NOTES ON SHEFFIELD MANOR HOUSE.

BY THOMAS WINDER, Esq., Assoc. M. INST. C.E.

(Read at the Sheffield Congress, August 10th, 1903.)

HEFFIELD Manor, the Lodge, the Manor Lodge or Manor Castle (by which latter name it is now locally known) was the country mansion to which the Earls of Shrewsbury retired from time to time, when the sanitary condition of Sheffield

Castle became too grave for its continued. occupation. Thus the Earl of Shrewsbury writes: "I thought to remove this Queen to my Lodge for five or six days to cleanse her chamber, being kept very uncleanly."

Sheffield Castle was situated at the confluence of the Rivers Sheaf and Don, and extended to Lady's Bridge, and probably included Castle Folds, Exchange Street, and up to Waingate. It is described in the Charter of Henry III, by which Thomas de Furnival was authorised to make a firm and embattled castle, as "his Manor House at Sheffield;" and the buildings now known as "the Manor" are, at a somewhat later date, described as "the Manor Farm."

The Manor House was situated in the centre of Sheffield

Park. This park is now partly built over, and the remainder is laid out for agricultural purposes. It was probably a conserve for deer as early as the time of Stephen. When the mansion was deserted, the stock of deer decayed; but even in 1637 there were still one thousand fallow deer and two hundred "deer of antler" in it.

The park was famous for its long, straight avenue of walnut trees, which led from the gate of the park next the town to the principal entrance to the Manor; and for its numerous and immense oak trees.

The blackened trunks of three of the walnut-trees which formed the avenue still stand, and a plan (drawn in 1781 by William Fairbank), which is now in the Duke of Norfolk's Estate Office at Sheffield, shows it as running almost due north and south; and that Queen Mary's Lodge or the Turret House, as it is marked on this plan -was erected immediately to the westward of this avenue. The fields through which the avenue ran are still known as "Great and Little Walnuts."

The sporting traditions connected with Sheffield Park are still preserved in such names as "Stand House," "Dog-Kennel Lane," and "Park Farm," which latter was formerly the deerkeeper's cottage. The park contained about 2,462 acres. The Manor House is said to have been built by George, fourth Earl of Shrewsbury, at the beginning of the sixteenth century (probably prior to 1516). It was kept up forty or fifty years after the destruction during the Civil Wars-of Sheffield Castle, and in 1706 was dismantled by Thomas, Duke of Norfolk. After being occupied by his Grace's agents for some time, it gradually degenerated into a number of small cottages. These were destroyed about thirty years ago, and the ruins have rapidly disappeared since that time.

It is exceedingly difficult to reconstruct the plan of the original building, but from existing plans and documents the following facts may be gleaned. According to Harrison, "the Manor House was fairly built with stone and timber, with an inward court and an outward court, two gardens and three yards, containing 3 acres, 1 rood, 15 perches."

The plan already referred to shows a large court between the "Turret House" (Queen Mary's Lodge) and the large hall, and the reference on the plan calls this "Great Court, 1a. Or. 24p." This is, without doubt, Harrison's "Outward Court." Before the erection of 'Queen Mary's Tower-described in the reference to Fairbank's plan as 'Messuage" (called "the Turret House, with outhouses, fold, garden, lane below it, and the pond, 0a. 3r. 22p."). This court was an almost perfect square of two acres in extent, bounded on the west by the avenue and on the east by the main front of the Manor House.

The main entrance to the "Inner Court" is said to have been situated between two octagonal towers on the western front, where a noble flight of steps led to the door which opened into the Great Gallery. The foundations of one of these towers may be seen to the west of the footpath which intersects the grounds, and the walls of the other one still stand at the north-western angle of the ruins.

We learn from an interesting letter of George Cavendish, the gentleman-usher to Wolsey, that the Lodge contained a faire gallerye where was in the further end thereof a goodlie tower with lodgings where my Lord was lodged;" and that the "faire gallery" was large enough when divided by a "travers of sarcenett which was drawne across it," to accommodate the Earl of Shrewsbury at the one end and Wolsey at the other end. The position of this screen is possibly marked by the moulded oak corbel which still remains in the chamber of what was afterwards a cottage, and is partly covered by a modern partition. He further says there was a great bay-window in this gallery-probably the one which now stands in the grounds at Queen's Tower. From the same letter we see that there were chambers opening immediately off this gallery. The remains of these are still visible, abutting upon the east side of the angle-tower.

