Wadsley
Encyclopedia
Wadsley is a suburb of the City of Sheffield
in South Yorkshire
, England. It stands five km NW of the city centre at an approximate grid reference of . Wadsley was formerly a rural village which was engulfed by the expansion of Sheffield in the early part of the 20th century.
word “leah” which means an open space or glade in a wood. A feudal
manorial
system existed in Wadsley in the Early Middle Ages
under the control of Aldene. The Anglo-Saxon
estate of Wadesleah is recorded in the Domesday Book
of 1086 in its genitive form of Wadesleia. After the Norman conquest of England
Waltheof, the last of the Saxon lords retained Hallamshire
of which Wadsley was a part; however he was beheaded in 1076 for rebellion against William the Conqueror
and his lands passed to his wife Judith of Lens
, with Roger de Busli
, first Lord of Hallamshire, holding power.
Wadsley eventually became a manor under the control of the De Wadsley family; they were a knightly family of some power in southern Yorkshire
. The family had manorial rights and built a manor hall, a deer park
and chapel within the parish of Ecclesfield. Their surname was first recorded in 1227, however by the end of the 15th century the family had become extinct because of the failure of the male line. The ownership of the manor of Wadsley changed many times over the following centuries.
Eventually all indications of the former medieval way of life were slowly eradicated; the deer were removed from the park in 1621, Wadsley Hall was rebuilt in 1722 and the chapel was replaced by Wadsley Parish Church
in 1834. From the 16th century up to the 1920s Wadsley’s main industry was cutlery manufacturing; at the end of the 19th century there were over 100 cutler's shops in the village. The industry declined as the small workshops of Wadsley lost business to the large cutlery works of Sheffield. In 1901 Sheffield extended its boundaries and part of Wadsley came within the city; a further expansion in 1923 brought the rest of the village inside the city boundary. The recent history of Wadsley has been its development as a residential suburb with many houses built, especially in the area between Wadsley Lane and Langsett Avenue, in the 1930s. The original manor house that stood on Laird Road was controversially sold and demolished in 1958 to make way for the Laird Road Flats - after this happened the Wadsley conservation campaign ceased to be a coherent force. Over the next fifteen years most of the small old shops, houses and workshops of Wadsley were demolished virtually without opposition - culminating in the City Council's Wadsley redevelopment programme in 1968.
called The Drive. The eminent Doctor of Medicine
G.C. Holland lived in the house in the mid-19th century, his writings include “The Philosophy of Animated Nature” and “Vital Statistics of Sheffield”. George Miller, a railway contractor who was involved in building the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
bought the house in 1851 and lived there till his death in 1884. The house is now a social club with a bowling green attached.
although not completely demolished until 1813. From 1812 it was the home of the Fowlers, one of Wadsley’s most famous families. Sir John Fowler (1817–1898) was a famous railway engineer who co-constructed the Forth Bridge
and completed many other railway projects around the world. William Fowler established the Sheepbridge coal and iron works near Chesterfield
while Robert Fowler had a large solicitor's practice in Westminster
. There is also some speculation that the artist Thomas Creswick
(1811–1869) was born at Wadsley Hall, although two other Sheffield locations are claimed as his birthplace. After World War I
the estate was broken up with much of the surrounding land sold off for new housing.
One of Wadsley’s more famous modern residents was the politician Roy Hattersley
who spent his youth living on Wadsley Lane and then Airedale Road; this early part of his life is covered in the book, “A Yorkshire Boyhood”. His mother Enid was Lord Mayor of Sheffield in 1981. Professional cyclist and Commonwealth Games
double gold medallist Malcolm Elliott
was brought up in Prescott Road, Wadsley.
. There are four public house
s in the area, The Wadsley Jack (formerly called The Star) which has the original village stocks
outside, The Rose and Crown (often referred to as The Top House) is 150 years old and was extended in the 1960s by knocking through into adjoining cottages. The Horse and Jockey stands where the original medieval village green was at the top of Wadsley Lane. The Sportsman is on Worrall Road near the church. The few shops in Wadsley are of the smaller variety scattered across the village and in a parade of shops opposite Wisewood Comprehensive, the nearest main shopping area is in nearby Hillsborough
.
is a piece of land owned and held in trust by Sheffield City Council
which is a public open space used as an area of recreation and exercise by the general public. Combined with the adjoining Loxley Common it covers 100 acre (0.404686 km²) and is an area of heather, oak, silver birch, bracken and grassland which was declared a local nature reserve in 1999. The Wadsley section of the common is designated as access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
. Formerly there were four football pitches which belonged to Wadsley church on a section of the common but these are unused at present. To the north of the common is Hillsborough golf
club laid out in 1920.
For a period of 130 years from 1784 the common was in private hands and was an area of mining and quarrying, with coal
and ganister
being mined and sandstone
quarried for building. There were two drift mines
on the common, the Bower mine and the Top mine. The Bower mine was owned by the Oughtibridge
Silica Firebrick Company and operated between 1890 and 1940 while the Top mine probably ceased production in 1943.
