consecrated into his office on September 21st. At the time of the new Bishop's consecration, it is recorded that the three previous years of slum clearance had scythed the Sunday congregations at St Vincent's churches from over 3,000 in 1933 to just over 2,000 in 1936. The slum clearance steam roller had rolled nearer and nearer to the church, quite literally flattening many of the streets within hailing distance of the evermore prominent church tower.

More Music from the C.O.S.

This dereliction of the area did not adversely affect the growing popularity of the Columba Operatic Society whose lavish production of "The Yeoman of the Guard" in St. Vincent's Hall attracted full houses at every performance from Wednesday October 14th to Saturday October 17th 1936.

Notable Nuptials - and another sad loss

Another notable marriage took place in St. Vincent's the following month when, on November 28th, with Nuptial Mass and Papal Blessing, Miss Margaret Lally joined in matrimony Mr. Michael Killowsky, a well known local professional footballer. Margaret, the younger daughter of the late and great Tom Lally, was herself an accomplished entertainer, singer and dancer who had played important roles in her father's charity concert parties during the 1914/18 war and at parish social and charity events in the years that followed. Her father's choral and solo achievements went back in time to the presence in St. Vincent's in the 1880's of Fr. Gaynor and, sadly, 1936 ended with news of the death in December of this musician-priest who, in his four and a half years at Solly Street had done so much to consolidate the foundations upon which the now renowned St. Vincent's choir and its ancillary choral and operatic societies had been built.

Miraculous Medal Devotions

The foundation in the parish of the Sodality of the Miraculous Medal took place on Sunday November 29th 1936 as the conclusion of a Triduum of Prayer conducted from the previous Wednesday to Friday by Father Francis Flynn, C.M. At the foundation of the Sodality, more than 200 members were enrolled by Fr. Flynn, a former parishioner of St. Vincents.

Brother Bernard Leaves

The beginning of 1937 saw the departure from St. Vincent's senior boys' school of Brother Bernard, teacher of the final-year senior class of pupils. He was also the prime mover for sports and games for the upper school. He left St. Vincent's to become Head Master of Slatefield School Glasgow.

New Bishop's First Visitation

The first visitation of the new Bishop of Leeds to St. Vincent's took place on Sunday January 24th 1937 when His Lordship celebrated the Solemn High Mass at 11 o'clock and in the afternoon administered confirmation to 200 children and 63 adults. Priests in Solly Street at the time were V. Rev J. Bennett P.P.,N.J. Comerford, P. Barry, D. O'Connell, E. Conran, M. Heron, C. O'Leary, J. Gilgunn and Bro. W. Smith.

At the C.Y.M.S. Annual General Meeting on Sunday February 14th, Peter Fitzsimmons stood down from the Branch Presidency and was succeeded by Joe O'Hara with John Tracey, Secretary and Bill Evans, Treasurer. In the Foster Shield final round for 1937, the name of Pizzuti again appeared when Joe's brother, Umberto, played and defeated Pat Fleming in March and both received their medals at the St. Patrick's Smoking Concert on Wednesday March 17th. During Lent, four of the priests were absent conducting two-week Missions - Fr. Bennett at St. William's, O'Leary (Wombwell and Leeds), Conran (Bristol) and Barry (Dublin).

Vale Sacerdos Magnus

Notably absent from this C.Y.M.S. celebration for the first time in very many years was Fr. Nicholas Comerford who had been patiently enduring illness for several weeks. The knowledge of his condition did nothing to diminish the shock and grief which followed his final submission on April 15th 1937 at the age of 63. He had continued, so far as was possible, his editorial work for "The Vincentian" until the day of his death and an unfinished article relating to the early history of the parish was lying beside his bed when he died. From 1913, he had been a giant, literally and metaphorically, in St. Vincent's and wider Catholic affairs in Sheffield. Apart from a short spell of service at the Vincentian Training College at Hammersmith, his work for Catholicism in Sheffield was continuous for 24 years, including chaplaincies and spiritual directorships of the Padley Society, the Children of Mary, the Ladies of Charity, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Catholic Nurses Guild, the Union of Catholic Mothers and the Sacred Heart Confraternities among others. He revived the publication of the parish magazine "The Vincentian" in March 1929 after a lapse of nearly ten years and remained its editor, chief contributor and major domo until the day of his death. His body was laid in state in the old sacristy adjoining St. Joseph's altar and many hundreds, men, women, children, Catholic and non-Catholic alike filed past the bier sorrowfully paying their last personal and, in many cases, tearful tributes to this wonderful man and priest. Over 70 priests were present to celebrate the Solemn Requiem Mass on Sunday April 18th which preceded the final obsequies and internment at St. Michael's cemetery in the afternoon. Almost the whole of the May 1937 issue of his beloved "Vincentian" was devoted to the report of Fr. Comerford's death and to the flood of tributes which came from far and wide. Shortly after his passing, a small memorial plaque was placed near the main entrance of the church bearing the legend "Pray for the soul of Rev. Nicholas Comerford (died April 15th 1937) who for many years laboured in this parish R.I.P." A final tribute to him from the parishioners whom he had served so devotedly for nearly a quarter of a century.

Dramatic Beginnings

A literally dramatic development took place in June 1937 when St. Vincent's Amateur Dramatic Society was founded after an inaugural meeting on June 10th. The Society came to life with forty members plus another ten honorary patron members and its birth was one of the first reports of the new "Vincentian" editor, Fr. Dan O'Connell.

A Second Father Milner

Another "first" on June 26th, in which St. Vincent's and its parishioners had a justifiably proud interest was the ordination in Rome into the Jesuit order of Father Harry Milner. What made this occasion unique was that Fr. Harry, who was to serve his calling in the Far East, including Russia, was the first Yorkshireman to be ordained in the Oriental Rite. Meanwhile, Father Harry's brother, Ted, was still at the forefront of the Catholic Social Guild movement in Sheffield with regular meetings on Tuesday evenings in the C.Y.M.S. club rooms. At the time, only three branches of the Guild existed in Sheffield - at St. Vincent's, in the K.S.C. Council 47 and at Our Lady and St. Thomas Parish, Beauchief.

Squires to the Knights

The K.S.C. Council was also active in the foundation at St. Joseph's Howard Hill, on July 25th 1937, of the Squires Council (No.128) in Sheffield for junior aspirants to Knighthood of St. Columba.

Start of another parish record

The Vincentian Community in Sheffield bade farewell on August 21st 1937, after seven years of service at Solly Street, to Fr Edward Conran who left for the Lanark House and was almost immediately replaced by two newly-ordained members of the Congregation, Fathers Gerry Galligan and Edward McDonagh. After a brief settling-in period, Fr. McDonagh took over the editorship of "The Vincentian", one of the first of many duties he was to perform for St. Vincent's and for the cause of Catholic life in Sheffield over the next 26 years.

Goodbye to John Denham

The arrival of the two young priests almost coincided with the retirement in August, after 39 years as parish organist (among a host of other things) at St. Vincent's of the revered and masterly musician, John Denham. For some time, John had been in failing health and he left quietly and without much fuss to take up residence in London. His worthy successor at the organ console was his young protegé of twenty years earlier, Ted Milner, whose own musical associations inside and outside the parish in those years were later to rise to great heights, including the accompaniment at City Hall concerts of internationally known visiting artistes, among them The Four Ramblers (including Val Doonican) the Irish folk singer, Mary O'Hara and the internationally famous tenor Frank Titterton.

Bill Hayes, International Captain

International recognition in another sphere came in October 1937 when former St. Vincent's schoolboy footballer, Bill Hayes, who, during his school career, had gained representative sporting honours at city and county level was recognised by his birthplace, Ireland, with an international soccer cap. After leaving St. Vincent's, Bill had taken up the soccer game as a professional, graduating to the captaincy of Huddersfield Town and, ultimately, to the captaincy of the Irish national team.

Demolition and Re-building side by side

Some efforts were being made at this time to heal or at least to try to cover over some of the scars left around the Crofts by the slum clearance programme and work had started on the building of blocks of flats at the top end of Edward Street and Solly Street. Meanwhile, elsewhere close to the church, the demolition of the old properties continued in Hollis Croft, White Croft, Solly Street, Brocco Street, Kenyon Street, Garden Street, Broad Lane and Wheeldon Street.

This did not deter, however, the enthusiastic patrons of the Columba Operatic Society, whose double Gilbert and Sullivan productions of Pirates of Penzance and Trial by Jury in St. Vincent's Hall from Wednesday October 27th to Saturday October 30th attracted aggregate audiences of over 1,000 people. Earlier in the same month, on October 13th 1937, a St. Vincent's Company of Girl Guides was founded with eight girls enrolled by the local District Commissioner, Mrs. Renwick.

Death of Mrs Clara Benson

As 1937 drew towards its close, one of the parish's oldest friends and greatest benefactors, Clara Benson, died on December 10th after several months of illness. Mrs. Benson's records of service to St. Vincent's, though recorded in these annals, still speak for themselves even today as one looks around the church and its environs, notably the Parish Hall and the Baptistry. Among bequests in Mrs. Benson's will were £2,500 to the Vincentian headquarters at Phibsborough for the training of student priests, £500 to St. Vincent's Sheffield for Masses, £200 to the Little Sisters of the Poor in Sheffield, £100 to the Sheffield Sisters of Charity, £100 to St. Vincent's Ladies of Charity and £50 to St. Vincent's V.de P Conference.

A Double Jubilee for Jim

Also in December 1937, Jim McGrady celebrated his Golden Jubilee as an outdoor collector for St. Vincent's, including thirty years as chief collector. Jim had also at the time been President of the Men's Branch of the Sacred Heart Confraternity for 25 years. This double Jubilee was marked for "the Generalissimo", as he was affectionately known by his contemporaries, by a Spiritual Bouquet of 50 Masses and a Vatican telegram conferring upon him a Papal blessing. The presentation to Mr. McGrady took place at a special Parish Social in St. Vincent's Hall on December 30th, an occasion which also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the founding in the parish of the Sacred Heart Sodality in 1887.

Jim was also an honoured guest at the annual C.Y.M.S. Social on Monday January 31st 1938 which took the form of a Dinner and Concert in the Club Rooms. The club was also the rendezvous, two weeks later, of the parish Catholic Social Guild for their first meeting of 1938 on Tuesday February 15th under the spiritual directorship of Fr. Dan O'Connell. The Annual General Meeting of the C.Y.M.S. members on the previous Sunday, also decided as a tribute to the late Fr. Comerford, who had been a great friend and patron of the Branch and its members, that the Annual General Communion of St. Vincent's Branch members, in memory of all their deceased brothers, should take place on Easter Sunday, being the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of Fr. Comerford's death. In this, it is almost certain that the Branch gave the lead which was eventually to be followed by branches throughout the country who now commonly share the Annual General Communion on a national basis on Easter Monday morning of each year.

A New Club Steward

The Stewardship of the Club also changed hands when Jack Archbould relinquished the post to be succeeded by Jim Purcell, Snr. The Foster Shield for 1938 went, in the final round, to another old stager, Bill Oakes, who beat Fred Mulligan for the coveted trophy on Monday March 14th.

A Tribute from "The Merriest Fellows"

The previous week-end, Sunday March 6th, had seen another tuneful and welcome visit to the crowded Parish Hall of "The Merriest Fellows" On this occasion the members of the party paid their own very moving tribute to Fr. Comerford who had been a very close friend of many of the Company through the years in which they had regaled St. Vincent's with their first-class entertainment.

An Ill Wind

The tide of the slum-clearance campaign had by this time lapped to the very doors and walls of the church itself, leaving open areas of dereliction on every hand. On Easter Sunday, 1938 the Rector, Fr. Bennett launched a powerful and (in the event) successful appeal for funds to acquire the rubble-strewn land which was now all that was left surrounding the church between White Croft, Hollis Croft and Solly Street.

A "Star" in the making

The Lady Statue was crowned in May 1938 by Miss Sheila Magee, who had as her escorting cushion bearer a young boy who was to achieve world fame for his acting on stage and in films. Patrick McGoohan, who was later to learn his Thespian arts through the humble beginnings of St. Vincent's Amateur Dramatic Society and St. Vincent's Youth Centre productions in which he drew crowds from throughout South Yorkshire, graduated to the Sheffield Repertory Company and thence to an almost meteoric rise to international acting fame, his most famous roles being those of "Danger Man" and the cult series "The Prisoner" which he wrote, directed and starred in, both of which were distributed for world-wide showing.

Founding of St. Theresa's Parish

The growth of the Catholic population on the outlying housing estates of Sheffield, a large number of them from the demolished areas around St. Vincent's Church, was evidenced by the opening on May 31st 1938 of the original St. Theresa's Church (now the Parish Social Club) at Prince of Wales Road in the heart of the Manor estate, by his Lordship, Bishop John Henry Poskitt of Leeds.

Ann Golland, Augustinian

The pride of religious vocation was enjoyed in June 1938 by the Golland family of St. Vincent's when, on the 24th of that month, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Ann Golland was admitted as a postulant to the Augustinian Order of nuns at Grange over Sands in Lancashire

Walter John Walsh R.I.P.

The August issue of "The Vincentian" carried a lengthy tribute by Fr, Charles Bagnall following the death, in Sheffield, on July 17th 1938, of Walter John Walsh who, in the true traditions of his family, had continued the benefactions to St. Vincent's begun many years earlier by his late father, John Walsh.

