The Park, Sheffield

[Maryviller]

More on "The Park" from an 1869 book...

 

"Attached to the Castle was a noble Park of 2,461 acres, within a ring fence of eight miles. Taking as its western limit a line from the Castle walls, near Old Haymarket to Porter-street—the boundary of the township of Ecclesall Bierlow—the Park comprised the whole eastern part of the township of Sheffield. It extended from Bramall-lane and Heeley-bank on one side, to the river Don and the township of Attercliffe-cum-Darnall on the other, and stretched over the hills by Gleadless moor and Intake to the parish of Handsworth on the east. The main entrance was near what is now Dixon-lane. Thence was a broad carriage drive through the Park to Handsworth, where the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury built a handsome lodge, which is described as the boudoir of the family, and had an historical interest as the birth place of Wm. Cavendish, the first Duke of Newcastle—the able General who sustained for a time the falling fortunes of Charles I. The Handsworth Lodge has long since perished. From the main carriage drive a more private road branched southward to the Manor, of which some account will be found in another page.

 

The Park was richly wooded; stately avenues of oak and walnut shaded the winding roads, but in 1706 it was denuded of its fine timber, and divided into farms, having previously been invaded for mining purposes. Its western slopes are now one of the most populous parts of the town, but are still known as "The Park." Its northern extremity is disfigured by coal mines and manufactories, mining operations being carried on within the very area of the [sheffield] Manor, where [Cardinal] Wolsey spent some of his last days, and Mary Stuart [Queen of Scots] was an occasional prisoner.

 

A ramble over those bold eastern hills even now, disfigured as they are by unsightly buildings, and not unfrequently enveloped in dust and smoke, can hardly fail to leave a vivid impression of the natural grandeur of the ancient Park—the haunt of graceful deer from times immediately succeeding the Norman Conquest to the beginning of the eighteenth century, and the scene of pastimes and pageantries as gorgeous as those of royalty itself.

 

From pages 34-37 in the Illustrated Guide to Sheffield and the Surrounding District, Comprising Accounts of the Early History and Progress of the Town, its Public and Religious Bodies, Edifices and Institutions, Descriptions of its Manufactures, and of the Suburban Scenery and Places of Interest in the Surrounding District, Edited by John Taylor, published 1879, by Pawson and Brailsford, 398 pages. Full text on the web at books. google. com / books. (remove spaces and search part of the title)

 

Regards, Bill

[glaham]

Thank you for all your replies especially the last one. I have a good idea where it is now and of its history.

 

Ta,

Simon