St Michael's Cemetery

In the early 1860s there was no consecrated ground for the burial of Catholic people within the boundaries of Sheffield. This came about largely because of past persecution resulting from the English Reformation of the 16th century. Father Burke of St Vincent's Church on Solly Street in the city, being quite concerned about this began a search for a suitable burial ground and finally purchased an eight-acre site on a sloping hillside in Rivelin Glen. The plot of land was bought for £600 in the Spring of 1862 from Mr. Wilson of Loxley, a member of the famous Wilson family of snuff manufacturers. The site was quickly enclosed and walled off at a further cost of £250 and received official…

The altar is made of polished marble and veined alabaster and has a figure of the dead Christ lying beneath it, sculpted by Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons of Cheltenham. The chancel has a floor made of patterned encaustic tiles. John Francis Bentley designed the three east windows which feature, The Risen Christ, The Blessed Virgin and St John, they were produced by the firm of Lavers, Barraud and Westlake. In 1884 the Foster family financed improvements to the interior to the tune of £430. These featured designs by Nathaniel Westlake and Matthew Hadfield and included the west window (in memory of Father James Fitzgerald), the Sienese crucifix and wall paintings of the four Resurrections.