The End of the Red Hill Convent

Sixty years of occupancy by the Sisters of Charity of the Red Hill Convent came to a regretted end on August 29th 1938 when the remaining nuns moved to their sister house at Howard Hill. Under the local Council's redevelopment scheme, the nuns at Broad Lane had been living for the previous three years under the shadow of a compulsory purchase order and the final closure of the well-known convent caused real sadness among the few Crofts parishioners still remaining in the area.

A Second Farewll to Fr. James Bennett P.P.

Early in the following month, September, Father James Bennett finally ended his second Rectorship of the Sheffield Mission and returned to Dublin. He was succeeded as Parish Priest by Father Christopher O'Leary at a crucial time when the storm clouds of war were gathering once again over Europe and the country, despite the Munich declaration between the German Fuhrer and Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, was gearing itself for what seemed an inevitable conflict once again with the Germans. Another arrival at Solly Street in September 1938 was Father John Gill who, as a regular missioner, had a wide-ranging reputation as a powerful preacher. Fr. Gill's stay on this occasion was a short one as he was transferred to the Sundayswell Mission at St. Vincent's Cork in January 1939.

A Byzantine Mass

On Sunday September 18th 1938, a crowded church was privileged to witness the celebration by Fr. Harry Milner and his fellow Jesuit Fr. Wilcock of Holy Mass in the Byzantine Rite, the only occasion when parishioners had the honour of participating in St. Vincent's church in the Eastern form of Christian worship.

Vincent O'Dea C.M. Ordained

The schools of St. Joseph shared with his family the joy and pleasure attendant upon the ordination of an ex-pupil when, on Sunday October 2nd 1938, a son of the O'Dea family, Vincent, was ordained at Holy Cross College, Dublin, as a priest of the Congregation of the Mission.

A New Director for the Boys Club

Control of St. Vincent's Boys' Club passed from Fr. James Gilgunn to the new Spiritual hands of Fr. Edward McDonagh in Autumn 1938 and the new spiritual Director of the Boys' club immediately took in hand the redecoration of the club rooms and the much needed installation of a new fireplace for the physical comfort of the boys.

Revenue Problems

About the same time, Fr. O'Leary and his fellow priests called together a body of senior parishioners to form an improvements Committee, founded for the fund-raising for general parish development purposes and for the organising of parish social events. Such an organising body had become more essential by the fact that, by the end of 1938, more than 3,000 of St. Vincent's parishioners had been dispersed over the previous six years to the housing estates some miles from the city centre. The church's revenue was comparably depressed despite the fact that, in spite of the distances involved, many of the older Vincentian parishioners still made the journey from the new estates to Solly Street for their Sunday Mass.

Further Purchase of Adjacent Land

The demolishers of the houses and buildings around the church inevitably left behind a considerable amount of useless debris. During 1937 and 1938 the clergy, with considerable foresight, acquired plot by plot, land left empty by demolition, for proposed future extensions of the school playgrounds and church surrounds. During 1938, the rough ground left between the church and Hollis Croft was levelled and tidied by the priests, assisted by the boys' school headmaster, Bro. Pius and several of his senior school boys and a group of C.Y.M.S. members. The clearance of this site was completed just before Christmas 1938 and it was estimated that approximately 600 tons of bricks and rubble had been removed in the process.

Jimmy Fletcher Returns to the stage

In January 1939, after an enforced nine months rest from the hurly-burly of the entertainments business, Jimmy Fletcher, former boy treble soloist in St. Vincent's choir, returned to the cast of Sandy Powell's new Road Show. Jimmy's singing performances in the intervening four years since he had left St. Vincent's choir had brought him personal fame and to the parish reflected kudos.

Diocesan C.Y.M.S. Rally

On Sunday January 29th 1939, the Sheffield City Oval Hall at 8 p.m. was the scene of a Grand Demonstration and Rally organised by the Leeds Diocesan Council of the C.Y.M.S. in which St. Vincent's Branch had played a leading role. The occasion was chaired by His Lordship the Bishop of Leeds and attended by the C.Y.M.S. National President, J. S. McNulty accompanied by Father Harty, Leeds Diocesan Chaplain. Musical diversions before the start of the Rally were given on the City Hall organ by St. Vincent's organist, Ted Milner. The chief guest speaker, from Glasgow, was a prominent Scottish Catholic leader, Captain R Maguire, who had been responsible for having the Scottish Society's practice of Daily Mass Crusade Weeks adopted by branches of the English and Welsh C.Y.M.S.

Requiem for a Pontiff

The death, early in February 1939, of His Holiness, Pope Pius XIth was commemorated in St. Vincent's church on Thursday February 16th with Solemn Requiem Mass. The first day of February had also brought news from the Lanark House of the death, at the age of 57, of Fr. R. J. Wilson whose service in Sheffield, following his duty as Army Chaplain in the last year of the first World War, had included Spiritual Directorship of the choir.

A New Pope as the clouds of war gather

The February General Meeting of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. saw only one change in the Branch when Joe Pizzuti succeeded John Cummings as Vice-president. The Foster Shield Final victor for 1939 was John O'Hara, Junior, who beat Roddy Peck in this 42nd year of competition for this historic trophy. Pope Pius XIIth was elected as Supreme Pontiff on March 2nd 1939 and his coronation followed ten days later. The usual world-wide joy accompanying such an important event was clouded on this occasion by the ever-growing fears of war.

John Denham dies

Nearer home, the parishioners of St. Vincent's were saddened by the news in March of the death on Saint Patrick's day at the age of 81, in London of John Denham, the church's retired organist. Following a collapse during the Forty Hours Devotion at St. Vincent's in 1937, John had quietly stepped away from the organ console which he had occupied since 1898 and had retired without fuss to the home of his son Edward in London, from where he was buried at the Elmer's End Cemetery.

Departure of Fr. Michael Heron

Father Michael Heron, one of whose major interest in St. Vincent's had been the care and development of the Boys' Club, had not enjoyed the best of health during his time in Sheffield and after nearly ten years of service to the Solly Street Mission, he returned to Ireland for other duties in April 1939.

Miraculous Medal Devotions Begin

The traditional honour which the Vincentians and their parishioners pay to the Blessed Virgin took further form in the Sheffield Mission with the establishment in the first week of May 1939 of the Novena devotions associated with Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a devotion which has been maintained unbroken in the parish up to the present day. The Novena was originally held at the evening devotions every Thursday night, but later, with the introduction of regular weekday evening Masses, the devotion was transferred to its present place on Monday evenings as a conclusion of the 8 p.m. Mass on that day each week. In the summer of the year 1939, the Padley Society paid tribute to their former Chaplain, Fr. Nicholas Comerford, with a gift to the library of Sheffield University of over sixty Catholic books each containing a personal dedication to the late chaplain.

Tragic News from China

Tragic news came back to Sheffield in August 1939 with the report from China of the accidental drowning on the 13th of the month at Pestaho a small Pacific coast-town, of Fr. Jim Milner C.M. at the age of only 38 years and the parish sincerely shared the sorrow of this bereavement with his relatives in Sheffield. Following his ordination in France in 1930, Fr. James served for the next eight years first at Liverpool and then at the Irish College in Paris, where his linguistic abilities occasioned an invitation to attend a meeting of the French Cabinet as an expert adviser on educational matters, believed to be the only occasion when such an invitation has been extended to a British Catholic priest. His expertise in languages also enabled him to master, in the incredible space of twelve months, sufficient of the Chinese language so that, when he left for the Chinese Mission in 1939, he was sufficiently fluent in this most difficult of languages to preach to a Chinese congregation in their own tongue. Sadly, his Chinese ministry was all too short and it is believed he said his Mass on the morning of his death, went for a pre-breakfast swim in the bay at Pestaho and whilst swimming was seized by a heart attack which caused his drowning.

Missionary Changes at Solly Street

The start of the 1939 war with Germany brought a number of changes in the Mission Staff at St. Vincent's with the departure of Fr. Patrick Barry and the arrivals, also in September, of Fathers Joseph McNamara, Owen McArdle and Michael Devlin. Two months later, Fr. Devlin was to be transferred away from Sheffield again as Chaplain to the Forces.

Sister Teresa's Golden Jubilee

September 30th 1939 marked the Golden Jubilee of the profession to the Sisters of Charity of Sister Teresa (Walker) who had come to the Red Hill House in 1890 to spend the next 34 years as teacher and subsequently Head Teacher of St. Vincent's girls school until her retirement in 1924.

… And a Silver Jubilee for good measure

Two months after Sister Teresa's Golden Jubilee, another long-serving teaching nun Sister Lucy (Neville) celebrated the Silver Jubilee of her profession to the Daughters of Charity. Sister Lucy had arrived in Sheffield in the early months of the first world War very shortly after taking her final vows and soon established herself as a teacher in the Girls' School of which she eventually became Head Teacher. Following her retirement from teaching duties, she took upon herself the daily task of visiting the old, the sick and the needy of all denominations within the parish, walking wherever she went, and her smiling face and cheerful encouragement were for many years a regular feature in hospitals and homes which she made it her duty to visit until mid-1977 when due to her own failing health in her mid-eighties, she was obliged to rest from her arduous works of charity during which, in 1964, she celebrated her own Golden Jubilee. Sadly, she did not survive long in retirement and on July 5th 1978 she passed peacefully away and was buried five days later at St. Michael's Cemetery Rivelin.

In the autumn of 1939, a generous benefactor presented the clergy of St. Vincent's with a new set of vestments for the celebration of High Mass. The beautiful workmanship involved in these vestments was accomplished by an expert seamstress parishioner, Mrs. Pedowski, but the name of the donor was kept anonymous.

The Old Boys Association Revived

Also in October, only one month after the outbreak of war, the St. Vincent's Old Boys' Association was re-formed by the C.Y.M.S. Branch members were to keep contact, in their absence from Sheffield, with all parishioners doing war service in the Forces and other auxiliary units. The tremendous work of the O.B.A. was to continue throughout the following six war years and after. Despite the onset of this new and terrible war, time was still found in December 1939 to celebrate a link with the past stretching back over fifty years. The venerable brothers, Pat and Joe Murray, jointly celebrated their own Golden Jubilee of service to St. Vincent's choir. Pat had, in fact, started as an altar boy in 1887 and brother Joe had followed the same path in 1889.

The Parish Societies and Organizations - Sine qua non!

At this point, the writer must make to his reader an apology. It has not been possible to include in these records much of the detailed activity of some of the parish societies but this should not be construed as a slight in any form upon admirable works of these excellent organisations. The error of omission is due to two main factors - first that such charitable organisations as the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and the Ladies Association of Charity seek no encomiums for the wonderful work which they carry on increasingly among the poor, the sick and the needy so that outside their own meetings very little public information emerges. Similarly, the spiritual devotions, social activities and other benefits bestowed upon parish life by many other auxiliary and ancillary movements are often not made as public as they deserve to be. Probably the most notable exception to this last comment are the activities of St. Vincent's Branch of the Catholic Young Men's Society which were always reported in detail of minutes, notices, parish magazine articles etc., and consequently are found so frequently in these records. That should not and does not, however, deter the writer from paying full tribute to other perhaps more reluctant parish institutions as follows:- The Altar Society, The Living Rosary Sodality, The Children of Mary, The Legion of Mary, The Catholic Social Guild, The Catholic Nurses Guild, The Study Circle, The Union of Catholic Mothers, The Ladies Guilds, The Catholic Women's League, The Sacred Heart Confraternities, The Improvements and Restoration Fund Committees, the Dramatic and Operatic Societies, the parish Social Committees, the Scouts Guides Cubs and Brownies, the football teams (school and C.Y.M.S.) the Annual Parish Missions and Retreats, the Whit Monday Processions, the parish outings, Choir trips and schoolchildrens' outings financed by the Molloy Fund. All these and more have contributed their own unique and priceless piece of mosaic that has made up the picture of the life and spirit of St. Vincent's from its foundation.

CHAPTER 23

The Early 1940's

Destruction and Recovery

Several of the men parishioners of St. Vincent's Parish had, as volunteer reservists, been called to their respective military duties at the outbreak of the war and the introduction of conscription to the armed services added to the voluntary enlistment of many youths and older men not liable to conscription soon began a depletion of men from parish families which was to accelerate and continue throughout the war. After the 'phoney-war' period up to the beginning of 1940, the German invasion and overrunning of Holland, Belgium and France and the evacuation of troops and auxiliary services from the French coast took its toll of the parishioners involved in those early battles and brought home the realities of modern war in a way that this country had never previously known. The tensions of invasion in Europe were shared by all in this country and many thousands of prayers went up from the White Croft Church from ordinary people who now saw their very freedom imperilled by the menace on the far side of the English Channel. Prayers, too, ascended with the members of the Royal Air Force as the summer and autumn battles in the skies intensified as a prelude to what all believed would be an inevitable invasion of Britain. Night bombing raids were also being made by the Germans and the first taste of high explosive in Sheffield was felt within the parish when, in September 1940, a stray German aircraft released a stick of five bombs, two of which fell within the parish boundaries.

Two New Sheffield Parishes

Despite the war-time strictures, however, Sheffield Catholics were cheered by the opening in 1940 of two new parishes. On April 25th, the new school-chapel of St. Oswalds (later to become the parish of Our Lady, Queen of Heaven) to serve the many Catholics on the Wybourn estates, was opened by the Bishop of Leeds who in the following month, on May 23rd, performed a similar duty in opening the new church of Saint Patrick's at Sheffield Lane Top. The original church-hall of St. Oswald's had been established as an adjacent site on Southend Road, Wybourn in 1935 as a chapel-of-ease to St. Marie's.