From the eastern or angle-tower the court wall still remains in very fair preservation: it extends about 100 ft. almost due east, and then returns 150 ft. towards the south. From here it was probably turned eastwards about 80 ft., as a small part of this wall, with an arrowslit therein, is visible amongst the more modern work, and may have been intended to protect the face of the southern wall of the court, which it enfilades. Here it would join a very ancient building of two rooms (now used as a stable) in which are a large fireplace, a simple Tudor window, and outer and inner doorways. The walls of this building are pierced by numerous arrow-slits. The eastern half of it contains two very fine pairs of "crucks" (or earliest local form of roof-principals), and is probably the oldest building in the Manor. It is spoken of by the late Mr. Leader as a barn; but the writer would

suggest that it was, if not erected for defensive purposes at any rate at a later period added to and used for such purposes, and may have been a guard-room. The Manor laithes, or barns, are situated much nearer to Sheffield, at the top of White's Lane. A lane leading to the colliery crosses the ruins at this point, and has obliterated all further traces of buildings to the east.

On the western side of this lane, and contained in the angle formed by it and Manor Lane, there is a group of rooms with very interesting fireplaces, doorways, and windows. The latter have been heavily barred with iron. There are also the massive remains of the large eastern gateway, and a comparatively modern chimney-stack.

The mansion was originally built of local stone, with grit-stone or "moor stone" for some of the fireplaces, quoins, etc., as well as with bricks and very fine halftimber work. The half-timber work displays beautiful mouldings, and is remarkable for the excellent quality of the plaster filling, which has been put upon grey slate, instead of the usual oak-laths or reeds.

It is difficult to ascertain the original elevation of the half-timber front of the Long Gallery, which may have been open below, supported upon an arcade of oak pillars, which pillars still stand upon their square, curiouslychamfered stone bases. It is hoped the present excavations will reveal more of this.

That there was a chapel in the Manor House we know, from the account of the funeral of the fifth Earl of Shrewsbury, where it is distinctly said "there was a Chappel in the said Manor," but its position is unknown. The local tradition of the existence of a subterranean passage between the Lodge and Sheffield Castle has been strengthened by the occurrence in this account of the words: "The corse was secretly brought from the said Manor to the Castle," and by the discovery of an underground passage during drainage excavations under Castle Hill, which passage was never explored.

The circumstances which give to the Manor its greatest historical interest are the visit of Wolsey, who arrived there on the 8th November, 1530, and remained sixteen or seventeen days, when on his last and fatal journey

towards London; and the detention of Mary Queen of Scots, in the custody of George, Earl of Shrewsbury, at various times between the 28th November, 1570, and September, 1584. There is a local tradition that the Earl erected a building for the better safe-keeping of his unfortunate prisoner.

In 1577, the Earl wrote to Lord Burghley, saying: “I have sent Greaves a plat of a front of a Lodge that I am now in building which, if it were not for troubling your Lordship, I would wish your advice thereon ;" and in 1580 his son, Gilbert, wrote to his father that Queen. Elizabeth had been enquiring anxiously as to the safety of his charge: " and I told her what great heed and care you had to her safe-keeping (especially being there")— that is, at the Manor-"that good number of men, continually armed, watched her day and night, and both under her windows, over her chamber, and of every side her; so that unless she could transform herself to a flea or a mouse it was impossible she could escape.

In 1584, Sadler, writing from Sheffield Lodge, speaks of the "straitness of this and so the stronger" (compared with Wingfield); and says: "I would rather choose to keep this Queen here with sixty men than there with three hundred, of which mind his Lordship is also." These quotations support the tradition that Shrewsbury erected a special building for Queen Mary's use; and about thirty years ago this building was discovered by the late Mr. John Stacye, amongst a block of farm buildings, by which it was hidden. The matter was brought to the notice of the present Duke of Norfolk, who commissioned Messrs. Hadfield and Son to restore it to its original condition. How well they carried out their instructions may be seen in the square, ivy-covered, three-storied building which stands alone in the quadrangle to the west of the ruins. Mr. Charles Hadfield is of opinion the style of the building agrees very nearly with the period in which we now suppose it to have been erected; and certainly it answers very well to Gilbert Talbot's description. On the other hand, it is difficult to understand the Earl's selection of the site, as it appears to be outside the defensive works; but even this is