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| Bishops' House yesterday |
The City of Sheffield is home to half a million people but it is not an ancient historical English city like York or Chester or Lincoln or my true hometown - Hull. Essentially, Sheffield owed its growth to the industrial revolution. Before that it was little more than a large village with a medieval castle that was demolished and almost erased from memory during The English Civil War of the seventeenth century.
There are regions of England where you can still find many timber-framed houses and farm buildings that are redolent of distant times but in Sheffield with its focus on metal industries and functionalism, there are very few old timber-framed buildings to be seen. You could count them on the fingers of one hand.
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| The dining room in Bishops' House yesterday |
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| The first section of the house was built during the reign of Queen Mary I |
The house saw many changes through the centuries. It was never a particularly grand house though the family that first owned it were reasonably well-off and developed a successful scythe-making business. No bishops ever lived in the house or indeed were born there. The name "Bishops' House" was a Victorian affectation. Lord knows how that bishop rumour arose.
In the early twentieth century, the building became a home for the families of two park workers but in the 1970's somebody had the vision to give the house a new lease of life as a museum operated by the city council. Nowadays its management is the responsibility of a team of local volunteers, including the young woman who led us round on our little tour.
It was a most pleasant and instructive way to pass a grey Saturday afternoon.
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| Bishops' House in the summer of 2010 |
When I see a house that has stood for years, I see it as grand!
ReplyDeleteThe bench at the table has such a deep gloss, it speaks of so very many meals and so many people sharing their lives. It's quite romantic
There are many small indications in the beams, floorboards, panels and furniture of that house that people lived there for half a millennium. Tudor carpenters were often superstitious and left small symbols behind that were intended to ward off bad luck and evil spirits.
DeleteThat was meant to say " A house that has stood for 500 years"
DeleteAh! even more romantic!
DeleteBrought up in an area with a plethora of black and white and old buildings I suppose I have a tendency to take them for granted which is rather a shame. Mind you it doesn't stop me going round them time and again. The Bishops House looks and sounds very interesting I have to say.
ReplyDeleteWhen I last went to Liverpool, I didn't see any black and white buildings. I saw red ones near Anfield and blue and white ones near Goodison Park but no black and white ones.
DeleteI wasn't just thinking of Liverpool YP but the surrounding area as well. However Liverpool has an absolutely fabulous black and white building called Speke Hall.
DeleteSpeke Hall does sound like a fantastic place and I know there are many other wonderful old buildings down in Cheshire.
DeleteA house built in 1554? It must be wonderful to be surrounded by so many relics of the distant past! The only man made things you'd find in South Carolina that would be close to that old would be....arrowheads, maybe? But a house....that's awe inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI remember visiting a rice plantation house on the coast of Georgia. To me it was quite a modern place really but the American guide and visitors spoke in whispers as if they werein the presence of real history.
DeleteWe live just up the road from Samlesbury hall. It is a wonderful old hall. Our daughter got married there a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteThese old places need preserving for future generations.
Wow! Samlesbury Hall looks incredible! I had never heard of it. I must have driven by it when I went to see Hull City at Blackburn in January.
DeleteInteresting historical background for an interesting structure. And thankfully there are volunteers to carry on looking after such places.
ReplyDeleteI salute such people. Without them Bishops' House would have probably been moth-balled.
DeleteHow wonderful to see such an old home and still in good condition too. You do not often see places so old here in the states. In fact your post prompted me to google what the oldest structures are here in the states. Aside from some ancient Indian adobe brick pueblo structures there are homes from the 1600's but they are rare to see and certainly not in all areas. I have always thought it amazing how England is full of so many ancient historical sites. I love to see places that have existed for such a long time as you can almost feel the history of such places. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIn England many people take such history for granted. I know that it is an aspect of our country that should make us so proud of where we live. Thanks for calling by again Bonnie.
DeleteThere are many things people did without the aid of modern technology. Yes, and the wood is still in good condition.
ReplyDeleteOak is an incredible substance.
Deletewonderful places to see around every corner. You are so lucky.
ReplyDeleteBut Australia partly makes up for this with its natural wonders.
DeleteIs it an optical illusion or does the "Bishops' House have a slight lean?
ReplyDeleteA lovely old place worth exploring.
(In refer to your response to Helsie...I'm one of those "natural wonders", Yorkie)!! *a smile and a wink*
Yes, Bishops' House does have a lean to it. There were no building inspectors in those days! Are you Queensland's Uluru?
DeleteUluru calling a rock, Yorkie????
DeleteHey babe, you rock!
DeleteA great place to visit, and even though you say it has never been particularly grand, I bet it was much grander than many of the humble abodes the majority of people lived in at the time it was built.
ReplyDeleteTo have the age of a piece of wood determined down to the exact year is amazing.
The house itself looks like something out of a fairytale book. It would very well fit in at Hogsmeade, the "magic" village J.K. Rowling created for her Harry Potter books.
You are right, it is amazing that a wooden building can now be dated exactly. Until 2017, it was assumed that the house had been constructed in the very early years of the sixteenth century.
DeleteI love the photos -- looks like a fascinating place! It's amazing to us Americans that people could still be living in a 500-year-old house. (As was true up until the '70s, as you said.)
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