Parkhead Hall

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Parkhead Hall
Parkhead Hall 4.jpg
Seen from Ecclesall Road South. The best public view of the hall
Sheffield outline map with UK.svg
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Location within Sheffield
General information
Status Listed by Blenheim Park Estates
Type stately home
Architectural stylegrade II listed building
LocationParkhead Sheffield
Country England, United Kingdom
OwnerListed For Sale Via Zoopla
Other information
ParkingYes
Website
Blenheim Park Estates
Seen from Ecclesall Road South. The best public view of the hall. Parkhead Hall 4.jpg
Seen from Ecclesall Road South. The best public view of the hall.

Parkhead Hall, formerly Parkhead House and The Woodlands, is an English country house situated in the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire. The hall is a grade II listed building and is located in the suburb of Whirlow close to the junction of Ecclesall Road South and Abbey Lane. The hall is difficult to view for the general public, being surrounded by high walls and housing, although a glimpse of its northern side can be seen from Ecclesall Road South.

English country house larger mansion estate in England, UK

An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry that ruled rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832. Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses.

Sheffield City and Metropolitan borough in England

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. With some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base. The population of the City of Sheffield is 577,800 (mid-2017 est.) and it is one of the eight largest regional English cities that make up the Core Cities Group. Sheffield is the third-largest English district by population. The metropolitan population of Sheffield is 1,569,000.

South Yorkshire County of England

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in England. It is the southernmost county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region and had a population of 1.34 million in 2011. It has an area of 1,552 square kilometres (599 sq mi) and consists of four metropolitan boroughs, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. South Yorkshire was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972.Its largest settlement is Sheffield.

Contents

History

The building was constructed in 1864 - 65 by the architect John Brightmore Mitchell-Withers (1838-1894) for his own use. It was originally named The Woodlands and Mitchell-Withers created the house as a Gothic fantasy with carved human heads looking out from the eaves and the front door. The dining room was panelled with oak taken from the long gallery of Sheffield Manor. The grounds were landscaped with many trees and included kitchen gardens, orchards, stables, a carriage house and harness room. Withers-Mitchell lived at The Woodlands with his wife Lise and by 1871 they had three children, the oldest of which, John, would also become a well-regarded architect like his father. John Mitchell-Withers senior died at the young age of 56 in 1894 and in June 1898 The Woodlands was sold to Sir Robert Hadfield, the metallurgist and owner of the vast Hadfields steel foundry in the east end of Sheffield.

Oak genus of plants

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 600 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus, as well as in those of unrelated species such as Grevillea robusta and the Casuarinaceae (she-oaks). The genus Quercus is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America contains the largest number of oak species, with approximately 90 occurring in the United States, while Mexico has 160 species of which 109 are endemic. The second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which contains approximately 100 species.

Long gallery type of long, narrow room

In architecture, a long gallery is a long, narrow room, often with a high ceiling. In Britain, long galleries were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses. They were often located on the upper floor of the great houses of the time, and they stretched across the entire frontage of the building. They served several purposes: they were used for entertaining guests, for taking exercise in the form of walking when the weather was inclement, and for displaying art collections.

Kitchen garden space separate from the rest of the residential garden

Kailyard redirects here. For the grouping of Scottish literature see Kailyard school

Upon purchasing the house, Hadfield commenced on a series of extensive modifications between 1900 and 1903 using the architects R.G. Hammond and Wyngard, Dixon & Sandford. A two-storey extension was added comprising a billiard room, a library, two additional bedrooms and a bathroom. He also renamed the building Parkhead House. Hadfield owned the house for over forty years, staying there until 1939, a year before his death. Parkhead House was purchased in 1939 by Sheffield Corporation who had for some time been looking for a suitable house which could be used as Judges’ lodgings after the opening of the Assizes Courts in the city. The Corporation paid £6,750 for the property, however the outbreak of World War II prevented their use for the intended purpose and during the conflict the house was the headquarters of No. 33 Group RAF Balloon Command which was responsible for all barrage balloons and their sites in the industrial Midlands between March 1939 and September 1944. [1] [2]

Sheffield City Council Local government body in England

Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Julie Dore.