Fr. Cuthbert Brown

On October 1st 1939, another Sheffield "old boy", Cuthbert Brown, was ordained at Oscott Seminary, Birmingham. After preparatory schooling in North Staffs, Cuthbert progressed to De La Salle College for six years (1926-1932) and to tutelage of the Salesians at Cowley from 1933 until his ordination. Most of his ministry was in the Midlands where he was interred following his death on August 5th 1988 at the age of 72.

The Church and School Victims of War

The September bombing incident was only a prelude of minute proportions compared with the catastrophic destruction inflicted on the city on two nights, December 12/13th and 15/16th 1940 when the German Luftwaffe directed its major bombing offensive first on the town of Sheffield itself and, on the second occasion, against the major steel producing industries along the Don Valley east of Sheffield. The first raid started at 7 p.m. on the Thursday evening and for the next nine hours, the city and its urban districts endured a continuous battering by successive waves of German bombers until at about 4.30 a.m. on the Friday they had departed, leaving behind them a holocaust of fire and destruction which included a very severely damaged St. Vincent's Church which, during the raid, had endured and almost withstood a direct hit on the adjoining girls' school by a heavy high-explosive device later identified as a parachute air mine which landed on the roof of the original 1853 chapel. The damage witnessed by the writer at 8 o'clock on the Friday morning was little short of disastrous in the devastation which had been wrought upon the House of God and its surroundings. Only later were the stories of heroism to come to light regarding the actions of the clergy(Fr. McDonagh and Brother Smith) in rescuing, at the very height of the raid, the Blessed Sacrament from its tabernacle on the high altar. Gone in a huge heap of rubble was the entire girls' school including the original and historic two-room school-chapel where Fr. Burke had founded his Mission eighty-seven years before. Remnants of the old stone stairway worn smooth by hundreds of thousands of faithful feet in those years were still apparent but alongside them the original lower school room, which had served as a chapel for the Hillsborouqh Barracks soldiers, was destroyed together with the oak high altar which from December 1861 to October 1900 had been the centrepiece of the church, in memory of Fr. Thomas Plunkett, until it was replaced by the white marble Foster altar. The latter, also a masterpiece of ornate sculpture and decoration, was also irreparably damaged by the explosion. Every window in the church had been blasted from its frame, including all the beautiful and valuable stained glass which over the years had been added to enhance the beauty of the church. The thirty years old church organ was almost completely destroyed as were the southern ends of the new sacristies which had also been opened in 1910. Severe damage was also caused to the roofs of the church particularly on the south side and to the old original sacristy which eventually had to be demolished. The blast from the explosion was so great that it also badly damaged the entire roof of the C.Y.M.S. club rooms, some fifty yards from what was believed to be the epicentre of the explosion. Remarkably, despite the extensive destruction of the high altar, the tabernacle remained intact as also did all the main statuary which had graced the church for so many years.

Salvage Operations and a New "Chapel"

The Rector, Fr. O'Leary and all his staff assisted by many parishioners set out so promptly on the day after the raid to salvage as much as was possible from the destruction within the stricken church that, by the following Sunday December 15th, benches and other furniture remaining were installed in the Parish Hall, a temporary altar was set up and Holy Masses were being celebrated on the Sunday morning not much more than 48 hours after the German raid had inflicted so much damage. The Hall, that great benefaction of the Benson family, was thus to prove a further blessing as the parish's Mass Centre for the next sixteen months after the raid until Easter 1942. Mercifully, the parish and church were spared further damage during the second shorter air-raid on the Sunday night, the bombers concentrating their destructive power on the industrial east end of the City and Rotherham . Work started promptly on salvaging other effects within the church and this included collecting together the badly damaged remnants of the valuable organ from amid the rubble at the south-east end of the church and these pieces were stored in the presbytery, eventually to be re-assembled in the newly-built choir and organ-loft above the church's main entrance during the 1953 Centenary year.

Damage at Howard Hill

At the Walkley end of the parish, despite several bombs falling in the near vicinity during the Thursday air-raid, St. Joseph's Home and Convent escaped with only broken windows and sundry debris, and all the patients nuns and staff came through the ordeal completely unhurt. The roof of St. Joseph's Chapel sustained some blast damage but this was quickly repaired within the next four weeks during which time Mass was celebrated in the school rooms. The school itself had survived the raid and was unscathed except for broken windows.

The C.Y.M.S. Club Damaged Beyond Repair

Salvage work was also undertaken on the C.Y.M.S. club premises but, due to the dangerous condition of the entire building, this was very limited and, apart from a few items of furniture, the games trophies and one of the billiards tables, nothing of consequence was saved from the rooms which, ironically, had only been affected by literally the side effects of the massive explosion on the girls' school. As a consequence, when, for safety reasons, the authorities demolished the club, there were also destroyed very valuable records of the Society, a comprehensive library, valuable social and sports effects which had figured in the life of the Branch members and, not least, an important part of the parish history.

Another Home for the C.Y.M.S.

The C.Y.M.S. members were, however, very fortunate to acquire, early in January 1941, vacant premises of a former pawnbroker's shop at No.166 Solly Street at its junction with Kenyon Street. The place required major alterations to adapt it as club premises and the Committee and members worked extremely hard to this end to such good effect that by March the work was completed, the upper floor being put to use by the adult C.Y.M.S. members and the ground floor occupied by April 16th as a Boys' Club, the original Boys' Club having been destroyed along with the C.Y.M.S. club rooms.

Another Altar in the Consecrated Parish Hall

In February 1941, the St. Joseph's altar, which, astonishingly, had survived the major effects of the explosion less than ten yards away, was dismantled and re-erected in the parish Hall as a more permanent replacement of the temporary altar put to use on December 15th following the air-raid. Included in the re-erected altar was the tabernacle rescued from the wrecked high altar and the Blessed Sacrament was reserved therein. Six temporary confessionals were also installed and on Sunday February 23rd 1941, the Parish Priest of St. Theresa's Church, Fr. Grogan, using special Papal authority, blessed the Hall as a consecrated place of worship and at the same ceremony of evening devotions officiated at the installation in the Hall of the still intact Stations of the Cross, and the rescued statues of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. Anthony. Led by Fr. Grogan and St. Vincent's Rector, Fr. O'Leary, the congregation present made a special devotion of the Stations of the Cross in thanksgiving and the ceremony concluded with the choir singing "Te Deum Laudamus" to the accompaniment of a small harmonium.

A Wartime Combined Operation

It was fitting and an augury for the future that the newly - furbished Parish Hall, now consecrated as a temporary "church" should be put to official use by the celebration of Nuptial Mass on Saturday May 31st 1941, joining together on a very happy occasion by the Parish Priest, Very Reverend Fr. Christopher O'Leary C.M., of a Vincentian parish bride, Miss Ellen Morris with a Sacred Heart parishioner Mr. Thomas Green. The wedding ceremony uniting Tom and Nellie (as they were affactionately known ) was the first Nuptial Mass to be celebrated in the Hall. The happy pair were attended in their celebration by "best man" Tom's brother, Frank, supported by Ellen's two bridesmaids, one from each family, Miss Joan Green, Tom's sister and Ellen's younger sister Eileen. The family retinue was completed by Tom's nephew, Philip Ellis and his niece Maureen Green, both aged 3 years.

Despite the increasing restrictions being imposed by war, a wedding reception was held in the ground-floor room of St. Vincent's Infants' school (the original P.C.H. Hall built by Fr. John Brady in 1892) the area which had been spared the damage elsewhere around the church.

Tom and Nellie settled in St.Vincent's parish at Hope Street for the next 27 years both playing a very active part in parish life, Tom as a zealous member of the C.Y.M.S. and Sacred Heart Sodality and Nellie, also a very faithful member of the Sodality in addition to joining in the other parish ladies' associations.

In 1968 Tom and Nellie moved, appropriately, to the Wisewood area of the Sacred Heart parish where they continued their faithful adherence to the church and its activities and where they celebrated their Golden Anniversary and, happily, in May 2001 their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.

A Welcome Breathing Space

So life in what was left of the Crofts parish began to settle once again to some degree of normality, at least so far as was allowed by the dangers and the restrictions which war conditions increasingly imposed. It was to be more than thirteen years before the church, in the Parish's Centenary Year, was to recover fully from the cataclysmic effects of the most destructive event in the whole history of St. Vincent's, but the immediate restoration of the church's services was nothing less than remarkable.

Sisters Three

The middle months of 1941 were mainly the property of the religious ladies. At Torquay, in May, one of the parish's daughters, Miss Mary Clarke, took her final vows as Sister Theresa in the Sisters of Charity; in June, the greatly-loved Sister Winefride retired after some thirty four years as the infants' school head teacher, although she retained her responsibility as Sister Directrix of St. Vincent's Children of Mary; and on June 25th another daughter of a St. Vincent's family, Miss Annie Golland made her final profession as an Augustinian nun at a clothing ceremony at Grange-over-Sands in Lancashire.

The War Effort at Home

Apart from the inevitable departure from the parish of men and women to serve in the armed and auxiliary forces, many other parishioners, men and women, became involved in various local aspects of the industrial war effort, not only in the more obvious steelmaking and engineering centres but in the less glamorous but equally important work of producing cutlery, surgical instruments, springs and all the other paraphernalia essential to the support of the fighting. Despite long hours of shift working many of these workers still found time to assist in the patchwork repairs, so far as regulations allowed, of the wounds inflicted on the church. Considerable efforts by priests and parishioners alike succeeded in sealing most of the gaping holes left by the German blitzkrieg and during the season of Lent in 1942, a small army of lady helpers, the Mothers Guild led by Mrs. Polly Cummings and the Children of Mary led by Winnie Gardner gave the old church a thorough cleaning in preparation for the removal back to its first home of the church furniture.

The Church Re-opens

The tabernacle rescued from the blitzed church was left and still remains in St. Joseph's altar. At the re-opening of the church in 1942 a new high-altar tabernacle, designed and made by a Mr. Blaydon, was donated by a well-known Sheffield Catholic, Funeral Director, Mr. George Lunt.

After the war, however, a surprise gift of £200.00 was received by the St. Vincent's clergy from a Mr. McDonald in Australia to be used for the provision of the present church repository of the Blessed Sacrament. The tabernacle provided by Mr. Lunt for the church's re-opening in 1942 was offered to and accepted by the parish priest of Our Lady and St. Thomas Church at Meadowhead (Mr. Lunt's own parish church) and was eventually installed in the church of the Holy Spirit at Dronfield, formerly a chapel-of-ease served from Our Lady and St. Thomas but now a parish in its own right.

The first marriages solemnised in the re-opened church took place on April 6th 1942 between Jack Howe and Christine Cleary by Fr. Christopher O'Leary at 9 a.m. in Nuptial Mass and Frank Elmer and Kathleen Leach at 10 a.m.

A temporary sacristy, constructed of hardboard and plasterboard, was erected at the end of St. Joseph's aisle adjacent to the site of the organ and altar and the church's electrical system had been completely rewired by a well-known firm in the parish. The crowning of all this work took place on Easter Sunday, 1942, when, after an absence of sixteen months, the celebration of Holy Mass and other devotions returned to the patched-up church and amid great rejoicings by the parishioners the Masses celebrating the Resurrection of Christ were celebrated at a new High Altar made from polished granite salvaged during demolition of a war-damaged Sheffield building and presented to the parish by Mr. Aloysius O'Neill. In the early part of 1942 also, Aloysius's third Son, Dan, was appointed to the local Magisterial Bench and, at the age of less then 40, became the youngest Justice of the Peace in Sheffield. Dan's wife, Margaret, was also very active at the time in the charitable works of St. Vincent's parish in her capacity as President of the Ladies Association of Charity. Throughout the war the ladies continued their labours of love among the Sheffield poor as also did the Society of St. Vincent de Paul under the presidency at the time of the long-serving stalwart, Edward Finnigan.

The Original Foundation of the Youth Centre

In addition to assisting in the first-aid work on the church, the members of the C.Y.M.S. Branch, having gradually settled into their new club premises, had carried out tidying-up operations also on the site of the now demolished Club rooms, under the capable directions of Secretary, Jack Tracey and the parish's "resident comedian", Joe Lodge. The C.Y.M.S. members remained in the old pawnshop premises but the young parishioners were more fortunate in that the Parish Hall had now been released for more social purposes. A Youth Centre was established in the hall and inaugurated on Sunday April 12th 1942 under the Spiritual Directorship of Fr. Edward McDonagh.

Launch of the Church Restoration Fund

In the autumn months of that year, Father O'Leary, with considerable foresight that financial resources would eventually be required to set the parish and its properties to rights after the war, opened a Restoration Fund project with a committee of lay parishioners, which was to stimulate and co-ordinate over the next few years the fund-raising activities which eventually were to allow following Parish Priests to restore the parish and the church to something of its former glory.

More Changes at the Presbytery

The end of 1942 brought news from Ireland of the death, on Monday December 28th at Cork, of Fr. Tim Manning at the age of 56 years. Fr. Manning had served the Sheffield Mission for two years after the first World War. In February 1943, two of the Sheffield priests, Fr. Gerry Galligan and Fr. Vincent O'Dea were transferred to the Sacred Heart, Mill Hill parish, their places at St. Vincent's being taken straight away by Fathers B. O'Hanlon and J. Oakey. It was a return after a long absence for Fr. O'Hanlon who had served Sheffield for a short time in the early 1920's. Fr. Galligan's transfer to Mill Hill was only a temporary measure and he returned to Sheffield in the Autumn.

