Ecclesfield
Encyclopedia
Ecclesfield is a suburb and civil parish in the City of Sheffield
in South Yorkshire
, England
, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Sheffield City Centre
. At the 2001 census the civil parish— which also includes the Sheffield suburbs of Chapeltown
, Grenoside
, High Green
, and formerly Thorpe Hesley
(now a suburb of Rotherham
) —had a population of 31,609.
settlements and field systems in Greno Wood. The earliest known written record of Ecclesfield is from the Domesday book
of 1086, where it is referred to as Eclesfeld. The meaning of the name is uncertain. Traditionally it has been interpreted to derive from the Celtic
egles meaning a church (specifically a Romano-British church) and the Old English feld meaning a woodland clearing. Thus the name could mean 'Open land near a Romano-British Christian church’. However, alternative suggestions are that the first element eccles- derives from a Saxon personal name or an association with water.
The Domesday book does not mention a church at Ecclesfield. The present day Church of St. Mary
, which largely dates from the late 15th century, incorporates elements dating from c1200. This church was the centre of the ancient ecclesiastical Parish of Ecclesfield that before it was broken up in the 19th century was one of the most extensive parishes in England. In the 12th century a Benedictine
priory was established at Ecclesfield. Ecclesfield Priory
was operated as a cell of St Wandrille's Abbey in Normandy
until the 14th century.
. The civil parish includes all of the West Ecclesfield
ward and most of the East Ecclesfield
ward of Sheffield. These wards are part of the Sheffield Hillsborough parliamentary constituency, which is represented in the House of Commons by MP
Angela Smith
of the Labour Party who has held the seat since 2005.
the population of Ecclesfield civil parish was 31,609 people. The population of the suburb itself, which extends beyond the boundaries of the civil parish was about 7000 people The ethnic mix was 98.3% white (White British
, White Irish, or White Other
), 0.4% Asian
, 0.4% Black British
, 0.1% Chinese
, and 0.8% mixed race.
Below is a table outlining population change of the parish in 50 year increments since 1801.
The Church of St. Mary
is a Grade I listed building, and the remains of Ecclesfield Priory and the Whitley Hall Hotel are Grade II* listed. Greno Wood is listed as Grade B on the English Nature
Invertebrate Site Register, and is considered of special archaeological and geological significance.
The main road transport routes through Ecclesfield are the A61
, which runs north-south through the parish, and the M1 motorway
, which skirts the parish's eastern edge. Bus services provided by First South Yorkshire
, Stagecoach Sheffield
, Powells Bus Co., and TM Travel link the suburb with Sheffield City Centre, Barnsley
, Rotherham
, and the Meadowhall Centre, as well as the surrounding suburbs. Chapeltown railway station
, which is in the Chapeltown suburb connects the parish with central Sheffield, Huddersfield and Leeds.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Sheffield City Centre
Sheffield City Centre
Sheffield City Centre—often just referred to as town—is a district of the City of Sheffield, and part of the Sheffield Central ward. It includes the area that is within a radius of roughly of Sheffield Cathedral, and is encircled by the Inner Ring Road—a circular route started in the late 1960s...
. At the 2001 census the civil parish— which also includes the Sheffield suburbs of Chapeltown
Chapeltown, South Yorkshire
Chapeltown is in northern Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Ecclesfield civil parish. There is a wide variety of shops, pubs and restaurants as well as a supermarket...
, Grenoside
Grenoside
Grenoside is a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.-History:The name Grenoside is derived from the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The name Grenoside, which was first recorded in the thirteenth century as Gravenhou, is made up of the different elements. Gren from the Old English graefan...
, High Green
High Green
High Green is the northernmost suburb of Sheffield, England. Its about 8 miles in distance from inner Sheffield.It is found to the north of Chapeltown and is served by a number of buses; the nearest rail station is in Chapeltown 1 mile away....
, and formerly Thorpe Hesley
Thorpe Hesley
Thorpe Hesley is a suburb of Rotherham. It lies on the east side of the M1 motorway at junction 35. Described in the late 19th century as an old village 6 miles from Sheffield, it was noted for the manufacture of nails. It lies in the township of Wentworth, except a small part which is in...
(now a suburb of Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
) —had a population of 31,609.
History
Evidence of early settlement in the Ecclesfield area include remnants of Romano-BritishRomano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
settlements and field systems in Greno Wood. The earliest known written record of Ecclesfield is from the Domesday book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, where it is referred to as Eclesfeld. The meaning of the name is uncertain. Traditionally it has been interpreted to derive from the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
egles meaning a church (specifically a Romano-British church) and the Old English feld meaning a woodland clearing. Thus the name could mean 'Open land near a Romano-British Christian church’. However, alternative suggestions are that the first element eccles- derives from a Saxon personal name or an association with water.
The Domesday book does not mention a church at Ecclesfield. The present day Church of St. Mary
Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield
The Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield is situated on Church Street in the village of Ecclesfield, now a northern suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated seven kilometres north of the city centre. It is a Grade One listed building, one of only five within the Sheffield city...
