Can’t find your ancestor in the parish registers? There’s a good chance they may have been nonconformists. A census of religious attendance taken in March 1851 revealed that nearly half of the church-going population attended a nonconformist place of worship. The country experienced a religious revival in the nineteenth century that saw a proliferation of nonconformist congregations and church attendance then was much higher than it is today. .
Many people (particularly working-class folk) were attracted to the style of preaching and worship of nonconformist denominations, such as the Methodists. The churches and chapels functioned not only as places of faith and worship, they were important community centres offering practical help to people in need and a social outlet. There were men’s groups and women’s groups as well as activities for children (including uniformed organisations). Many held sports days and ran sports clubs, such as cycling, football and cricket clubs that participated in local amateur leagues. Singing was an important part of worship and choirs were very popular. There was also a much anticipated annual outing to the countryside or to the seaside. You may find an ancestor among the reports of church activities in the local newspaper.
Nonconformity in Sheffield
The first nonconformist chapel in Sheffield opened in 1678. Some other small independent congregations followed. In 1742, John Wesley (co-founder of the Methodist movement) addressed a crowd in the town. This sparked a response that led to the forming of some local Methodist congregations. This development was not universally well received and the early Methodist chapels were the target of mob violence. However, Methodism did become firmly established in the town and by far the greatest number of nonconformist chapels in Sheffield were affiliated to one or other of the several branches of Methodism.
The following denominations had a presence in Sheffield in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
- Baptist – from late 18th century.
- Congregational – from 17th century.
- Independent – from 17th century.
- Methodist (including: New Connexion, Primitive Methodist, Wesleyan Methodist, United Free Methodist) – from mid-eighteenth century.
- Presbyterian – from mid-19th century.
- Society of Friends (Quakers) – from 17th century.
- Unitarian – from 17th century.
Unlike parish churches, nonconformist chapels did not have a defined geographical ‘patch’, but drew their membership from wider areas. Many chapels were affiliated to a denomination and were part of an organised structure, but others, especially the earlier chapels were not. The emphasis on congregational independence meant that there plenty of mergers and secessions, which can make it complicated to follow the history of a chapel over time.
Local Nonconformist records
For a comprehensive list of nonconformist places of worship and their deposited records see The Small Guide to Nonconformist and Roman Catholic Churches in Sheffield which you can buy from our shop on the GENfair website.
Society volunteers are involved in a major exercise to transcribe the nonconformist registers at Sheffield Archives. The link below will take you to a list of the baptism and marriage records that have been transcribed to date. Note that these are Methodist registers. Copies of the transcribed registers are available for purchase for a modest fee from our shop on the GENfair website.