Miscellany

An old servant of both St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's infant schools who had retired in July 1939 after forty years at the schools died on February 11th 1943. She was Miss Evelyn O'Reilly and her death prompted a host of tributes from many of her former pupils throughout Sheffield. After a Requiem Mass, she was buried at Rivelin Cemetery.

At the Annual General Meeting of the C.Y.M.S. on Sunday, February 14th 1943, Jack Tracey who had been a very worthy Secretary of the Branch for ten years following the sudden death of John Milner, decided not to stand for re-election and his position was filled by Leo Sullivan. Fred Mulligan who was elected Branch President in 1942 continued in office with Bernard Doherty as his Vice-president and Joe O'Rourke as Treasurer in place of Joe Pizzuti.

The C.P.E.A. and its distinguished founders

An important socio-political development within the parish took place on Monday March 1st 1943 with the foundation at a meeting in the Parish Hall of the Catholic Parents and Electors Association under the Chairmanship of Dan O'Neill and the Vice Chairmanship of Gerard Young. Both these distinguished gentlemen were to make, in later years, their own distinctive marks in the South Yorkshire area, Dan as the first Catholic Lord Mayor of Sheffield and Mr. Young not only a most highly respected industrialist in the city but also Lord Lieutenant of the county area.

Joy and Sadness in short succession

Despite the war, another highly successful concert was held in the Parish Hall by the gentlemen and ladies making up "The Merriest Fellows" on Sunday March 7th 1943 but the traditional C.Y.M.S. St. Patrick's Concert ten days later was clouded by news of the death, on St. Patrick's Day, of the Yorkshireman Cardinal, Dr. Hinsley, Archbishop of Westminster. A Solemn Requiem Mass in memory of Cardinal Hinsley took place in St. Vincent1s Church on Monday March 29th.

A New St. Joseph statue installed

Eleven days earlier, a new addition to the church had been made in the form of a new statue of Saint Joseph given by Mr.Cornelius Smith one of the first pupils of St. Vincent's Boys' Academy in Garden Street in the 1880's. The statue was blessed by Fr. O'Hanlon and installed on the re-instated St. Joseph's altar in the south transept of the church on Thursday March 18th.

Fr. Louis Heston ordained at St. Anne's, Leeds

St. Anne's Cathedral, Leeds, was the scene of Sunday May 2nd 1943, of the ordination by the Bishop of Leeds of another son of St. Vincent's when Louis Heston took Holy Orders as a secular priest. Father Louis celebrated his first Mass at St. Vincent's at 9 a.m. on the following day in front of a large congregation before proceeding to his appointment as curate at the "new" Saint Patrick's church, Sheffield Lane Top which had been opened three years earlier.

The six priests at St. Vincent's during 1943 were reinforced by the arrival in June from St. Joseph's College, Blackrock of Father F. Cleere for his first spell of service in Sheffield.

Conference at Upholland

The National Conference of the Catholic Young Mens' Society in 1943 was held at Upholland College, Wigan and St. Vincent's Branch was represented by three of its executive officers, President Fred Mulligan, Vice-President Bernard Doherty and Secretary, Leo Sullivan, all three of whom were also very actively engaged in the contact activities of St. Vincent's Old Boys' Association which by this time was sending out each month scores of letters and gift parcels to parishioners serving abroad in the armed forces.

An old stalwart of St. Vincent's choir, Pat Murray, who had joined the choir in 1887 as a young boy and sung in the church for more than fifty years passed away in September 1943.

Ex-St. Joseph's Boy ordained for African Missions

The following month saw the ordination at Kendal of Louis Kenny into the missionary community of the Holy Ghost Fathers. Father Louis, a former St. Joseph's pupil and a Mass-server at St. Vincent's was destined to spend many years in the African mission fields for which he departed shortly after his ordination.

Death of Fr. Jim Donovan

Sadly, however, on October 19th, another "old boy" priest died at the age of only 39. Father James Donovan C.M. who had been ordained on March 17th 1929 in St. Vincent's Sheffield church as a Vincentian missioner, died at St. Vincent's Mill Hill. His body was brought back to Sheffield and on Thursday October 21st after a Solemn Requiem Mass in the church where he had received his Holy Orders, Fr. Donovan was buried among his fellow-Vincentian priests at St. Michael's Cemetery, Rivelin.

The Courage of Father Gerry.

The bravery and faith of the clergy in their rescue of the Blessed Sacrament from the church at the very height of the l940 air-raid found an echo, albeit on a more personal basis, in l943, when the 32-years-old Father Gerry Galligan , already into his 6th year of service to St. Vincent's was diagnosed at the Sheffield Royal Infirmary as having developed a large and malignant tumor on the left frontal lobe of his brain. The condition of this growth was so advanced and dangerous that emergency surgery was necessary and Fr. Gerry returned quickly to the hospital for preparation for what was to prove a more than 10-hour operation for the removal of the tumor, a procedure not widely explored in those days.

Needless to say, during his illness tens of thousands of prayers went up on his behalf and these, coupled with his own steely determination to survive, must surely have found a place for him in God's mercy. He survived the operation and spent several further weeks in hospital slowly recovering from the massive surgery which he had had to undergo. Sadly, by inevitably, the shock of such surgery added to the brain damage already inflicted by the growth resulted in complete paralysis of his right-side limbs.

On his eventual discharge from hospital back to the home he loved in Solly Street, the Provincial authorities in Dublin had quickly decided that it would be in Fr. Gerry's interests and well-being to return to Ireland for long-term recuperation in the bosom of his family. In spite of the existing war-time restrictions, his brother, Pat, was allowed to come to St. Vincent's to accompany Fr. Gerry, along with suitable nursing care for his condition, back to Ireland where, for the following nearly 4 years he was in the tender and excellent care of the Irish hospitals. To ameliorate the complete paralysis of his right leg, he had been fitted, uncomplainingly, with a cumbersome steel-framed brace reaching from his upper thigh down to his shoe-heel and it was another mark of his perseverance and patience that he spent a lengthy time in Ireland mastering, with the addition of a stout stick in his left hand, this purpose-built aid to the point when he was able, although falteringly at first, to learn once again how to walk.

However, with the war over in 1945, it had become apparent to the Provincial authorities in Dublin that Fr. Gerry had steadily become "homesick" for the one spiritual home he had known since his ordination in l937 and his persistent pleas to his superiors to be allowed to return to St. Vincents' in Sheffield were finally heard with great sympathy and in the late Spring of 1947, again accompanied by his ever-caring brother, he returned at last, as he had wished, to Solly Street and to his beloved and loving parishioners, who welcomed his return with unfeigned joy and with lasting admiration for his courage.

By the time of his return, however, although able to walk alone, always with his physical aids, he was, of course, unable to undertake the normal parish duties which he had so willingly carried out before his operation. Negotiating steps was always and continued to remain a major problem and one of the consequences of this was that, with very rare exceptions, Fr. Gerry celebrated his daily Mass in the Oratory Chapel of the Presbytery where, on very many occasions, your writer had the privilege and pleasure of assisting him in his celebrations. Occasionally, he could be found, saying Mass at one or other of the side-alters in the church where the impediment was only a single step or participating on festive occasions seated in the lower part of the main Chancel. He also made strenuous (literally ) efforts to participate in come of the parish functions in the Parish Hall where a stepless "Emergency Exits" was always opened to admit him on arrival. He was always made welcome, when he was able to be present , at the functions of the C.Y.M.S. Club and of the Youth Centre. He also wasted no time, within the geographical limits of his walking ability, in renewing old acquaintances from his more active days and after Mass and breakfast in the presbytery, he would often, after telling the presbytery staff of his destination, set off alone with the cheery message, "I'm just off to see So and So" (usually a nearby lady of the parish) "for a cup o'tay". With a ready smile and, in spite of his disabilities, an always cheerful demeanour, Father Galligan was always a welcome visitor wherever he went in the parish until on Tuesday, September 8th 1981 and greatly mourned by Catholics throughout the city, he died, at the age of 70, and of natural causes at Claremont hospital in Sheffield. Following a Solemn Requiem Mass in St. Vincent's Church he was buried at Rivelin Cemetery along side several of his confreres in the special plot, close to St. Michael's Chapel, reserved for deceased members of the Congregation of the Mission.

Youth Club Honoured

The eighteen-months old parish youth centre in the Hall was honoured on Sunday October 24th 1943 by a visit from Dr. John Henry Poskitt, Bishop of Leeds, following his Lordship's official visitation to the parish to administer confirmation.

Joe O'Hara

One of the earliest inroads of Catholic representation on public bodies in Sheffield was made when, at the age of 51, Joe O'Hara, former President for some years of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. Branch was successful in gaining election to the Sheffield & Ecclesall Co-operative Board of Management in November 1943.

The Presidency of the C.Y.M.S. Branch remained, at the members' meeting on February 13th 1944, in the hands of Fred Mulligan, but his new Vice-President was John Cummings Senior in place of the retiring Bernard Doherty. The Branch Secretaryship also changed hands at this meeting when Leo Sullivan stood down in favour of Sam Hughes.

A Second Vincentian from the O'Dea Family

Another son of the O'Dea family, Lawrence, received his Holy Orders in Dublin's Pro-Cathedral on Friday March 31st 1944 when, at the hands of the Archbishop of Dublin, he was ordained into the Vincentian Community, following in the footsteps of his brother, Vincent.

Another "Dramatic" Venture

During Easter week, 1944, the continuing tedium of war was greatly lightened for St. Vincent's parishioners and friends by the ambitious venture of the Youth Centre Drama Section in the production of a play "The Cradle Song" staged in the Parish Hall. During the three days of its showing, the play attracted more than 1400 patrons and the profits of £102.00 were donated by the youths and girls to the Carmelite nuns at Kirk Edge.

More Clergy Changes

Another ordination of a St. Vincent's "boy" took place in 1944 when, at Heythrop on July 26th, Lawrence Crehan was ordained as a Jesuit priest. The Autumn of 1944 saw several changes at the Solly Street presbytery with the September departure for Mill Hill of Fr. P.J. Gilgunn and the arrivals of Fr. J. McCarthy and Fr. P.J. Brady. Even more significantly, the Rectorship of Fr. Christopher O'Leary came to an end in September when he returned to Ireland being succeeded in Sheffield by Fr. James Thompson. Fr. O'Leary's term of office as parish priest had seen the parish and the church pass through seven of the most critical years of its history and his contribution to that history had been critically important in overcoming the physical destruction and the major wartime difficulties. Fr. Thompson was already well known and very popular among the Sheffield parishioners by virtue of his annual visits to supplement the clergy during the Holy Week ceremonies and Easter celebrations.

Fund Raising Accelerated

One of Fr. Thompson's first rectorial duties was the supervision in December 1944 of the foundation of the Parish Social Functions Committee, formed to co-ordinate the various activities and fund-raising efforts of all the parish organisations. The Committee comprised representatives of the C.Y.M.S., the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Ladies Association of Charity, the Children of Mary, the Catholic Parents and Electors Association, the Mothers' Guild and the Youth Centre.

Aloysius O'Neill R.I.P.

The first half of the 1940's ended on a sad note with the death of Aloysius O'Neill, who had been one of the original pupils of St. Vincent's Boys' Academy in the old priests' house in Garden Street and whose family, father and sons had played and were still playing a wide range of active parts in the life of St. Vincent's from its very beginnings.

CHAPTER 24

1945-1949 The Aftermath of War

The O.B.A. again in war years

Despite a desperate counter-offensive in the Ardennes by the retreating German armies in the early weeks of 1945, the light of a probable Allied victory in Europe began to glow more and more brightly as the days lengthened towards the spring and towards the peace for which a weary country had battled over five and a half years. Still, the works of the parish went on and particularly notable at this time was the work of St. Vincent's Old Boys Association in maintaining contact by letter and parcels with the parishioners still serving in the various war theatres, work which was to continue unabated until the end of 1946. During its second term of activity (having been founded from the C.Y.M.S. during the first World War) the Association had established and maintained regular contact throughout the war with 210 parishioners serving world-wide or languishing in prisoner-of-war camps. Leading this work in 1945 was the then president of the Parish C.Y.M.S. Fred Mulligan with a devoted band of helpers, both men and women.

The End of Six Years of Terror

The end of the war in Europe on what became known as V.E. Day, May 8th 1945, whilst the understandable occasion for great rejoicing and merriment by a relieved populace was also the occasion for moving services of thanksgiving and remembrance in hundreds of churches. In this regard, St. Vincent's was no exception and the convalescent church became crowded with worshippers from all parts of Sheffield, thanking God for the immediate release from the ardours of war in this hemisphere at least. All rejoiced too in the return home of the prisoners of war and this was particularly celebrated on Sunday June 3rd 1945 when a Feast of the Sacred Heart Procession of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Vincent's church was accompanied by a Guard of Honour of parishioners home from the prison camps - Joe Donnelly, Joe Fagan, Jimmy Fletcher, Mark Keaveney, Austin Magill, Austin Page, Ted Toole and an unnamed member of the United States Air Force, the procession being led by the resident priests, Frs. Thompson, Brady, McCarthy, J. McNamara and Ryan. The brilliant summer of that year also saw the collapse of the Japanese in their war in the south east and their ignominious surrender to the Americans culminating on V.J. Day, August 15th, in another round of rejoicing and thanksgiving. Only as the months passed by were the people of this country to learn the unspeakable horrors perpetrated in the Far East war and its toll of death and suffering among the prisoners of war in that theatre, among whom were some parishioners and former parishioners of St. Vincent's.