, which largely dates from the late 15th century, incorporates elements dating from c1200. This church was the centre of the ancient ecclesiastical Parish of Ecclesfield that before it was broken up in the 19th century was one of the most extensive parishes in England. In the 12th century a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
priory was established at Ecclesfield. Ecclesfield Priory
Ecclesfield Priory
Ecclesfield Priory was a religious house of Benedictine monks, lying in the village of Ecclesfield, north of Sheffield in Yorkshire, United Kingdom.-Early history:...
was operated as a cell of St Wandrille's Abbey in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
until the 14th century.
Governance
Local issues in Ecclesfield civil parish are governed by Ecclesfield Parish Council. Parts of Ecclesfield were annexed by Sheffield City Council in 1968 and are now outside the civil parish boundaries and are under the sole control of Sheffield City CouncilSheffield City Council
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...
. The civil parish includes all of the West Ecclesfield
West Ecclesfield
West Ecclesfield ward—which includes the districts of Burncross, Grenoside, High Green—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northern part of the city and covers an area of 12.5 km2 in the western part of Ecclesfield Parish. The...
ward and most of the East Ecclesfield
East Ecclesfield
East Ecclesfield ward—which includes the districts of Chapeltown and Ecclesfield—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northern part of the city and covers an area of in the eastern part of Ecclesfield Parish. The population of this ward...
ward of Sheffield. These wards are part of the Sheffield Hillsborough parliamentary constituency, which is represented in the House of Commons by MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Angela Smith
Angela Christine Smith
Angela Christine Smith is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hillsborough from 2005 to 2010, when she was elected to serve the new constituency of Penistone and Stocksbridge...
of the Labour Party who has held the seat since 2005.
Geography
Ecclesfield is located in the north of Sheffield, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of Sheffield City Centre. The suburb of Ecclesfield is in the south eastern part of the civil parish with the suburbs of Chapeltown and High Green to the north and Grenoside to the west. The elevation of the suburb ranges from about 60 metres (196.9 ft) to 120 metres (393.7 ft) above mean sea level.Demography
At the time of the United Kingdom 2001 CensusUnited Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
the population of Ecclesfield civil parish was 31,609 people. The population of the suburb itself, which extends beyond the boundaries of the civil parish was about 7000 people The ethnic mix was 98.3% white (White British
White British
White British was an ethnicity classification used in the 2001 United Kingdom Census. As a result of the census, 50,366,497 people in the United Kingdom were classified as White British. In Scotland the classification was broken down into two different categories: White Scottish and Other White...
, White Irish, or White Other
White Other (United Kingdom Census)
The term Other White is used in the UK census to describe people who self-identify as white persons who are not British nor Irish. The category does not comprise a single ethnic group but is instead a method of identification for white people who are not represented by other white census categories...
), 0.4% Asian
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
, 0.4% Black British
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
, 0.1% Chinese
British Chinese
British Chinese , including British-born Chinese are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in, or have migrated to, the United Kingdom. They are part of the Chinese diaspora, or overseas Chinese...
, and 0.8% mixed race.
Below is a table outlining population change of the parish in 50 year increments since 1801.
| Year | 1801 | 1851 | 1901 | 1951 | 2001 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,114 | 10,005 | 33,808 | 30,262 | 31,609 | ||||||||
| Source: A Vision of Britain through Time | |||||||||||||
Landmarks
Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield
The Church of St. Mary, Ecclesfield is situated on Church Street in the village of Ecclesfield, now a northern suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated seven kilometres north of the city centre. It is a Grade One listed building, one of only five within the Sheffield city...
is a Grade I listed building, and the remains of Ecclesfield Priory and the Whitley Hall Hotel are Grade II* listed. Greno Wood is listed as Grade B on the English Nature
English Nature
English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006...
Invertebrate Site Register, and is considered of special archaeological and geological significance.
Transport
A61 road
The A61 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Derby to Thirsk in North Yorkshire. From Derby, it heads north via Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon...
, which runs north-south through the parish, and the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
, which skirts the parish's eastern edge. Bus services provided by First South Yorkshire
First South Yorkshire
First South Yorkshire is the largest bus operator in South Yorkshire, England. As a division of FirstGroup the company's legal name was, for a time, Mainline which operated it between 1993 and 1998, following the sale South Yorkshire Transport to its employees.-History:SYT was eventually sold to...
, Stagecoach Sheffield
Stagecoach Sheffield
Stagecoach Sheffield is a bus operator based in Sheffield, England, a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group. It was formed from the Sheffield based operations of the Yorkshire Traction Group, purchased by Stagecoach in 2005...
, Powells Bus Co., and TM Travel link the suburb with Sheffield City Centre, Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
, and the Meadowhall Centre, as well as the surrounding suburbs. Chapeltown railway station
Chapeltown railway station
Chapeltown railway station, originally known as Chapeltown South, is a railway station in Chapeltown, a district of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...
, which is in the Chapeltown suburb connects the parish with central Sheffield, Huddersfield and Leeds.