Church of St Nicholas, Bradfield

About

Bradfield Church is situated in the small village of High Bradfield, (Grid Reference SK268924) which is located 6 miles (10 km) north west of the centre of the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of only five Grade One listed buildings in Sheffield. The church is situated 260 metres (850 ft) above sea level, overlooking the Peak District National Park.

Anglo-Saxon: Christian worship in the Bradfield area dates from at least the 9th century, as a Saxon cross discovered in 1870 in the nearby village of Low Bradfield was dated by specialists to that time. Local historian John Wilson (1719–83) believed that the original Norman church was founded in 1109 when deciphering ancient writing in the church's original east window. The Normans regarded the area around Bradfield as strategically important and had built a motte-and-bailey fortified keep in the area after the conquest. William de Lovetot, Lord of Hallamshire, had built the Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield, nine kilometres to the east, at the end of the 11th century, to which St. Nicholas, Bradfield became a chapel of ease until 1868, when it became a parish of its own.