A Historic New Home for the C.Y.M.S.

On a lighter note, the C.Y.M.S., which had seen out the post-1940 war in the former pawn shop acquired after the air raid had destroyed the original main club, were granted by the clergy in June 1945, as a temporary club premises, the same historic house at No. 90 Garden Street that Fr. Burke and his fellow founding Missioners had moved into as their first Sheffield presbytery in November 1853, over 90 years earlier and this was to serve as the Branch's social centre for the next three and a half years.

It also became in those years the rendezvous of the many homecoming servicemen, finally released from the rigours of war and ready and willing to express their appreciation of the contact kept with them during their absences.

Welcome Home

This spirit culminated on Saturday December 14th 1946 in a Grand Welcome Home Dinner organised by the Old Boys' Association in the parish ha11, honoured by the presence of the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor F. S. Graham and attended by no less than 160 of the recorded 260 parishioners who had served in the armed and auxiliary forces in the previous seven years.

Dan's "Airborne" Derby

Earlier in that year an old and long-serving member of both the choir and the C.Y.M.S., Dan Cummings died on May 30th. Dan, my father, was interred in Rivelin on June 6th which happened also to be the day on which was run the Derby. It is known that a number of the mourners gathered in "The Barrel" Broad Lane after the funeral and, knowing Dan's own propensity, while alive, for "a little flutter", had selected from the Derby runners, almost in Dan's memory, a grey outsider named "Airborne" and he must surely have been smiling down when it romped home to win the No. 1 Classic race at odds of 66-1.

A Temporary Hiatus in Rebuilding

Due to very severe restrictions on building materials and permits, almost nothing of consequence could be done in these early post-war years to further repair the ravages that demolition and war damage had inflicted on St. Vincent's church and its surroundings so these years represented a fallow period in the parish's physical development. Nevertheless the spiritual life of the parish flourished tremendously and, with the easing of the worries of war and travel restrictions, the churches of the parish were regularly crowded for Masses, Benedictions and the various processions on high Feast Days when the beautifully decorated church was a colourful haven from the rather colourless world outside.

Last Farewells to Frs. Thompson and Barry R.I.P.

The church was well filled for a sad occasion in mid-1947 however when a commemorative mass was said following the death in Ireland in June of Sheffield's former parish priest, Father Joseph Thompson. Not long after taking over the parish in the autumn of 1944, Fr. Thompson had begun to suffer ill-health and although still nominally Parish Priest of the Sheffield Mission, in his absences his rectorial duties largely fell to the lot of his deputy, Fr. Joseph McNamara who succeeded Fr. Thompson as parish priest. The death of Fr. Patrick Barry born 1883 ordained 1912 is also recorded this year - no date.

Blessed Catherine Labouré Canonised

There was, towards the end of 1947, one more occasion of great rejoicing in the parish, with its long and close associations with the Sisters of Charity, when on November 28th came the news of the canonisation as a saint of the Church of Blessed St. Catherine Labouré whose memory, as promulgator of the Miraculous Medal, was closely linked with the strong devotion existing through the Novena Sodality established in St. Vincent's parish in May 1939.

The Departure of the Christian Brothers

The end of the school year in St. Vincent's in July 1948 also marked the conclusion of a 26 year old association with the boys' school when the services of the Christian Brothers were withdrawn and the occasion was suitably marked, in September, when the two remaining Brothers, Pius and Casimir, received presentations from the C.Y.M.S. and from the parish at a ceremony to mark their long service to St. Vincent's schoolboys. The Parish magazine of that month also records the priests resident at Solly Street as Frs. J. McNamara, M. Howard, M. Doyle (then C.Y.M.S. Chaplain), J. Oakey, J. McCarthy, H. Morris, G. Galligan and E. McDonagh.

Edward Finnigan R.I.P.

Many of these priests were present on Tuesday December 28th at the Requiem and the obsequies of another old and faithful servant of the parish, Edward Finnigan, who died on Christmas Eve of 1948. Mr. Finnigan's name has already merited mentions in these annals for his devoted work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the C.Y.M.S., the annual Whitsuntide parish outings, the resettlement of the Belgian refugees during the first World War, his leadership in the Sacred Heart Sodality and many other fields of parish activity. In fact, he had lived to see the resumption, earlier in 1948, of the Whit Monday procession of children from St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's Schools to the Farm Grounds in Granville Road, a splendid event which had been sadly discontinued at the outbreak of the recent war.

Miss Margaret Jowitt

The seat at the church organ at this time was occupied by Miss Margaret Jowitt, who, in addition to her accomplishments on organ and piano, was also a fine soprano singer who became a leading soloist and organiser in the renewed St. Vincent's Amateur Operatic Society. Margaret subsequently became Teacher of Music at Sheffield's Notre Dame High School.

A Brand-New C.Y.M.S. Club

In February 1949, following months of protracted negotiations, the members of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. took possession of a newly-erected club premises entered from Garden Street and overlooking the Presbytery garden. Its interior had a distinctly familiar look to many members since it was one of a batch of ex-R.A.F. huts acquired by the builder, M. J. Gleeson, from a redundant airfield near Thirsk in North Yorkshire. The new club was erected by the Gleeson Company at a cost of £1,234/15/-.

A School Extension

In the same month, the cost of the parish magazine "The Vincentian" was raised from 2d to 3d and the following month's issue recorded the opening, at the end of February, of a new school "hut" on the land bounded by Hollis Croft, Solly Street and the White Croft "gennel" to cater for the senior boys and girls who, on the instructions of the national education authorities, were to remain at school until the age of 15 instead of 14 as previously

The Foster Billiards Shield Final for 1949 was won by Charlie Burkinshaw who defeated Frank Eggleston in a well-fought game.

The Passing of Sister Teresa Walker

Nearly sixty years of wonderful service to the schools and the parish generally ended on March 22nd 1949 with the death at the Howard Hill Convent of Sister Teresa (Walker). Sister Teresa came as a teaching Sister of Charity to the Red Hill Convent in 1890, eventually becoming Head Teacher of the girls' school from which she retired in 1924. From that time until her death, she laboured faithfully among the parishioners and her passing brought great sadness and an immense concourse of mourners, parishioners and many ex-pupils were present at her Requiem and internment in Rivelin cemetery.

Return of "The Merriest Fellows"

Sunday April 10th 1949 marked the return once again of the vocal arts of "The Merriest Fellows" and once more the Parish Hall rang with their great professional solo and choral offerings and to the enthusiastic applause of an audience filling the Hall to a state of "standing room only".

Padley Pilgrimage and Clergy Changes

The local branch of the C.Y.M.S. was at the centre of the organisation for a National C.Y.M.S. Pilgrimage to the shrine of the Padley martyrs, near Grindleford, on Sunday July 10th 1949, an occasion which was a tremendous success attended by hundreds of members and others from throughout the United Kingdom. This was practically the last official duty as Branch chaplain of Fr. Michael Doyle who ended this four years spell of service to St. Vincent's in September, and, with Fr. Kelly, left the parish. The departure of the two priests was almost immediately followed by the appointment to Sheffield of Frs. J. O'Hare, T. H. Smyth, T. R. Towers-Perkins and Tom O'Farrell. A former St. Vincent's Missioner, Fr Joseph McDonald who had only a short spell at Solly Street in the late 1920's, died in Dublin in October. Fr. McDonald, originally ordained as a secular priest in 1915 had joined the Vincentian Community as a missioner in 1927 and was almost immediately assigned to duties in Sheffield.

C.Y.M.S. Foundation Celebrated

The newly-arrived Fr. Towers-Perkins became Editor of the Vincentian magazine in November and one of his first pleasant duties in that office was to attend and record the C.Y.M.S. Centenary Dinner on Saturday November 26th in the parish Hall commemorating the founding of the Society by Fr. O'Brien in Limerick in 1849. As St. Vincent's Branch was acknowledged as the first Branch of the Society to be established outside Ireland, the occasion was graced by the presence of the National Chaplain, Fr. Charles Horan (an ex-St. Joseph's boy), and by the National President, Bro. F. Lomas, K.C.S.G. and the National Secretary, Bro. Billy Waldron, the occasion being chaired by St. Vincent's Branch President, Bro. John Cummings a member of the Branch since 1897. John received on this occasion, a long service certificate to mark his 52 years service and similar certificates were also presented to Branch members John O'Hara (70 years service), Jack Hogan (54) and Mark Gormley (53). Absentees were Jim Short (57) and Dennis Neylan (55) owing to indisposition.

Clergy recorded at St. Vincent's during 1949 were Frs. McNamara, M. Howard, P. Bannigan, M. C. Doyle, T. Lyng, G. Galligan, E. McDonagh, P. B. Kelly, T O' Farrell, J. O'Hare, T. H. Smyth and T. R. Towers-Perkins.

So ended a dramatic decade in the history of the parish involving extensive destruction, marvellous improvisation and a slow but steady recovery. With the relaxation of governmental controls and the income of funds from many sources, the scene was set for the more extensive rehabilitation of the church and the parish in preparation for the approaching centenary of the work started by Fr. Burke in 1853.

CHAPTER 25

A Hundred Years - and on!

1950 - Holy Year

Although the Holy Year of 1950 marked the 100th anniversary both of the restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and the opening of the Sheffield Mother Church of St. Mary's in Norfolk Row, the centenaries of both these occasions in the Catholic life of the city were celebrated with perhaps less pomp and ceremony than they deserved.

Happily, St. Marie's church had escaped the holocaust of 1940 almost unscathed and still stands as a magnificent landmark almost in the exact centre of the city.

Plans for Restoration

In St. Vincent's, however, the middle year of the century witnessed a surging acceleration of activity to restore the partly-destroyed church to its former glory. Thanks to the great foresight of the clergy and leading parishioners, the Restoration Fund, launched even before the war was ended, had reaped enormous dividends. Contributions and donations to the fund had come from far and wide, from private individuals, from exiled parishioners, from other parishes, from social events of many kinds - jumble sales, bazaars, sales of work, raffles, garden parties, whist drives, dances, concerts, operatic performances, plays, collections in the schools and various societies and organisations inside and outside the parish and from the parishioners and others responding, in the church itself, to the many appeals from the pulpit. With the gradual easing of national controls on expenditure for restoration and rebuilding, plans were implemented to repair the ravages inflicted by war.

The "New" Youth Centre

The first of these important developments was aimed at gathering in the Catholic young people of the city with the opening, on January 22nd 1950, of the St. Vincent's Youth Centre for boys and girls. A shrewd purchase by the clergy in the immediate post war years had been made in acquiring the old and disused Croft Board non-Catholic school and land adjoining the lower churchyard. Under the careful guidance of Fr. Edward McDonagh, who had also solicited funds for the project from government sources, from the central coffers of the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs, the old stone built school was refurbished completely and became, in a very short time, famous for the scope of its amenities for young people under Father McDonagh's spiritual guidance and financial prowess and under the lay leadership of Jim Purcell, Agnes Lawler, Eileen Lodge, Jimmy Lodge, Tom Sampy and many other seniors who devoted their respective skills, their energies and time to the success of the venture.

C.Y.M.S. Changes

At the February general meeting of the C.Y.M.S. the 70 year old Branch President, John Cummings, finally laid aside his sash of office being succeeded by John Sherlock, assisted by John Maher as Vice-President, Steve Hale as Secretary and Jim Hussey as Treasurer.

The First Dialogue Mass

Within the church, by this time, most of the windows on the north side of the knave had been renewed or repaired and, within the church's liturgy, an important portent of changes to come took place on Thursday February 16th when a Dialogue Mass was introduced for the first time to St. Vincent's at the schoolchildrens' Mass. Three days after this event came news from Leeds of the death there of Bishop John Henry Poskitt. Before the month of February was out, repairs had been completed, at St. Vincent's, to the tower bell which had been damaged nine years earlier.

A New Trophy for the C.Y.M.S.

Thanks to the generosity of the local brewers, Wm. Stones Limited, through the good offices of their Marketing Director, Mr. Harold Killingbeck, a Catholic and firm friend of the C.Y.M.S. Club, a new silver trophy, given in 1949 and named after the donors, for a club snooker championship, was competed for, for the first time, and, in March of 1950 was won by Gerard Logan who defeated Harry Sellars in the final. Harry had the double misfortune of losing in the Foster Shield billiards final in the same month, the victor of that tournament being Joe McNerney.

Deaths in March robbed the parish of two faithful old servants in the persons of 75 years old Miss Helen Jane Brown, former Head Mistress of St. Joseph's School, who was buried at Rivelin on March 21st, and, the age of 86, John O'Hara, Senior, long-time Steward of the C.Y.M.S. Club from its inception in the 1890's until his retirement in 1932.

Dan O'Neill, City Councillor

In April 1950, Dan O'Neill, a parishioner already very prominent in Sheffield civic affairs, made a successful entry into the field of local municipal polls with his election to the Sheffield City Council.

