Broomhill grew up in the early 19th century as Sheffield experienced rapid population growth as a result of
industrialisation. In order to serve the ecclesiastical needs of this new community, a church dedicated to St Mark was founded on the present site in 1854 with monies provided by
steelmaker William Butcher. The first building was a
prefabricated and
galvanised iron structure, the type of which would commonly come to be referred to as a
tin tabernacle. Always intended to be temporary, it survived only until 1868, when construction began on a grand stone building in
Gothic Revival style designed by
William Henry Crossland, typical of the era. Crossland's church was completed in 1871 and would serve the community for the next seven decades. On the night of 12 December 1940, Crossland's building was largely destroyed by an
incendiary bomb during what would become known as the "
Sheffield Blitz". Once the site was cleared only the two-stage south-west tower, including the south porch below and crocketed spire that rises above, were left standing. ==Architecture and fittings==