Sheffield is undoubtedly most famous for the rich history and traditions of the city’s steel industry. Sheffield proudly bears the name of the ‘Steel City’ and this industrial pride is still enshrined in the identity of the people who are from here. There is often a common misconception that the steel industry is the only part of the city’s history worth telling, but we are going to share with you another episode of history when Sheffield’s name was placed prominently on the political map of the country. Not many people know about it, some may have heard just a bit, but the clues of this episode are still with us, preserved in the names of the places and roads within the city itself.
Manor, Parkway, Park Hill – these are names that most people from Sheffield are familiar with. They are currently attached to things that symbolise the post-war urban expansion of the city, but yet the story of their origins brings us back to the Tudor period in the 16th century. Sheffield is not known for its medieval old town and there is very little left to tell us about the city’s history before the industrial revolution. However, back in those days Sheffield was already famous for two reasons other than centuries old craftsmanship of the local cutlers. The first is Sheffield Castle, said to be one of the largest strongholds at the time, but sadly destroyed after the English Civil War. For much of the 20th century, Castle Market was the monument marking the name and location of this once famous place around which the city grew through the last millennia. The second, often forgotten and yet more unique than the castle, was The Sheffield Deer Park, one of the largest private deer parks in the country at the time and this is the precious gem of Sheffield’s history that we wish to tell you more about.
In the Tudor times it covered a huge territory of woodland with a wall encircling it all and containing over a 1000 deer, a source of food and leisure for the royal court. At the heart of this operation was a grand stately home being Sheffield Manor Lodge. It was a lavish place built by a very wealthy man at the time called the Earl of Shrewsbury, who in 1569 was entrusted to keep in custody one the most important prisoners in the whole country being Mary, Queen of Scots. Sheffield Manor Lodge together with Sheffield Castle was her home and place of incarceration for 14 years-almost a third of her life, creating a major piece of English and European history. Being set in the middle of the great deer park on one of the highest hills, Sheffield Manor Lodge, as well as intriguing political developments relating to the custody of Mary, Queen of Scots, makes it a true gem for the history and heritage enthusiasts. It marks one of the most interesting episodes of Sheffield’s history before the industrial revolution. This fascinating part of our past has inspired us to come together and establish Friends of Sheffield Manor Lodge, an organisation where local community members could share their love of history and work together to preserve and revive this forgotten treasure of city’s history.
Like many historical sites throughout the nation, Sheffield Manor Lodge had fallen into ruin in the last couple of centuries and only 20 years ago, due to the relentless effort of local people and history enthusiasts, the fortunes of this unique place has changed. In 2000 a major campaign and fund-raising programme was started with the intention to acquire the land where the ruins of the Sheffield Manor Lodge stood. This was one of the earliest, most important and difficult steps in our long road ahead trying to bring these stories back to life and in helping to make once again Sheffield Manor Lodge an important part of Sheffield’s future. But the work did not stop there. It was only a promising beginning.
In 2004, the care and management of the site went to the newly constituted Green Estate Ltd, an establishment which has taken the Tudor heritage into their broad profile of community focused activities such as education, event venues, education, history promotion, sustainability and many others. By 2014, this organisation had completed the last significant part of the original site masterplan, thanks to support from many funders and organisations, such as Friends of Sheffield Manor Lodge. At the present day, the site offers a great opportunity to spend a day learning about Tudor history at the new visitor centre and well maintained Sheffield Manor Lodge grounds, you could have a delicious lunch at the famous Rhubarb Shed café, enjoy the fresh air and the beauty of colourful wildflower gardens, take signed walks and much more, the list of activities is constantly expanding!
With every passing year, Sheffield Manor Lodge is making great steps forward in coming back to life and more and more people from Sheffield and further afield learn that it exists and how much there is to know and to see. There has been a tremendous work done on the site since the days it was neglected resulting in overgrown ruins behind close gates but yet, there is still much more to do. Our Friends of Sheffield Manor Lodge organisation is focused to support the maintenance of the Tudor grounds as well as to fund new improvements that will make it more attractive, informative, and enjoyable to the visitors. Our activities involve history talks, living history days, coach trips and more – all focused on spreading the passion and interest in history while all the profits are used to support the maintenance and infrastructure at Sheffield Manor Lodge.
The improvements, some completed – some not, are due to the support of our members are a fully assembled full replica Tudor Kitchen, helping the visitors to see what it really looked like in that era, new benches placed throughout the site providing the opportunity to rest while exploring the grounds, organised History Through The Ages events being an annual day full of historical re-enactment shows ranging from the 1100’s to World War 2. All these changes are important to ensure the preservation and care of the Sheffield Manor Lodge site, as well as to spread the word and share this treasure of history that we have on our doorstep.
In the last year, we have faced the unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. The public restrictions have affected our ability to host our famous history talks, on site events could not take place and the visitor numbers have dropped. These difficult times resulted in a major drop in our income that comes from ticket sales and visitors, curbing our ability to contribute to the maintenance and future projects at the Sheffield Manor Lodge. Historically, we have always had our base support in individuals who are interested in history, wanting to learn more about this, or just trying to support their local community initiatives. However, the recent pandemic crisis has encouraged us to find ways to expand our circle of friends beyond private individuals. This is how our idea for corporate sponsorships was born.
Ever expanding circle of Friends of Sheffield Manor Lodge and growing visibility creates a great platform for local businesses, large and small, to join our community and express their values and intention to help the local community. This recently launched initiative of ours, has already received positive reception from a number of local businesses which we are grateful for, but we are certain that it’s not a time to stop, it’s time to come together, even in bigger numbers and grow our community based on mutual support.
Friends of Sheffield Manor Lodge offer an ability to your business to raise visibility and awareness through a hyperlink on our website to yours and presence on our newsletter, opportunity to use our venues for your special company events, the experience of a guided tour around the Sheffield Manor Lodge site with our founder, author and local historian, David Templeman, concession tickets to participate in our history talks and other events organised by us. All this and more in exchange for a corporate sponsorship donation that would help preserve and improve this unique piece of history for our future generations. Could your business be the next to join our circle of friends and sponsors? Click here to visit our Sponsor page to learn more.
We are a dynamic group of enthusiastic people seeking to preserve our local heritage, spread the love of history and support local businesses and the community. Therefore, we are always open to hear your ideas on how your business could support us and how our organisation could help you finding a bespoke solution that works best. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to explore this opportunity. We are a growing family, and we hope you will be our next member.