In 1913 the common was given to the council by the descendents of the Payne family, who gave "seventy five acres of land at Loxley Common and Wadsley Common to be used by the public for the purpose of exercise and recreation, and to be known as Loxley Chase". The Common is managed by The Parks, Woodlands and Ranger Service who work for Sheffield City Council. The management plan was drawn up in consultation with local land owners, members of the public, representatives from the Wadsley and Loxley Commoners and local ecologists. The overall broad aim of the plan is: "To maintain and enhance the Commons as a wildlife, landscape, historical and recreational resource for the enjoyment of the local community and visitors alike."
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. It stands five km NW of the city centre at an approximate grid reference of . Wadsley was formerly a rural village which was engulfed by the expansion of Sheffield in the early part of the 20th century.
History
The origin of the name Wadsley is thought to come from a personal or mythological name, possibly Wad, Wadde, Wade or Wada, in conjunction with the Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
word “leah” which means an open space or glade in a wood. A feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
manorial
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
system existed in Wadsley in the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
under the control of Aldene. The Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
estate of Wadesleah is recorded in 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 in its genitive form of Wadesleia. After the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
Waltheof, the last of the Saxon lords retained Hallamshire
Hallamshire
Hallamshire is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, in the current city of Sheffield.The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Hallam" originating from a formation meaning "on the rocks"...
of which Wadsley was a part; however he was beheaded in 1076 for rebellion against William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
and his lands passed to his wife Judith of Lens
Judith of Lens
Countess Judith , was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens....
, with Roger de Busli
Roger de Busli
Roger de Busli was a Norman baron who accompanied William the Conqueror on his successful conquest of England in 1066....
, first Lord of Hallamshire, holding power.
Wadsley eventually became a manor under the control of the De Wadsley family; they were a knightly family of some power in southern Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. The family had manorial rights and built a manor hall, a deer park
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
and chapel within the parish of Ecclesfield. Their surname was first recorded in 1227, however by the end of the 15th century the family had become extinct because of the failure of the male line. The ownership of the manor of Wadsley changed many times over the following centuries.
Eventually all indications of the former medieval way of life were slowly eradicated; the deer were removed from the park in 1621, Wadsley Hall was rebuilt in 1722 and the chapel was replaced by Wadsley Parish Church
Wadsley Parish Church
Wadsley Parish Church is situated within the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, it is located on Worrall Road, north west of the city centre in the suburb of Wadsley, which was formerly a village outside the city boundary. The church is quite unusual in that it is not dedicated to a saint...
in 1834. From the 16th century up to the 1920s Wadsley’s main industry was cutlery manufacturing; at the end of the 19th century there were over 100 cutler's shops in the village. The industry declined as the small workshops of Wadsley lost business to the large cutlery works of Sheffield. In 1901 Sheffield extended its boundaries and part of Wadsley came within the city; a further expansion in 1923 brought the rest of the village inside the city boundary. The recent history of Wadsley has been its development as a residential suburb with many houses built, especially in the area between Wadsley Lane and Langsett Avenue, in the 1930s. The original manor house that stood on Laird Road was controversially sold and demolished in 1958 to make way for the Laird Road Flats - after this happened the Wadsley conservation campaign ceased to be a coherent force. Over the next fifteen years most of the small old shops, houses and workshops of Wadsley were demolished virtually without opposition - culminating in the City Council's Wadsley redevelopment programme in 1968.
Historical Buildings and eminent residents
Due to its former rural setting Wadsley has several country houses which are still standing within the now built-up suburb.Wadsley House
Wadsley House is a grade two listed building which stands on a cul-de-sacCul-de-sac
A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
called The Drive. The eminent Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
G.C. Holland lived in the house in the mid-19th century, his writings include “The Philosophy of Animated Nature” and “Vital Statistics of Sheffield”. George Miller, a railway contractor who was involved in building the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
bought the house in 1851 and lived there till his death in 1884. The house is now a social club with a bowling green attached.
Wadsley Hall
Wadsley Hall, which stands in Far Lane, is also a grade two listed building and a structure of some antiquity. It was probably built in the 15th century although it was substantially modernised in 1722 by George Bamforth, the then lord of the manor. Sir Robert Wadsley, Lord of the Manor, built a chapel on to the east end of the hall in the 15th century; this was partly destroyed in the reign of Elizabeth IElizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
although not completely demolished until 1813. From 1812 it was the home of the Fowlers, one of Wadsley’s most famous families. Sir John Fowler (1817–1898) was a famous railway engineer who co-constructed the Forth Bridge
Forth Bridge (railway)
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. It was opened on 4 March 1890, and spans a total length of...
and completed many other railway projects around the world. William Fowler established the Sheepbridge coal and iron works near Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
while Robert Fowler had a large solicitor's practice in Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
. There is also some speculation that the artist Thomas Creswick
Thomas Creswick
Thomas Creswick was an English landscape painter and illustrator.-Biography:Creswick was born in Sheffield . He was the son of Thomas Creswick and Mary Epworth and educated at Hazelwood, near Birmingham.At Birmingham he first began to paint...
