Sheffield community group launches appeal for historical documents for chapel display in iconic church

A community group is appealing for people to donate or loan historical documents to form a display in a much loved church with an uncertain future.
By Steven Ross
Published 15th Sep 2021, 12:04 BST
Updated 16th Sep 2021, 11:58 BST
Lorraine Dyson is a member of Action for Knowle Top and has been coming to the church for 47 years.Lorraine Dyson is a member of Action for Knowle Top and has been coming to the church for 47 years.
Lorraine Dyson is a member of Action for Knowle Top and has been coming to the church for 47 years.

Action for Knowle Top, a group which is hoping to retain Knowle Top Church for the community, appealed to residents to provide historic documents and photographs for a display in the chapel.

Sunday, September 19 at 2.30pm will be the last service at Knowle Top, and the display is intended to mark this and remember the history of the church.

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Lorraine Dyson, a member of Action for Knowle Top, said: “It’s very iconic, it has been around for a long time. It was built in 1879 in the heart of the village and is a landmark for the community of Stannington and we want to preserve it.

The documents will be displayed in the chapel which will be open for coffee mornings.The documents will be displayed in the chapel which will be open for coffee mornings.
The documents will be displayed in the chapel which will be open for coffee mornings.

"Some documents are very old. A lady came to a coffee morning and she brought a document that might have been 100 years old. We have a lot of family photographs. We have had a positive response. We are hoping that we can keep the display up for several weeks.”

Action for Knowle Top are planning to raise money to buy the building once it is put up for sale, so that it can be used by the community. The group also successfully applied for it to be listed as an asset of community value.

It was listed in April 2021 and will remain on the list for five years unless removed earlier in accordance with the legislation.

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Lorraine added: “I have lived in the village for 47 years and I wouldn’t want to see it fall into other hands.

Knowle Top Church was listed as an asset of community value in April 2021.Knowle Top Church was listed as an asset of community value in April 2021.
Knowle Top Church was listed as an asset of community value in April 2021.

“The decision was taken months ago to discontinue worship because of a dwindling congregation. We won’t know the exact valuation until the building goes on the market. We are commissioning a report and investigation by some university students to look at what they want to see as well as looking at all the other accommodation in Stannington.

"When we did a survey last year, 99 per cent of the replies were in favour of retaining the building, so that gives us a mandate.”

The display will be unveiled on October 2, and the chapel will be accessible during coffee mornings held in the building on Saturdays from 10am-12pm.

Related topics:Sheffield