Birley Spa is a grade-II listed [1] community bath hall and a Victorian bathhouse in the Hackenthorpe district of the City of Sheffield, England.
Birley Spa is a grade-II listed [1] community bath hall and a Victorian bathhouse in the Hackenthorpe district of the City of Sheffield, England.
The bath house was built for Charles Herbert Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers and the Lord of the Manor of Beighton in 1842, and initially was a hotel with spa baths beneath. [2] Subsequently, it was used for many years as private dwellings. In the 1973 it was given Grade II listed building status. [1]
During the mid 1800s a committee was created consisting of Thomas Staniforth from the Thomas Staniforth & Co Sickle works, Edward Hobson, George Cox of Beighton and John Tillotson, schoolmaster of Beighton. A man named George Eadon was selected from eleven applicants who applied for the post of manager of the 'Bath Hotel', and was paid a salary of twenty pounds and was provided free rent and coal. [3]
By 1895 the baths were failing to make a profit and only a single plunge bath remained in use, it appears the hotel itself was closed around 1878 and it is believed that the Earl Manvers removed the marble from the building himself for personal use.
Around 1895 John Platts was the proprietor of the property, he was a well known gardener and a farmer.
By the time of the 1920s and 30s, the grounds of the bath house were transformed into a Pleasure Ground for children. Mr Moulson and William Smith were the proprietors at this time. The grounds featured a wishing well, a sand pit, swing boats, a paddling pool and the large lake behind the house was used for boating and fishing. There was also a 'wonder tree' in the wooded area beside the house, which was a large oak tree said to be over 1,000 years old. When the Second World War began in 1939, the grounds were closed. [4]
The grounds was transferred to Sheffield Corporation in the 1950s, and in the early 2000s it became part of the Shire Brook Valley Local Nature Reserve. [5]
The building was restored in 2000/2002 and for a time was open for tours by the public, but this has recently ceased. [6]
In June 2018 renewed interest was brought to Birley Spa due to its neglect, and a Friends of Birley Spa group was formed. [7]
The Friends Group was formed in response to the Councils intention to sell the building. The sale was withdrawn and the Bath House has been made an Asset of Community Value. Talks are ongoing with the Council to secure a sustainable future for the Spa. The building requires extensive repairs, due to lack of maintenance and neglect. Plans are underway for fundraising events, and applications to funding bodies will be submitted. Work has started with volunteers, supported by Park Rangers, to restore the grounds.
Croxteth Hall in West Derby, Liverpool, is the former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the 7th and last Earl in 1972, the estate passed to Liverpool City Council, which now manages the remainder of the estate, following the sale of approximately half of the grounds. The remaining grounds, Croxteth Park, were at one time a hunting chase of the Molyneux family and are now open to the public. The hall is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Beighton —which includes the districts of Beighton, Hackenthorpe, Owlthorpe, and Sothall—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the eastern part of the city, on the border with Rotherham and covers an area of 5.7 km2. The population of this ward in 2011 was 17,939 people in 7,538 households.
Hackenthorpe is a village 5 miles south east of Sheffield’s city centre, now classed as a historic township of the city. Due to much expansion, the village became a part of Sheffield city during the 1950s. During much of the late 19th and 20th centuries the village was noted for its steelmaking, with the Thomas Staniforth & Co Sickle works being based at Main Street. Another prominent feature of the village is the 17th century Hackenthorpe Hall, built by John Newbould for the Hounsfield family, with James Hounsfield being a prominent land owner. The building is today used as a nursery.
Birley ward — which includes the districts of Base Green, Birley Estate, Charnock, Frecheville, Scowerdons and part of Hackenthorpe — is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southeastern part of the city and covers an area of 5.1 km2. The population of this ward in 2011 was 16,943 people in 7,393 households. It is one of the five wards that make up the Sheffield South East constituency.
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The Royal Pump Rooms is a cultural centre on the Parade in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It was the most famous of several spa baths opened in Leamington between the late-18th and mid-19th centuries. People would travel from throughout the country, and indeed Europe, to benefit from treatments using the town's healing waters. When 'taking the waters' became less fashionable after the mid-19th century the Pump Rooms became Leamington's only surviving spa facility, later also being extended to include the town's public swimming pool. After a major redevelopment in 1997-99 the building now houses Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, a public library, a Tourist Information Centre, cafe and assembly rooms. It is a Grade II listed building.
Shire Brook is a small stream in the south eastern part of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It rises in the suburb of Gleadless Townend and flows in a general easterly direction for 4 miles (6.5 km) to its confluence with the River Rother between Beighton and Woodhouse Mill. In the past the brook has been both the border of Yorkshire and Derbyshire and between the sees of Canterbury and York. The course of the stream has been influenced by human intervention in the 20th century with the brook being diverted underground and flowing through culverts on three occasions as it traverses locations which were formerly landfill sites and extensive railway sidings.
The Shire Brook Valley Local Nature Reserve is located in Sheffield, England, on a former brownfield industrial site.
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Riverdale House is a Victorian mansion located at 89 Graham Road in the Ranmoor area of Sheffield, England. Formerly a private residence, the building, which is Grade II Listed has now been adopted for commercial use and accommodates several small businesses.
Christ Church is a church situated in Hackenthorpe, a suburb of the City of Sheffield. It is located on Sheffield road, and was built in 1899. The church was largely funded by local land owner James Houndsfield.
The Ochre Dyke is a small stream in the south eastern part of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It rises some 100m to the east/south east of the ruined barn known as Eckington Lees. This is at the extreme western end of Birley Wood Golf Course. Ochre Dyke flows east/south east along the southern border of the golf course and passes through Birley Wood; up to this point it is the county boundary between South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire. During summer months the brook frequently dries up to this point. The Ochre dyke gets its name from the pollution of the water by yellow ochre as a result of coal mining activity in the upper reaches of the valley. The area in and around Birley wood was extensively mined for coal and black-band iron ore from at least the medieval period up to the mid 20th century when Dent Main Colliery closed. Other mines along the course of the stream were Moorhole Colliery East, Moorhole Colliery North and Moorhole Colliery South.
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