(1811–1869) was born at Wadsley Hall, although two other Sheffield locations are claimed as his birthplace. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the estate was broken up with much of the surrounding land sold off for new housing.
Loxley House
Despite its name, Loxley House is within the Wadsley area; it is also grade two listed and was originally built in 1795 by Thomas Halliday. The house was completely rebuilt it in 1826 by Thomas Payne.Wadsley Grove
Wadsley Grove stands just off Worrall Road in a secluded situation being well screened by trees. It was the home of John Livesey who was vicar of St. Philip's Church, Shalesmoor in Sheffield between 1831 and 1870.One of Wadsley’s more famous modern residents was the politician Roy Hattersley
Roy Hattersley
Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley is a British Labour politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.-Early life:...
who spent his youth living on Wadsley Lane and then Airedale Road; this early part of his life is covered in the book, “A Yorkshire Boyhood”. His mother Enid was Lord Mayor of Sheffield in 1981. Professional cyclist and Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
double gold medallist Malcolm Elliott
Malcolm Elliott
Malcolm Elliott is an English professional cyclist, whose professional career has lasted from 1984 to 1997 when he retired and from 2003 up to the present day when he made his comeback in British domestic racing....
was brought up in Prescott Road, Wadsley.
Amenities
Wadsley has three schools, Marlcliffe Community Primary School on Marlcliffe Road and Wisewood Community Primary School on Rural Lane are for pupils aged between 4 and 11. Wisewood Comprehensive School is on Rural Lane and is for pupils between 11 and 16. Because of decreasing pupil numbers there are plans to close Wisewood Comprehensive School and merge it with Myers Grove school at Malin BridgeMalin Bridge
Malin Bridge is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, England. It is located at grid reference and stands 2½ miles north-west of the city centre where the rivers Loxley and Rivelin meet...
. There are four public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s in the area, The Wadsley Jack (formerly called The Star) which has the original village stocks
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
outside, The Rose and Crown (often referred to as The Top House) is 150 years old and was extended in the 1960s by knocking through into adjoining cottages. The Horse and Jockey stands where the original medieval village green was at the top of Wadsley Lane. The Sportsman is on Worrall Road near the church. The few shops in Wadsley are of the smaller variety scattered across the village and in a parade of shops opposite Wisewood Comprehensive, the nearest main shopping area is in nearby Hillsborough
Hillsborough, South Yorkshire
Hillsborough is an electoral ward which includes the districts of Malin Bridge, Owlerton, Wadsley and Wisewood. It is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northwestern part of the city and covers an area of 4.6 km2...
.
Wadsley Common
Wadsley CommonCommon land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
is a piece of land owned and held in trust by Sheffield City Council
Sheffield 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...
which is a public open space used as an area of recreation and exercise by the general public. Combined with the adjoining Loxley Common it covers 100 acre (0.404686 km²) and is an area of heather, oak, silver birch, bracken and grassland which was declared a local nature reserve in 1999. The Wadsley section of the common is designated as access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is a UK Act of Parliament which came into force on 30 November 2000.As of September 2007, not all sections of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act have yet come into force...
. Formerly there were four football pitches which belonged to Wadsley church on a section of the common but these are unused at present. To the north of the common is Hillsborough golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
club laid out in 1920.
For a period of 130 years from 1784 the common was in private hands and was an area of mining and quarrying, with coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and ganister
Ganister
A ganister is hard, fine-grained quartzose sandstone, or orthoquartzite, used in the manufacture of silica brick typically used to line furnaces...
being mined and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
quarried for building. There were two drift mines
Drift mining
Drift mining is either the mining of a placer deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. Drift is a more general mining term, meaning a near-horizontal passageway in a mine, following the bed or vein of ore. A...
on the common, the Bower mine and the Top mine. The Bower mine was owned by the Oughtibridge
Oughtibridge
Oughtibridge is a residential village on the northern outskirts of Sheffield within the bounds of Bradfield Parish Council. The village stands northwest of the city centre in the valley of the River Don...
Silica Firebrick Company and operated between 1890 and 1940 while the Top mine probably ceased production in 1943.
In 1913 the common was given to the council by the descendents of the Payne family, who gave "seventy five acres of land at Loxley Common and Wadsley Common to be used by the public for the purpose of exercise and recreation, and to be known as Loxley Chase". The Common is managed by The Parks, Woodlands and Ranger Service who work for Sheffield City Council. The management plan was drawn up in consultation with local land owners, members of the public, representatives from the Wadsley and Loxley Commoners and local ecologists. The overall broad aim of the plan is: "To maintain and enhance the Commons as a wildlife, landscape, historical and recreational resource for the enjoyment of the local community and visitors alike."