Arriving in 1971, at the tail end of post-war modernist construction, Trinity URC appears completely alien in its surroundings.
Situated directly opposite Endcliffe Park and flanked on either side by 19th-century stone-built peaked terraces, the Trinity's brutalist, mostly windowless facade of greying concrete mimics the quarry cliff it obscures. It creates the impression of a fallout shelter, a minimal monument to survival.
A steel cross was added in 1989 and sits above three carved roundels reclaimed from Cemetery Road church – whose traditional stained glass windows found their way into the fiercely contemporary building.
The spectacular simplicity continues inside. Large pockets of light beam in across Trinity’s hexagonal chapel, onto the offset breezeblock walls and over the bronze cross designed by renowned cutler David Mellor.
The above is from our Modernist Churches of Sheffield tour, featuring photography by Theo Simpson, produced for the Sheffield Modern architecture weekender 2018 – available for £2 in our online shop. Some churches are open only for mass/parish communion or by appointment – for up to date information, check the church's website.
See more Modernist Churches of Sheffield.
- Words by
- Greg Povey
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- Modernist Churches of Sheffield
