Onesacre Hall is a Grade II*

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

situated in the rural outskirts of the City of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, England. The hall is located on Green Lane in the small hamlet of

Onesacre Oughtibridge ( ) is a residential village in the north of Sheffield within the bounds of Bradfield, South Yorkshire, Bradfield civil parish. The village stands about northwest of the Sheffield City Centre, city centre in the valley of the Riv ...

in the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Oughtibridge Oughtibridge ( ) is a residential village in the north of Sheffield within the bounds of Bradfield, South Yorkshire, Bradfield civil parish. The village stands about northwest of the Sheffield City Centre, city centre in the valley of the Riv ...

, north west of the city centre.

History

The present Onesacre Hall has no exact date of construction but is believed to have been built in the early and middle parts of the 17th century, however Onesacre itself is a hamlet of some antiquity, it was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 and before that was part of the estate of the Saxon Lord, Godric. In the Domesday Book the hamlet is spelt Anesacre meaning "The Field of An" and comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

language. Onesacre was originally created as a forest clearing on high ground above the Don valley by Norwegian settlers.''"The Making of South Yorkshire"'',

David Hey David G. Hey (18 July 1938 – 14 February 2016) was an English historian, and was an authority on surnames and the local history of Yorkshire. Hey was the president of the British Association for Local History, and was a published author of sev ...

, , Page 24, States that Onesacre was founded by Norwegians. After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

the Onesacre lands were owned by the Le Rous family who were probably of Norman descent. Around 1380 the lands passed to the Stead family when Alice Le Rous, the sole heiress married John Stead of Wentworth. Rootsweb at Ancestry.com.
Gives early history of Onesacre and the Steads. The Steads were to become substantial landowners throughout South Yorkshire and owned the Onesacre estate for over 400 years until the year 1794, they were also connected to the nearby

Hillsborough House Hillsborough House, later called Hillsborough Hall, is a large, stone-built mansion constructed in the Adam style in the latter part of the 18th century. It stands miles north-west of the centre of Sheffield at grid reference in the suburb of ...

and

Burrowlee House Burrowlee House is an English Georgian architecture, Georgian style building situated at grid reference on Broughton Road in the Owlerton district of Sheffield, some north-west of the city centre. It is the oldest building in the Owlerton and ...

. It was Nicholas Stead (1583-1639) and his son Thomas (1619–86) who instigated the building of the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d and

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

ed Onesacre Hall using the master mason John Hawley of nearby Thorn House Farm to construct the hall. The building was done in two phases the first being 1630 -1640 and the second between 1660 -1670. In 1672 the Steads were

taxed A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax compl ...

on six hearths at the hall. After the Steads left Onesacre Hall in 1794 it became a farm with a writer commenting in 1862, The hall was divided into two farmhouses. One was Tophill Farm. The other was rented by Mr. Joe Wood who delivered milk to Oughtibridge and the surrounding district. The hall fell into disrepair during the second half of the 20th century and substantial renovation work has turned the hall into two private dwellings. Before the restoration a

cock pit Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term "c ...

was found in the roof area of the hall.''"Historic Hallamshire"'', David Hey, , Pages 56 & 57 Gives details of the Steads and their time at Onesacre.''"A Laymans Look At The History, Industry, People And Places Of Oughtibridge, Worrall and Wharncliffe Side"'', Doug Sanderson, Page 45 & 46, Gives later history of Onesacre Hall.

Architecture

The hall is constructed from

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

with a stone

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof, it is built in a rough "H" plan and has two storey with an attic. It has doubled chamfered mullion windows throughout some of which have had 20th century modification. The interior has chamfered beams in the left wing while the right wing has a large arched kitchen fireplace. Gives details of architecture.

References

{{SheffieldStructures Houses completed in the 17th century Houses in Sheffield History of Sheffield Grade II* listed buildings in Sheffield Country houses in South Yorkshire