The courts of assize, or assizes, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction, though most of their work was on the criminal side. The assizes heard the most serious cases, which were committed to it by the quarter sessions, while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by justices of the peace in petty sessions.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

The entrance gates on Ecclesall Road South. Parkhead Hall Gates.JPG
The entrance gates on Ecclesall Road South.

Modern times

After the war Parkhead House reverted to the ownership of Sheffield Corporation and in 1948 was modified and opened as a nursing home for 35 elderly men. The house remained as a home for the elderly until 1988 when it became surplus to requirements and was put up for auction with four acres of land. The house was quite rundown when It was purchased in June 1989 for £1.2 million by the Facia Group, the retail empire headed by Sheffield businessman Stephen Hinchliffe. The house became the headquarters of the Facia Group and was restored over a number of years with the name being changed again to Parkhead Hall. June 1996 saw the financial collapse of the Facia Group. The Serious Fraud Office and officers from South Yorkshire Police raided Parkhead Hall in August 1996, taking away vanloads of documents as part of a criminal investigation into the finances of the group. [3] Stephen Hinchliffe was declared bankrupt in March 2001 and Parkhead Hall was confiscated and sold back to his bank. [4]

Stephen Leonard Hinchliffe is an English businessman from Sheffield who was the founder of the former retail empire Facia group, which had up to 850 stores before it collapsed in 1996. He has been a director of 60 companies. He was jailed in 2001 and 2003 for bribery and fraud.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The SFO is accountable to the Attorney General for England and Wales, and was established by the Criminal Justice Act 1987, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 grants the SFO special compulsory powers to require any person to provide any relevant documents and answer any relevant questions including ones about confidential matters. The SFO is the principal enforcer of the Bribery Act 2010, which has been designed to encourage good corporate governance and enhance the reputation of the City of London and the UK as a safe place to do business. Its jurisdiction does not extend to Scotland where fraud and corruption are investigated by Police Scotland through their Specialist Crime Division, and prosecutions are undertaken by the Economic Crime Unit of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The Chief Constable of the force since July 2016 is Steven Watson.

In 2003 the house was purchased by Andrew Hogg, director of several companies connected to camping, caravanning and outdoor activities, including Towsure and Campsure. [5] Mr. Hogg turned the house back into a family residence. In early 2012 the house was once more up for sale with a potential selling price of £4 million. As of December 2013, the house is still for sale. [6]

Architecture

Parkhead Hall is constructed from squared stone with ashlar dressings, the light coloured exterior stone complements the pink roof tiles. There are three distinctive side wall chimney stacks along with the three on the roof. The windows are mainly casements. The extensive gardens of the original house have been gradually reduced over the years as the land was sold off for housing, allowing dwellings to be built on Abbey Lane. The building of these houses has blocked the former entrance on Abbey Lane leaving the main entrance on Ecclesall Road South as the only entry to the building. [7]

Ashlar Finely dressed stone and associated masonry

Ashlar is finely dressed stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared or the structure built of it. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally cuboid, mentioned by Vitruvius as opus isodomum, or less frequently trapezoidal. Precisely cut "on all faces adjacent to those of other stones", ashlar is capable of very thin joints between blocks, and the visible face of the stone may be quarry-faced or feature a variety of treatments: tooled, smoothly polished or rendered with another material for decorative effect.

Casement window window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges

A casement is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a casement stay. Windows hinged at the top are referred to as awning windows, and ones hinged at the bottom are called hoppers.

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References

  1. ↑ "Sheffield‘s Remarkable Houses", Roger Redfern, The Cottage Press, ISBN   0 9519148 3 9, Page 40 Gives history.
  2. ↑ "Whirlow - The Story Of An Ancient Sheffield Hamlet", Shirley Frost, J.W. Northend Ltd. (Publishers) ISBN   0 901100 26 9, Page 40 Gives history.
  3. ↑ The Independent newspaper Gives details of Facia financial investigation.
  4. ↑ The Telegraph newspaper Details Hinchliffe bankruptcy.
  5. ↑ The Star Newspaper -”Sheffield light fantastic hall to go for millions” Gives details of modern developments.
  6. ↑ Company Data REX Gives details of Andrew Hogg.
  7. ↑ British Listed Buildings Gives details of architecture and some history.

Coordinates: 53°20′43″N1°31′20″W / 53.345191°N 1.522148°W / 53.345191; -1.522148

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