THE elaborate bishop's crozier in Sheffield - exactly 100 years old - is not allowed to leave Sheffield Cathedral: so the Bishop, Dr Steven Croft, has been unable to take it out to the parishes. He has very much wanted one that he could use for ceremonial occasions around the diocese.

Last year happened to be the centenary of the first production of stainless steel in 1913, that all-important alloy produced by Harry Brearley, in Sheffield. To mark such an important anniversary, a competition to design a new crozier for the Bishop of Sheffield was launched last year.

It was won by two metalwork graduates of Sheffield Hallam University, Stefan Tooke and Nick Palmer, who were commissioned to design and make the new crozier using silver supplied by the Assay Office. The crook is made of stainless steel, engraved with verses 1 and 7 of Psalm 95. The flames are fashioned from gold-plated silver, and the crucible underneath the head is made from silver. The shaft is a laser-cut steel tube with blue detail symbolising Sheffield's rivers.

The crozier was presented to the Bishop at a ceremony in the newly refurbished Sheffield Cathedral.