Holy Year Celebration

Sheffield Catholics participated in thousands at the city's principal Holy Year ceremony when, on May 29th, a Solemn Pontifical High Mass was celebrated by all the city's parishes in the Farm Grounds Granville Road by His Grace The Most Reverend Dr. Downey, Archbishop of Liverpool at the conclusion of a massive procession organised by the Sheffield Council of Catholic Action. Present at this imposing ceremony was Fr. Louis Kenny, back home in Sheffield from his African mission duties for the first time since his ordination in October 1943. Fr. Kenny was among the first of the priests to use the newly-built sacristy, on its original site behind the Lady Altar, opened in June 1950 and replacing the temporary sacristy set up adjacent to St. Joseph's Altar in April 1942 when the temporarily-repaired church was re-opened. The new sacristy was a slightly longer extension of the original and included, on the ground floor, a vesting room for the altar boys and a large room for use for various parish meetings.

St. Thomas More's Parish Foundation

In the same month a new parish was launched for the Catholics in the northern area of Sheffield when the Halifax Road church of St. Thomas More was blessed and opened on June 22nd in a week which also witnessed, after 35 years of devoted teaching in St. Vincent's Girls School, the retirement of Miss Hilda Caswell. All her teaching life from 1915 onwards had been devoted to the girls' section of the schools and she had lived for several of her earlier years in St. Vincent's as a resident guest in the Red Hill Convent with the Sisters of Charity. She served the school, which she loved, through two World Wars under several Head Teachers from the Sisters, including the teaching of girls during the 1939-45 War in classes held in the homes of many parishioners following the complete destruction of her beloved school in the December 1940 air-raid. She had been very active in the re-organisation of more teaching facilities after the war was ended. She enjoyed many years of happy retirement, several of them in her own flat at St. Ann's Home at Severn Road, Broomhill until she died peacefully in the late 1970's.

A Unique Double Ordination

July 16th 1950 marked a special day in the parish history with a double ordination of two ex-St. Joseph school pupils Bernard Higgins and yet one more of the O'Dea family sons, Louis, in a ceremony at the Salesian Church, Blaisdon, Gloucestershire where they both received Holy Orders.

The arrival for duties at St. Vincent's in August 1950 of Fathers Tom Rice and William Meagher followed very shortly after the departure for Castleknock of Fr. J. H. Smyth. The following month saw the erection of scaffolding along the complete length of the Lady Aisle in preparation for the extensive repairs required there, a legacy of the more serious damage incurred in 1940 on the opposite side and east centre of the church. The work, which included the provision of new leaded-light windows above the full length of the aisle, was commenced very promptly.

Miraculous Medal Triduum

In November 1950, a special Triduum of prayer and devotions in honour of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was conducted by a visiting priest, Father Maurice O'Neill.

As the celebrations of the Holy Year drew to a close, the parish was starting to get itself into gear for the next great celebration, due in less than three years time, the Centenary of the founding of the Mission. Much had been done in renovation since the end of the war in 1945 but much still remained to do to try to restore the grace and dignity of "the Church on the Hill" which had now become such a prominent landmark of the Sheffield. The Restoration Fund committee and helpers were doing sterling work and many of their efforts were recorded for posterity in "The Vincentian" magazine.

CHAPTER 26

1951

A Time for Restoration

Although it was only known, at the time, to the God whom the parish had been founded to serve nearly 100 years earlier, the final half-century of the second Christian millennium was to bring dramatic and long-reaching changes not only to the parish of St. Vincent but, indeed, to the entire Roman Catholic church throughout the whole world. But, without such divine prescience, the clergy and the parishioners were intent on restoring the church, the schools and other appurtenances to former glories. So, rightly, the keyword for the time was Restoration. The Restoration Fund, launched by the clergy shortly after the ending of war had made steady progress since its inception but with the complete return of those serving parishioners who had survived the war, the re-housing of the C.Y.M.S. in early 1949 in its new premises behind the presbytery, the establishment in 1950 of the magnificent Youth Centre for both boys and girls, the re-awakening and re-forming of many of the parish societies - the Union of Catholic Mothers, the Catholic Womens'League, the Ladies Association of Charity, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the altar society, the society of the Living Rosary, the Sacred Heart Sodalities and other parish societies which owed their origins to the work of the Vincentian clergy and laity over the past 97 years, the stage was set for an enthusiastic parish Restoration. Add to this the renaissance of both St. Vincent's Amateur Operatic Society and Amateur Dramatic Society and the programmes of fund-raising for the Restoration purposes were packed to capacity with garden parties, sales of work, bazaars, concerts, plays, light operas, dances, jumble sales and other numerous events, not least of which was the return of the "Merriest Fellows" on an annual basis and the fund raising within the schools.

It has to be remembered that only just over ten years earlier, St. Vincent's [and its surroundings] had suffered the greatest damage in the German raids of all the places of worship in Sheffield. There was, in consequence, a tremendous fund of goodwill from other parishes [Catholic and the non-Catholic], from lay people, many of whom had been former St. Vincent's parishioners. As a result, all the fund-raising events received massive and willing support in order to restore, so far as was possible, the church and parish to its former dignity. The old [1853] school-chapel and girls schools had been completely destroyed, the whole eastern end of the church itself had suffered tremendous damage, the C.Y.M.S. club, including the original boys club and scout/cubs H.Q., which had suffered a considerable shock-wave damage from the explosion was classified as unsafe and shortly afterwards was completely demolished.

This, then, the scene of former desolation in December 1940, was the target, in the early 1950s, for renovation particularly in view of the hoped- for and approaching Centenary celebrations in 1953 of the founding of the parish.

Nearly a full house

The January 1951 "Vincentian" records the mission at Solly Street as Fr. J. McNamara, parish priest, assisted by no less than 10 resident priests Fr. W. Meagher, P. Bannigan, T. Lyng, T. Rice, G. Galligan, E. McDonough, J. O'Hare, F. Cleere, T. O'Farrell and R. Towers-Perkins and, of course, the indispensable factotum Brother Willie Smith.

Requiem for Sister Catherine.

Most of the resident clergy were present and assisting at the requiem and obsequies in January 1951 of the long-serving and beloved nun Sister Catherine [Boyle] who was laid to rest in Rivelin after spending the whole of her vocational life, spanning more than the first half of the century, in teaching duties at the schools and in charitable social work after her retirement from teaching. Her much-lamented vacancy among the Sisters of Charity was eventually filled, three months later, with the arrival of sister Agnes [Hurley] another lady who was to make her mark on the affairs of St. Vincent's parish for the next 28 years.

C.Y.M.S. A.G.M.

The February Annual General Meeting of the C.Y.M.S. saw the election, as Branch President, of Gerard Dempsey in succession to John Sherlock and the re-election of John Maher, Steve Hale and Jim Hussey as respective vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer who were all in charge of affairs at the Smoking Concert the following the month when, yet again, Joe Pizzuti received the Foster Shield after his final win over Harry Sellers.

Still more Renovation

By May 1951, restoration work was well in hand on the part of the Church which had endured the major impact of the terrible explosion in December 1940 - St. Joseph's altar and the South aisle. Above the aisle a new roof was nearing completion and on the site of the 1856 sacristy, completely obliterated in the air-raid, arose a brand-new honey-stone structure to be dedicated eventually as a mortuary Chapel.

First Old Parishioners Reunion

About the same time, the young and hard-working Fr. John O'Hare was responsible for initiating, on May 19th, the first reunion of older parishioners in the Parish Hall and, needless to say, this occasion attracted many of the former parishioners now residing in other parishes on the many housing estates surrounding the city of Sheffield. This was not a reflection on their genuine loyalty to their new parishes but an excellent example of the affection in which they all held St. Vincent's still, even after lapse of more than 20 years. The reunion was recorded as a tremendous success.

Fr. Harry Milner S.J. R.I.P.

Sad news came from Dublin in June 1951 of the death of Fr. Henry Milner S.J. at the age of 43. The first Yorkshireman to be ordained in the Oriental Rite, Fr. Harry [as he was affectionately known) had commenced his Jesuit novitiate in 1927. Ten years later, he was ordained at the Russian college in Rome where he had studied and mastered both the Eastern Rite liturgy and the Russian language in response to Pope Pius XIth's appeal for priests to carry their mission into the Communist countries. His brother, Ted, two years older than Harry, organist at St. Vincent's and leader of the Catholic Social Guild in Sheffield, was the only layman present at the ordination of Fr. Harry who, in accordance with the Eastern Rite custom, had grown the full patriarchal beard for his new ministry. After two years at Namur in France, Fr. Milner took up Missionary duties in 1939 in Estonia. After the fall of Poland to the Germans, he was trapped between the advancing German and Russian armies but managed, with other British nationals, to escape in disguise to, of all places, Moscow. Despite the risk of arrest in the Russian capital, his disguise held good and, from Moscow, he was able, no doubt with unrecorded hardships and dangers dogging his steps, to make his way to Kiev, thence to Istanbul and from the Turkish capital he succeeded in making his perilous way eventually to Jerusalem, where the British Commanding Officer tried to persuade him to join the ranks of British Intelligence. The Jesuits in Rome had, however, other plans for Fr. Harry and telegraphed him to proceed straight away to Shanghai. Penniless, he borrowed money from the Benedictines in Palestine which afforded him a hazardous air passage from Lake Tiberias to Karachi, thence by sea to a Japan (still not at war) and by a further boat to Shanghai. Following Japan's entry into the war and their early capture of Shanghai he was interned by the invaders as their prisoner until 1945. Due, no doubt, to ill treatment by his captors and to other consequent deprivations and hardships during his years of internment, Fr. Harry's health suffered greatly and although he was able to return, fleeing from Shanghai to Hong Kong just ahead of the invading Chinese Communist forces and eventually, by further long and arduous journeys, to Ireland, his once-stout heart and frame never recovered from his years of ordeal and he was finally laid to rest with other late Jesuit colleagues in the cemetery at Glasnevin, in the presence of his remaining brothers John, Frank and Ted. The fifth of the brothers, Fr. James Milner, had gone to his eternal reward 12 years earlier in 1939.

More Major Restoration

By July 1951, work had been completed on strengthening of the roof of the nave of St. Vincent's Church. The building of the new sacristy had also been completed and work was well advanced in the reconstruction of St. Joseph's aisle, much of which had been completely destroyed in the 1940 raid. The replacement of leaded-light windows in the Church had also been completed by September of that year.

Two more ex-Sheffield missioners pass away

Sad tidings from Phibsborough brought news of the deaths, in August, of Fr. Joe Lavery who had served the Solly Street mission in the early 1930s and, in September, of Fr. Owen McCardle who had witnessed the Church in its original beauty when he came to Sheffield in 1939 and its disastrous damage in 1940 before leaving for duties elsewhere in 1941. September also saw the retirement after 28 years teaching in St. Vincent's schools of Miss Frances Grayson, through whose capable hands had passed hundreds of 7 and 8-year old boys, including this writer. The same month produced, in the person of John Tingle, the second winner of the C.Y.M.S. Stone's Snooker Trophy when John triumphed in the Final over Jack Kay.

Perpetual Novena founded

Another great first for St. Vincent's was the institution in Autumn of 1951 of a Perpetual Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, the first parish in England to inaugurate this splendid devotion eventually including, after November 1952, the Monday evening celebration of Holy Mass and prayers especially composed for the Novena which was to continue well-supported for the next 45 years.

A seat of honour

To adorn the altar of the steadily-improving Church, a Chancel Throne, in the form of a Spanish bog-oak chair, was given in October 1951 by Sir Ernest and Lady Finch. The chair had its own historical associations, even older than St. Vincent's Church itself, having been brought back to England by a military officer in Wellington's army during the Peninsula War. It was to become the sedia of several highly distinguished prelates present at ceremonial occasions doing its years in St. Vincent's church.

Return of "The Merriest Fellows"

Another sign of the "return to life" of St. Vincent's social activities was a further visit, in Autumn 1951, by a strong contingent of "The Merriest Fellows" for yet another magnificent concert in the Parish Hall, carrying on that marvellous tradition which had been started by these generous members of the D'Oyle Carte Opera Company way back in the 1920s. These occasions over the years had been graced by most of the Company's principals as well as a wonderful chorus. The entire proceeds of this concert, performed as usual to a packed audience, went to the Restoration Fund, although, by way of tribute for their efforts, The Merriest Fellows were lavishly entertained by the clergy.

It is also right and proper to record that by this time very regular donations were being added to the Fund by the polished productions of the St. Vincent's Dramatic and Operatic Societies, both well-organized and well-run bodies of talent controlled, coached and led by distinguished parishioners most expert in their respective fields of entertainment.

The original Operatic Society had been founded very shortly after the opening of the Parish Hall in 1910 and, with the exception of the first World War, had periodically presented and performed a wide variety of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the casts and the musicians mainly drawn from parishioners, occasionally supplemented by guest principals, and often performing on three or four nights in the week of production. During the late '20s and the '30s, one almost ever-present principal singer in these operas was Sam Hughes, at the time the tenor soloist in St. Vincent's choir, which was always a main source of the male members of the cast of each production. This tradition came to an end with the advent of war in 1939 although there remained one vital link between the pre-war and post-war presentations in the person of the very versatile Frank Finnigan, accomplished pianist, organist, conductor and doyen of a very musical family in the parish. Frank bridged the war years in his capacity as

musical director, with a deep knowledge of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan as well as other fields of classical and semi-classical music.

