History of Manor Fields Park
Aerial photo form before development took place
Manor Fields Park is a surviving fragment of the Great Sheffield Deer Park that covered a large area to the south of Sheffield and centred on a hunting lodge at nearby Sheffield Manor Lodge. Rights to the hunting in this area have been claimed as far back as 1066 and probably pre-date this into Saxon England.
Industrial and agricultural activity in the area escalated as the estate passed to the Dukes of Norfolk and the royalist garrison in Sheffield castle were defeated. In the latter part of the 17th C the hunting area was vastly reduced and the land was divided into farms with a field system imposed. The area currently known as Stonehirst takes its name from one of these fields.
Through the 18th C and 19th C industrial use expanded dramatically. Three mine shafts were sunk in the site during the early 1800’s. Deep Pit, a shaft over 100m down into the 'Parkgate Seam', was established at the southern end of the park next to City Road with coke ovens next to the current stream line. A hamlet grew around this pit and was known as Deep Pits. When the pit was closed the land became incorporated into the open space as a whole and the name carried over with residents from City Road calling the whole park by that name. The site of the pit roughly corresponds to that of the current pond though the two are unrelated.
Industrial activity declined at the end of the 19th C and the site was cleared, making way for the extensive development from the 1930s of large council housing estates. During the war the whole site was turned over to Dig for Victory food production. By the end of the 1950s the site was mainly as it now stands with its boundaries set by City Road and the surrounding housing estates.
A major allotments development was sited covering the main part of the southern end of the park, excluding the pit head site. This development was of such importance that the Queen Mother officially opened them and planted a tree (now lost). Toward the end of the 20th C these allotments became increasingly derelict and, as part of the push to improve the site, many of them were incorporated into the park though they remain as statuary allotment set-aside. A reduced area of allotments bordering the cemetery were improved and fenced and steel pigeon lofts installed. The existing allotments entrance on Gilmore Lane was split to allow access to both sites.
During the 1980’s Manor and Castle wards suffered serious economic and then social hardship brought on in the main through the collapse of the steel industry. Many people started to migrate out of the area, a process that was accelerated through the demolition of large swathes of housing that had been constructed with inferior mortar and which had become largely inhabitable. In the 1990’s housing around Queen Mary Road (now the top part of the park) was demolished but with the land left accessible and vacant in a way that continued to attract fly-tipping and joy riding.
In 1998 the Manor and Castle Development Trust was formed and was successful in securing SRB funding to take forward an area regeneration program. One of the projects within its Environment strand was the development and potential management of an ambitious new project – the creation of what was then called ‘Deep Pits District Park’
In 1999 the foundations of the current Green Estate Ltd were formed, initially as an SRB funded project to lead on area environmental projects. Since that time Green Estate has driven much of the strategic and physical development of the park strongly supported by Sheffield City Council and Manor and Castle Development Trust. The development and a significant part of the capital funding for the park has been linked to the development of new private sector housing forming in the area designed specifically to overlook the new boundaries and provide surveillance.
Since 1999 there has been a 15 year investment programme which has shaped the previously derelict waste land into a distinctive and increasingly popular District Park. Major works have been delivered in phases as resources have become available. The final major infrastructure works were delivered in the summer of 2014.
Industrial and agricultural activity in the area escalated as the estate passed to the Dukes of Norfolk and the royalist garrison in Sheffield castle were defeated. In the latter part of the 17th C the hunting area was vastly reduced and the land was divided into farms with a field system imposed. The area currently known as Stonehirst takes its name from one of these fields.
Through the 18th C and 19th C industrial use expanded dramatically. Three mine shafts were sunk in the site during the early 1800’s. Deep Pit, a shaft over 100m down into the 'Parkgate Seam', was established at the southern end of the park next to City Road with coke ovens next to the current stream line. A hamlet grew around this pit and was known as Deep Pits. When the pit was closed the land became incorporated into the open space as a whole and the name carried over with residents from City Road calling the whole park by that name. The site of the pit roughly corresponds to that of the current pond though the two are unrelated.
Industrial activity declined at the end of the 19th C and the site was cleared, making way for the extensive development from the 1930s of large council housing estates. During the war the whole site was turned over to Dig for Victory food production. By the end of the 1950s the site was mainly as it now stands with its boundaries set by City Road and the surrounding housing estates.
A major allotments development was sited covering the main part of the southern end of the park, excluding the pit head site. This development was of such importance that the Queen Mother officially opened them and planted a tree (now lost). Toward the end of the 20th C these allotments became increasingly derelict and, as part of the push to improve the site, many of them were incorporated into the park though they remain as statuary allotment set-aside. A reduced area of allotments bordering the cemetery were improved and fenced and steel pigeon lofts installed. The existing allotments entrance on Gilmore Lane was split to allow access to both sites.
During the 1980’s Manor and Castle wards suffered serious economic and then social hardship brought on in the main through the collapse of the steel industry. Many people started to migrate out of the area, a process that was accelerated through the demolition of large swathes of housing that had been constructed with inferior mortar and which had become largely inhabitable. In the 1990’s housing around Queen Mary Road (now the top part of the park) was demolished but with the land left accessible and vacant in a way that continued to attract fly-tipping and joy riding.
In 1998 the Manor and Castle Development Trust was formed and was successful in securing SRB funding to take forward an area regeneration program. One of the projects within its Environment strand was the development and potential management of an ambitious new project – the creation of what was then called ‘Deep Pits District Park’
In 1999 the foundations of the current Green Estate Ltd were formed, initially as an SRB funded project to lead on area environmental projects. Since that time Green Estate has driven much of the strategic and physical development of the park strongly supported by Sheffield City Council and Manor and Castle Development Trust. The development and a significant part of the capital funding for the park has been linked to the development of new private sector housing forming in the area designed specifically to overlook the new boundaries and provide surveillance.
Since 1999 there has been a 15 year investment programme which has shaped the previously derelict waste land into a distinctive and increasingly popular District Park. Major works have been delivered in phases as resources have become available. The final major infrastructure works were delivered in the summer of 2014.
History Project
The following slides were produced as a university student project, in collaboration with the Friends Of Manor Fields Park group
