Sheffield Manor Lodge, also known as Sheffield Manor or locally as Manor Castle, is a lodge built about 1516 in what then was a large

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

park southeast of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. I ...

, England, to provide a country retreat and further accommodate George Talbot, the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his large family. The remnant of this estate is now known as

Norfolk Park Park & Arbourthorne ward—which includes the districts of Arbourthorne, Gleadless, and Norfolk Park—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southeastern part of the city and covers an ar ...

. The housing estate of

Manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

is named after Sheffield Manor Lodge.

Description

The remains of Sheffield Manor Lodge include parts of the kitchens,

long gallery 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 normally placed on the highest reception floor of English country house ...

, and the

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

Turret House (also called "Queen Mary's Tower"), which contains fine sixteenth-century ceilings. Some evidence points to the Turret House being built by 1574, when the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Irelan ...

's accounts record payments for masonry work on the "Tyrret" at Sheffield Manor. It has three storeys of two rooms. The stair at one corner rises above the building onto the roof. This seems to have been designed as a viewing platform and is comparable with the "Hunting Tower" at

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the ...

Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, was held prisoner by the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury at both Sheffield Manor Lodge and Sheffield Castle (her

ghost A ghost is the soul (spirit), soul or spirit of a dead Human, person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visibl ...

is said by some to haunt the Turret House building). Wolsey's Tower was built to accommodate

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figu ...

, who then died after travelling on to Leicester. Mary came to England in 1568 after her defeat at the

battle of Langside The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disa ...

seeking the support of the Catholic nobility. Mary's freedom was restricted after her cousin Elizabeth was advised of the threat that Mary posed to her own crown. She was handed over to the custody of

George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1522/1528 – 18 November 1590) was an English magnate and military commander. He also held the subsidiary titles of 15th Baron Strange o ...

on 4 February 1569. Talbot had armed guards watching her constantly, however she was still able, with the help of the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The du ...

and others of the Catholic nobility, to plot against Elizabeth. Several times Mary had to be moved to places of greater safety and stricter control. On 28 November 1570 she was taken to the

's castle at

Tutbury Tutbury is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is north of Burton upon Trent and south of the Peak District. The village has a population of about 3,076 residents. It adjoins Hatton to the north on the Staffordshire–De ...

, where, apart from a few breaks at Chatsworth and

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Sheffield Archives. The

, not long released from the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...

, was caught in collusion with the papal agent Roberto di Ridolfi plotting to bring about a Catholic uprising in England. Parliament demanded the execution of both Mary Stuart and Norfolk. At this stage no action was taken against Mary, but the Duke of Norfolk was beheaded in 1572. Mary sat for a portrait painter at Sheffield in August 1577. In 1582, while Mary was still being held at Sheffield, an inventory of all the household goods and furniture belonging to George, Earl of Shrewsbury was made. The inventory describes the castle and contents and gives an idea of the types of rooms in the castle at this date. These included a chapel, a

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

going into the

great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the gre ...

from the great chamber (which was probably the large dining room), a

wardrobe A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate acco ...

, the Lord's chamber and outer chamber, the Lady's chamber, a bakehouse, brewhouse,

pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etym ...

, washhouse and low washhouse, a round tower, a square tower and a turret, round towers on either side of the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

and walls running along the waterside, a porter's lodge, a

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

, a square room, little kitchen, old kitchen, a

kennel A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, ''the kennels'', the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and (though not in all cases) bred. A kennel can be made o ...

and a range of

stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

. Also included in the inventory is the "stuff" of the "Queen of Scots and her people". Mary had with her a large entourage, which varied over time, made up of Scots, French and English friends and servants. The list of rooms for "her people" includes those of the Master of the "quences howsholde", a Mr Burgon as her doctor and a Mr Jarvys as her "surgion". The 1582 survey also lists the furnishings "in the hawle at the Poandes", now known as the

Old Queen's Head The Old Queen's Head is a pub at 14 Pond Hill, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is a 15th-century timber framed building and the oldest surviving domestic building in Sheffield. It is now Grade II* listed. History The Old Queens Head w ...

. In August 1584 Queen Elizabeth finally agreed to Earl George's petition releasing him from his duty of Mary's care—a task which had broken his marriage, his health and his chances of further political advancement. After leaving Sheffield, Mary was taken to Wingfield Manor in Derbyshire by her new gaoler, Sir

Ralph Sadler Sir Ralph Sadler or Sadleir PC, Knight banneret (1507 – 30 March 1587) was an English statesman, who served Henry VIII as Privy Councillor, Secretary of State and ambassador to Scotland. Sadler went on to serve Edward VI. Having signed the d ...

, and then to

. From there she went to Chartley Manor in Staffordshire, where she became involved in the

Babington Plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter sent by Mary (who had been im ...

Duke of Norfolk

After Sheffield Manor fell into the hands of the Duke of Norfolk, it was neglected, sold to tenant farmers, and largely dismantled in 1706. Some remaining walls and a window were removed to the grounds of Queen's Tower in

by Robert Marnock in 1839. In 1953 the Duke of Norfolk Estate leased the site to

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. It is currently under No Overall Con ...

for 999 years.

"Restoration" plan

In 2004, the building featured on the

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

programme '' Restoration'' and was the subject of a National Lottery funding bid to convert it to a

heritage centre A heritage centre, center, or museum is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, and of ...

and traditional farm. Green Estate, which was established by the Manor and Castle Development Trust and Sheffield Wildlife Trust, received £1.25 million from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

to restore the Turret House and develop the site as a visitor attraction.

Visitor attraction

The Sheffield Manor Lodge visitor attraction includes the Turret house, Tudor grounds, Discovery Centre, and Rhubarb Shed Cafe. The Turret House is open to the public every Sunday between April and September, in Sheffield school holidays and on special event days.

References

External links

Sheffield Manor Lodge website
{{coord, 53.374031, N, 1.436656, W, scale:2000_type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1516 Houses completed in the 16th century Grade II* listed buildings in Sheffield Country houses in South Yorkshire History of Sheffield Scheduled monuments in South Yorkshire Manor houses in England 1516 establishments in England