The thespian side of the Parish revival in the form of the dramatic society was, by contrast, a relatively novel development being largely the brainchild of the younger members of the parish. In 1942, after the Church services had finally been transferred back from the Parish Hall to the partially restored Church, Fr. Ed McDonough had quickly commandeered part of the Hall's facilities to found a Youth Centre for boys and girls which was to grow in strength over the next 20 years. These original, lively, enthusiastic youngsters were not slow to turn this opportunity into a programme of indoor and outdoor activities, which included the formation of the Dramatic Society. Even before the war ended in 1945, selected suitable plays, produced by Mr. James Lodge, occasionally assisted by the young Dennis Howe, were presented on the Hall stage for the pleasure and diversion of the war-weary parishioners. These were always well supported and, as the '40s progressed, this entertaining project, like Topsy, just "growed and growed" until, by 1950, when the new Youth Centre was established [as previously recorded] in the old Croft Board school premises, the Dramatic Society, still almost exclusively comprising the young people, was preparing and presenting a stream of plays, both on the Parish Hall stage and on the newly built large stage in the Youth Centre itself.

Two notable achievements resulted, on a personal basis, from the wonderful work done by the two societies over the years. Patrick McGoohan, the acknowledged superstar of the Dramatic Society, moved in the mid 1950s to take up roles at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre where his performances, nationally noted, led eventually to a now well-documented professional acting career in theatre, television and films which made Patrick deservedly famous world-wide.

Nearer to home, Bill Cummings, who had sung principal tenor roles in all the operatic productions in addition to playing major roles in the Dramatic Society's work, left Sheffield in the early 1960s to join the D'Oyle Carte Opera company with whom he appeared and sang for the next almost three years.

The financial benefit which these two societies brought to the parish in times of need is difficult to assess except to say that it was great.

Credit is also due, not only to those appearing and performing on stage or in the orchestra pit but to the scores of backstage workers and helpers, beavering away behind the scenes. Although some of the more elaborate costumes for the productions had to be hired, these hidden workers were also responsible for not only making almost all the scenery required but also a large proportion of the excellent costumes used on the stages throughout the years.

CHAPTER 27

1952

New Organ Gallery

The organist and choir-mistress at this time was Miss Margaret Jowitt, who also taught music at the Notre Dame High School for girls in Cavendish Street and, at the beginning of 1952, Margaret was able to witness the start of building of the new choir and organ gallery above the main [West] entrance to the church. In fact, thanks to the amount of monies which had accrued towards the restoration of the church, the whole area of the church, both exterior and interior, was a hive of activity in preparation for the forthcoming Centenary year.

Father Patrick Kilty, R.I.P.

Sad news came from St. Vincent's, Cork, of the death, in April, of Father Patrick Kilty, former Rector in Sheffield in the difficult years of the 1920's, from 1921 up to 1927. A well-built, white-haired man, Fr. Kilty was rarely, if ever, seen without his famous blackthorn shillelagh. This aid to his walking had become a very significant potential weapon when, during the Sheffield Gang Wars, one of the gangs tried to invade and commandeer the C.Y.M.S. Club only to find themselves confronted at the bottom entrance to the club in Solly Street, by an angry Parish Priest, complete with his stick, at the head of a large number of C.Y.M.S. members in the face of whom the gang beat a wise and strategic retreat, ending an ugly incident which no gang member ever dared to try to repeat.

Another Episcopal Visit

On May 4th the parish was again graced by a Visitation from the Bishop of Leeds, Dr. John Carmel Heenan, to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation followed, during his stay at Solly Street, by his fifth visit to both the parish schools and his sixth visit to the local hospitals and to the homes of sick parishioners.

A Wembley Appearance

Later in May, one of our parishioners, a member of the C.Y.M.S., figured prominently at Wembley Stadium. John Sherlock, formerly President of St. Vincent's Branch was referee at the English Amateur Cup Final. John, a son of a long-established and highly-respected Vincentian family, had, up to that time, run, with his brother, Bernard, a holiday agency based at Commonside in Sheffield. After his Wembley honours, John left Sheffield to take personal charge of a residential hotel, owned by the agency, in Ramsey, Isle of Man and Bernard also left, for the same purpose, to their other hotel at Bally Castle in Northern Ireland. Their parents and another brother Edward remained in Sheffield.

A Second Old Folks Reunion

In June, 1952, prompted by the tireless work and enthusiasm of Fr. John O'Hare, another reunion party of Old Vincentians took place in the Parish Hall in which some 180 elderly people participated. The organisation, fired by the zeal of Fr. O'Hare, who inaugurated this event in 1951, was the precursor of the later Senior Citizens Club. It was so popular that it drew its membership not only from the older parishioners remaining in the parish but also "old Vincentians" who, by virtue of having to leave their parish homes before and since the war, had been scattered to the four corners of Sheffield where, belonging to other parishes, still regarded themselves as ex-Vincentians!

One of the older (by adoption) Vincentian parishioners finally broke her long association with the parish when, in July, 1952, Sister Pauline, Head Teacher for over 26 years, of St. Joseph's school, retired from her post and was succeeded at Howard Hill by Sister Gabriel (Nestor) from St. Vincent's school.

Missionaries To and Fro

The Autumn of the year saw the usual and accepted influx and exodus of clergy to and from the Solly Street house. As it happened, there had been, most unusually, no postings in or out in 1951, although this had certainly afforded some stability at a crucial time in the Restoration project. In September, 1952, Fr. Bannigan left for Phibsborough and Fr. Lyng for Lanark. Within a few days they were replaced by Fr. T. Finnegan and Fr. M. Mannix and were soon followed by Fr. Gerard Shannon from Dublin. Fr. Shannon was posted to Sheffield to become the first official Roman Catholic Chaplain to Sheffield University. This appointment of a Vincentian Missionary priest was perhaps an indication of the growing importance of the University in the life of post-war Sheffield and of the increasing number of Catholic Students at the fast-growing University faculties. Initially, Fr. Shannon worked from the Solly Street presbytery but eventually moved to a specially-acquired house in Wellesley Road, very close to the main University buildings in Western Bank. Fr. Shannon was the pioneer of a tradition which has continued up to the present although the Chaplaincy was eventually taken over, very successfully, by Roman Catholic secular clergy.

Fr. Gerard O'Hara O.M.I.

An occasion of further great joy in which St. Vincent's shared on Sunday September 21st, 1952, was the ordination, at Mount St. Mary's Leeds by Bishop J. C. Heenan, of Gerard O'Hara as an Oblate of Mary Immaculate. Although Gerard's parents and family now lived outside St. Vincent's parish, their long-standing and strong family links with the church still existed and Gerard's father, John, still fulfilled his almost immemorial role as server, along with his brother Joe, at the 11o'clock High Mass every Sunday at St. Vincent's. Fr. Gerard was destined for a long stint in the African Mission field.

Two More Requiems

The recently-retired and much loved Miss Frances Grayson, who had relinquished her 28-year teaching post at St. Vincent's Boy's school only in the summer of 1951, sadly did not enjoy a long and well-earned retirement. News of her death in October 1952 brought great sadness to hundreds of her past pupils and to their parents. Further sad news also came from Australia of the death of Father Stanislaus Power who had served St. Vincent's only for a relatively short time in 1904/05 and eventually became, in the 1914/18 war, a long-serving Chaplain to the Forces, following which he left to join the Vincentian Mission in the southern hemisphere. Almost by coincidence, one of the Sheffield priests in 1952, Father Robert Towers-Perkins, left Solly Street in that same month to become a full-time Forces Chaplain, his place in Sheffield being filled by Father Tom Bennett.

The First Evening Mass

A sign of the changing times in the resurgent post-war Church was the introduction, in November 1952 at St. Vincent's, of evening mass. Although this historic change was initially intended only for celebration on Holy Days of Obligation to allow working to people to attend Holy Mass more readily and conveniently on such Feast Days, the new development was so widely welcomed that, as years progressed, the evening Mass, in St. Vincent's at least, was steadily extended to every weekday evening [except Saturdays] and subsequently as a an additional mass also on Sundays.

CHAPTER 28

1953

The Centenary Year

The start of the historic Centenary Year in some Vincent's saw great progress towards the completion of the new west porch designed to accommodate, immediately above it, a new gallery for the organ and choir. The work included the re-glazing of the tall arched windows immediately above the entrance. These windows still framed the church's oldest and most historic statue. This magnificent icon, an almost life-size statue of St. Vincent, still stood proudly and, thankfully, undamaged in its external niche immediately above the west door, having endured the nearly 100-year vagaries of weather and war. It was, indeed, a very fitting reminder of the church's opening ceremony in 1856, having arrived, a gift of the Sisters of Charity, from Birmingham [as previously recorded] during that actual ceremony.

The alterations in progress in the porch also necessitated the removal of a very old marble holy-water stoup which had graced the west entrance for many years. This stoup, which had been presented by the O'Neill family was engraved with the words "Pray for the soul of Louise O'Neill" and, happily, it was preserved near the baptistry at the west end of St. Joseph's aisle.

C. Y. M. S. Annual General Meeting

At the meeting on February 22nd, Jack Archbould, the former Club Steward who was in the steward's house with his wife and family on the night of the German air-raid in 1940, succeeded Gerry Dempsey as Branch President and was well supported in his office by Percy Steele, Vice-President, John Kelly, Secretary and Jim Hussey, Treasurer. At the St. Patrick's smoking concert on March 20th, John O'Hara was presented with the Foster Billiards Shield following his Final success over Dr. Eddie Harding. John was less successful [but only just] in the Stones Snooker Trophy Final, ending as runner-up to Billy Hill.

Farewell to "a powerful preacher"

In May, 1953, came news of the death of Father Gill. A powerful preacher, he had served only a relatively short time in 1925/26 on the staff at Solly Street, but found his talents perfectly used in giving Missions throughout the country. Consequently, he made regular visits back to Solly Street either to give Missions for St. Vincent's and other Sheffield parishes or to use the Presbytery as his springboard for Mission services further afield. In this capacity, his resonant voice, without the aid of microphones, would fill even the most spacious of churches and his messages were always memorable as well as impressive to crowded congregations. There was a carpet- runner around the balustrade top of St. Vincent's marble pulpit and the apocryphal story goes that, when this runner got dusty, the Rector at Solly Street would send for a Mission by Father Gill who, pounding the top of the pulpit during his missionary sermons, would leave the runnner perfectly clean on his departure.

Also in May and in the interest of further fund-raising for restoration, the now very lively, active and talented Amateur Operatic Society presented "The Mikado" probably the best known of the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership, for no less than five successive and successful nights, to entertain packed audiences in the Hall for every performance.

More near-final embellishments

By July 1953, the organ salvaged after the 1940 bombing of the church was finally re-assembled and erected in the almost-completed gallery above the new porch and this was followed immediately by the start of complete decoration of the interior of the church in preparation for the planned Centenary celebrations.

A magnificent new altar stone was installed in August, covering the full length of the marble altar which had been gifted to the re-opened St. Vincent's church by Aloysius O'Neill early in 1942. A new monstrance throne was also built at the same time in the blanked-in central east wall above the altar.

Farewell and Greetings

As already recorded, the girls' school had been completely destroyed in 1940 so it was a sad coincidence that the work of reconstruction should be clouded with the news of the death, on August 2nd in Dover, of the schools penultimate Head Teacher Sister Margaret [Kennedy] who had retired from her post in August 1939. Greatly loved by all her pupils and past pupils, Sister Margaret was succeeded in September 1939 by an equally-loved lady in the person of sister Lucy who was still in charge on that fateful day.

August had also seen in the departure of Father Tom Bennett and Father Francis Cleere [he of the magnificent singing voice] and a September welcome awaited their replacements, Father J. H. Smyth, for a second term in Sheffield, and Father Edmund McGlinchey.

The Final Preparations

Finishing touches were put to the new entrance porch, organ loft and choir gallery in September 1953 but the following the month brought one of the most momentous events in the history of St. Vincent's. The Sutton family, still the owners of Revell Grange, where Father Michael Burke had re-established a Mass Centre in December 1854, returned to the care of St. Vincent's, in time for the Centenary, Father Burke's original chalice and vestments which, together with some three-feet-high statues of the Blessed Virgin, St. Patrick and St. Joseph had been carefully and lovingly preserved at the Grange for nearly 100 years.

Another perhaps less-historic gift was made in October 1953 when Mr. Michael Joseph Gleeson, the head of the nationally-known civil engineering and building contractors company, which had been responsible for erecting the C. Y. M. S. Club at the top of Garden Street, presented to Father Edward McDonagh, for use in the Parish Youth Club, a magnificent full-size billiards table which Mr. Gleeson had had custom-built for his own Meadowhead home in 1892.

A Week of Celebration

Exactly 100 years and two days after Father Michael Burke and his colleagues first set foot in Solly Street, the Centenary celebrations began in earnest and, very appropriately, with a Triduum of prayer, on November 25th to 27th, conducted by Father John Oakey and concluding, on Friday the 27th, with a grand reunion of old parishioners in the Parish Youth Centre. The special guests of honour at this supremely nostalgic occasion were Fathers Bagnall, McElligott, Cleary, O'Leary, Doyle, Conran, O'Connell and Gilgunn and Brother Willie Smith and all the Sisters of Charity from the Howard Hill house and nine sisters all born and educated in the parish and all presence present with the special permission and accompanied by the Sister Visitatrice. Of all the occasions planned and still to come, this writer has often wished that he could have been a "fly on the wall", preferably with modern tape recorders strategically placed at as many suitable positions as possible, at this one event alone! How much easier, and probably more precise, could this account have been with such a library of reminiscences of these good people, some of whom had been born within the twenty years following the parish's foundation.

Unfortunately absent from this event as from all the celebrations, due to his inability to travel, was Father James Bennett, twice Rector of the parish at critical times in its history [1917-1921 and 1933-1938]. Father Bennett sent a letter of apology for his absence, the contents of which were made known to all his hundreds of old friends through the pages of the December 1953 "Vincentian".

Requiem for absent friends

The Vincentian Father-Director, Father J.P. Sheedy C.M. with the assistance of Fathers Bagnall and McElligott, with 24 other priests lining the altar, concelebrated a Solemn Requiem on Saturday morning, November 28th, for the peaceful repose of all the deceased clergy and parishioners who had graced and served the parish since its foundation. Fittingly, the touching homily was delivered by Monsignor Dinn, parish priest of St. Marie's whose principal, 102 years ago, Father Edmund Scully, had been the moving force behind the provision of a school in White Croft which had marked the real beginning of the parish.

The Principal Guest of Honour Arrives

After Rosary and Benediction on Saturday evening, the Hall was filled to capacity to welcome the week-end's principal guest, the Apostolic Delegate and newly-appointed Archbishop of Liverpool, Archbishop Godfrey. His Grace received, on entering the Hall, a great ovation from all present and remained with them to enjoy a specially arranged concert for the occasion. It is a matter of some regret, since concerts do not arrange themselves, that, amidst the plethora of records of the Centenary celebrations, no record seems to exist in tribute to to the organisers and artistes who made this historic event possible but it is known that a great evening was had by all.

The Centenary Mass.

This, the focal point at noon on Sunday, November 29th, saw the church filled to over-capacity, with men, women and children standing in the side aisles and sitting inside the side altars to welcome the distinguished guests who were honouring a momentous occasion. Even the weather was described as "magnificent - more like a June day than November".

Understandably, seating in the front of the church had been reserved for the seventy visiting priests, thirty-seven Sisters of Charity, eighteen nuns representing all of the other convents in Sheffield and for the many civic dignitaries led by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Sheffield.

Although it was the first Sunday of Advent, special permission had been granted for celebration of the Mass of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to whom, in addition to St. Vincent, the parish had been dedicated by Father Michael Burke, at his first Mass in the upper school-room in White Croft on Sunday November 27th 1853 - but what a difference in the surroundings and circumstances.

The Solemn Pontifical Mass was preceded by a procession, down the centre aisle from the west door, led by the Sheffield Vincentian clergy followed by Bishop Ellis of Nottingham, Bishop [and celebrant] John, Carmel Heenan of Leeds, Father Sheridan C.M. [Deacon] and Father Michael Doyle C.M. [sub-Deacon] and finally, the Principal Visitor, Archbishop William Godfrey who, in his chair of honour on the chancel was to preside over and preach the historic homily at the Mass. His Grace's sermon was reproduced in its entirety in the December 1953 issue of "the Vincentian" and traced, in commendable detail, the history of the parish itself and of the great contribution made to Catholicism in Sheffield of a century of Vincentian Missioners. It has been estimated that the Archbishop delivered his address to over 1,200 people from all walks of life in the congregation.

A similar full reproduction in the same issue of the magazine was accorded to the sermon, preached on the Sunday evening at Solemn Benediction, by Bishop Heenan, who paid full tribute to the newly elevated Archbishop, to the Vincentian Order and its priests throughout the century in Sheffield, to the devoted work of the Sisters of Charity in close support of the priests, to St. Vincent himself and not least to the thousands of parishioners whose loyalty and fidelity had prompted this occasion.

The Children Remembered

On the morning of Monday, November 30th, a special Solemn High Mass was celebrated in St. Vincent's for the 700 children of St. Vincent's and St. Joseph's schools, by Fathers Cuthbert Brown, Bernard Hynes and Lawrence O'Dea, all ex-pupils of the parish schools with Father Christie O'Leary CM, former war-time Rector in Sheffield, as the special guest preacher. Following the Mass, the youngsters were regaled in their respective schools, with appropriate parties prepared by the nuns, teachers and a host of parishioner helpers.

The Happy Conclusion

The Centenary Celebrations were concluded on the evening of Monday, November 30th with a grand Dinner and Dance at the Sheffield Cutlers Hall attended, among 400 diners, by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Sheffield, ex-Master Cutler, Sir Harold West and Lady West [old friends of St. Vincent's Parish]. The Mother Church at Norfolk Row was well-represented by Monsignor Dinn, Rector of St. Marie's and his assistant priests. Also present as honoured guests were two Sheffield Catholic City Councillors, Bert Molloy and Dan O'Neill. The toast to the guests was, in fact, proposed by a Councillor O'Neill and the reply, on behalf of the guests came in "a lovable speech, typical of the man and priest" by the beloved Father Charles Bagnall. In proposing the toast to St. Vincent's, Monsignor Dinn "in a witty and kindly malicious speech" recalled the sometimes strained relations in the early days of the neighbouring parishes [already recorded in these writings] but he ended on the friendly [sic!] theme that "there would always be a St. Vincent's as long as there was a St. Marie's". In his response to Mgr. Dinn's toast, the St. Vincent's Rector, the Very Rev. Fr. Joseph McNamara acknowledged their indebtedness to the Mother Church but is reported as "getting in some good spade-work on his own account". At the conclusion of the memorable dinner, the diners then joined the over 400 dancers already enjoying the accompaniment on the Cutlers Hall dance floor and these festivities continued in a wonderful atmosphere until 1 a.m. on Tuesday. So ended, officially, a very remarkable celebration which had embraced all aspects of St. Vincent's Parish during its hundred years of existence.

The Story of a Success

The undoubted success of the Centenary celebrations formed a mirror of the more parochial success of St. Vincent's Operatic Society when on the evening of Tuesday December 1st, the singers, the accompanying orchestra and their backstage helpers, embarked on a production of the Gilbert and Sullivan "Iolanthe" which ran for five successive nights to crowded Parish Hall audiences, still enjoying the euphoric atmosphere of the Centenary. The very versatile comic singer and producer, Dennis Howe, merited very special mention for his portrayal of the Lord Chancellor as also did Mr. Frank Finnigan for his outstanding expertise as Musical Director and Conductor.

The Centenary "Staff"

It is probable that most, if not all, of the clergy at Solly Street had taken the opportunity to enjoying of the Iolanthe treat in the Hall. The December 1953 issue of "The Vincentian" records the priests: Very Reverend Father Joseph McNamara with Fathers W. Meagher, M Mannix, T. Rice, G. Galligan, E. McDonagh, T. Finnegan, J. O'Hare, T. O'Farrell, J. H. Smyth and E. McGlinchey and, of course, Brother Willie Smith now starting on his 25th year as Parish Sacristan.

Papal Honours

The year concluded, still on a very happy note, with the announcement from Rome in December of papal awards to three distinguished parishioners - the Bene Merenti Medal to Mr. Joe Lodge and Mr. Jim McGrady and the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice to Mr. Dan J. O'Neill.

Centenary Souvenir Brochure

In preparation for the 1953 celebrations and based largely upon the archives in the Presbytery, a brochure had been compiled and produced by the Boy's Head Teacher, Bernard Sweeney, in collaboration with one of his teaching staff, Bill Walsh. This covered in readable form the origins, developments and events over the parish's century of history in relation to churches, schools, societies and most aspects of the parish's life. Liberally illustrated with photographs as well as appropriate texts, this well-produced brochure received very wide distribution during the months approaching the celebrations and it is quite probable that many older parishioners still have and enjoy the copies which they acquired at the time.

CHAPTER 29

1954

Papal Honours Presented

The honours bestowed by the Vatican, at the end of the Parish Centenary year, on three of St. Vincent's distinguished parishioners, merited a special celebration and, on Sunday Jan. 10th 1954, the Parish Hall was filled for the presentation to Mr. Joe Lodge and Mr. Jim McGrady of the Bene Merenti medals and to Mr. Dan O'Neill of the insignia Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. All three had served the parish and the community in differing fields for many years.

Joe Lodge, apart from being a stalwart member of the C.Y.M.S. from his youth, had been a long-time member of the choir, church-door collector, wartime worker, under the chairmanship of Fred Mulligan, in the St. Vincent's Old Boys Association providing contact and comforts to serving parishioners, and prominent in the proper re-establishment of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. in post-war years. He was also a noted wit and raconteur, whose verbal and musical contributions enlivened many a social event in the parish.

Jim McGrady had been a leading the figure in the formation of the Sacred Heart Sodality of which he became father-figure and President, and in organisation and direction of the willing band of outdoor collectors whose efforts had rescued the parish financially in the many times of need. A gentleman of retiring disposition, he had still played a very active part in the affairs of the C.Y.M.S. and the Branch's close liaison with the clergy of St. Vincent's parish.

Dan O'Neill, whose forbears had been actively involved in the actual foundation of the parish in 1853 and had continued through the years to contribute to the developments since that day, was a prominent member of the local City Council, where his voice was heard frequently on matters affecting the entire Catholic community of the city. As already recorded, Dan had become, in 1942, the youngest Justice of the Peace in Sheffield. The charitable works of the O'Neill family, in their generosity to St. Vincent's parish could, along with those of other great benefactors, almost warrant a separate history.

St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. Centenary year

Owing to the wartime destruction of most of the Branch's old library records, the Centenary date of the C.Y.M.S. foundation in the parish passed without event. The actual day and date, Tuesday May 9th 1854, was not accurately established until later by the writer's researches into this matter. However, preparations were in hand to celebrate, before the year-end, the Branch's Centenary Year. In the summer, part of the commemoration took the form of the presentation to the priests of a magnificent brass four-tiered inscribed candleholder, made by Mr. H. Gill of Dublin. Mounted on a wheeled stand, complete with recessed containers for new candles and an offertory box, this gracious addition to the church found its place before the Lady Altar.

A change of Rectorship

In September 1954, the parishioners bade farewell to Father W. Meagher after four years and to the parish priest, the Very Rev. Father Joseph McNamara. All the priests present in 1953 had worked hard on the parish Centenary celebrations but, in particular, in his capacity as the incumbent Parish Priest, Father McNamara had been very successful in supervising the many events during that year. The mantle of Rector now passed to Father Edward McDonagh who, since his arrival in 1937, had already made his own indelible mark on the parish by his lively spiritual directorships, at various times, of every one of the parish societies but, most particularly, with the parish youth for whom his Massive fund-raising efforts had culminated, four years earlier, in the establishment of the most magnificent Youth Centre in the north of England, an accolade awarded by the National Associations of Boys and Girls Clubs which had provided half of the funds for this development.

Celebrations for another Centenary

The Youth Centre was the venue, in October 1954, for a Centenary Celebration breakfast, which followed a Solemn High Mass for a parochial commemoration of St. Vincent's C.Y.M.S. foundation. The Mass, in St. Vincent's church, was concelebrated by the Right Reverend Dr. Heenan, Bishop of Leeds, assisted by the new parish priest, Father McDonagh, and several of the Vincentian priests, both in residence at Solly Street or visiting for this important joyous occasion.

Notable civic guests also assisted at the Mass and all the clergy, guests and some 120 Branch members afterwards sat down to a traditional breakfast. A top-table press photograph, taken on this occasion, shows Father Dan O'Connell, newly returned for further service in the parish, City Councillors Dan O'Neill and Bert Molloy, His Lordship the Bishop, the Bishop's secretary, Fr. Walmsley, Very Rev. Father McDonagh and Branch Officers - President Jack Archbould, Vice President Vincent Bambrick, Secretary, John Kelly and Treasurer, James Hussey.

The Final Celebration

The grand climax to the C.Y.M.S. Centenary celebrations took place again at Sheffield's historic Cutlers Hall on Monday, Nov. 8th with a celebration dinner at which the Branch President, Bro. Jack Archbould accompanied by his fellow Executive Officers received as honoured guests the Diocesan Chaplain, Father Charles Murray, Very Rev. Father E. McDonagh, the Branch spiritual director, Mgr. J. Dinn, Parish Priest of St. Marie's, the National C.Y.M.S. President, Bro. K. Mackey and Bro. W. [Billy] Waldron K.S.G., the past National President and past National Secretary of the Society, among a company of more than 300 diners.

A Double up for the "Operatics"

The Society was again "on song" with five well-patronised nights from November 23rd to 27th in producing and staging the traditional G & S pairing of "The Pirates of Penzance" and "Cox and Box", both operettas being successfully presented at each single performance, a sure sign of the expertise by this time of all concerned in the Operatic Society's activities.

A Golden Jubilee

Exactly one month later, a Solemn High Mass, celebrated at St. Joseph's church, Howard Hill by Father E. McDonagh, marked the Golden Jubilee of Sister Winifrede's profession as a Sister of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Arriving in Sheffield in 1921, Sister Winifrede had spent over 33 years teaching and caring for the infant children in St. Vincent's school and had greatly endeared herself not only to the thousands of children who had benefited from her care but also to the entire parish for her devotion and care and solicitude outside her school duties.

The Staff - December 1954

Clergy recorded in residence at Solly Street were Father E. McDonagh, Parish Priest with Fathers Dan O'Connell, K. Murnaghan, T. Rice, A. McRory, G. Galligan, T. Finnegan, J. O'Hare, T. O'Farrell, E. McGlinchey and Brother W. Smith.

The History of St Vincent’s in Sheffield© - An original story written and copywritten by Ted Cummings generously permitted on Sheffield Indexers website courtesy of Ted Cummings and Vincent Hale – Terms and Conditions Apply.

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