Hangingwater Almshouses (The Original Ones)

[Bayleaf]

We have heard it said that one of our most energetic and successful manufacturers , Mark Firth, Esq. of Oakbrook, had expressed a determination to confer some benefit on his native town, when he attained the age of fifty years – contemplating at the time an out lay of perhaps £20,000, or something more.

The family had already contributed £5,000 towards the erection of Ranmoor College, which was opened in 1864 for the training of young men for the ministry of the Methodist New Connection; and nearly adjacent to the grounds of this building, Mr. Mark Firth determined to erect some almshouses.

The site chosen for this charitable purpose is about two acres in extent, and the picturesque spot itself is called Hanging Water – quite secluded from the noise and bustle of the town, and lying in a hollow betwixt Ranmoor and Fulwood. The architects entrusted with the design of the buildings were Messrs. Hill and Swann, of Leeds and Sheffield.

The Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G., laid the first stone on the 4^th of March, 1869, and in the following year the institution was opened. There are 36 almshouses, a chapel and a chaplain’s house. Each inmates house consists of a room on the ground floor, with sleeping chamber above, and cellar and pantry below.

Twenty-four of the houses are occupied by single persons, who receive seven shillings a week; and the remaining twelve are for couples, either married people, or perhaps sisters, who are allowed ten shillings a week; and all the houses are gratuitously supplied with water and gas.

There is a surplus of income from the endowment, which admits of ten or more out-pensioners receiving weekly allowances that vary from half-a-crown to five shillings. The stipend of the chaplain, the Rev. C.J. Donald, who is supernumerary minister of the Methodist New Connection Society, is £50 a year. His duties are to offer daily prayer in the neat little chapel, which seats about 100 persons, and to provide a full service on Sunday.

The inmates, who must belong to some body of Protestant Christians, are at liberty to attend their own church or chapel in the afternoon of the Lord’s day. Only persons who are natives of Sheffield are eligible for the charity, and they must be at least sixty years old.

The cost of the buildings was about £10,000, the endowment is about £20,000, and this is invested in 4.5 and 5 per cent guaranteed stock. The whole charity is conveyed to ten trustees, with Mr. Firth himself as chairman, and it is settled for the perpetual benefit of the town of Sheffield.

(From "Sheffield Past and Present" by Rev. A. Gatty)

[SteveHB]

picturesheffield s02636

picturesheffield s02640

picturesheffield s02635

1903.

Link to Flash Earth

[sando]

hi

i walked past the alms houses on Hangingwater rd on my way to Nether Green school from the mid 60s to early 70s, when they were knocking the almes houses down we would watch the ball and chain demolish the old alms houses, we were enthralled as young boys. The building of the new ones became a great adventure playground for us, playing tag, war and many other adventures. The health and safety police would have a heart attack these days.

The circular window from the chapel was used in the new building, it can be seen from Nether Green Rd.

[Waterside Echo]

(From "Sheffield Past and Present" by Rev. A. Gatty)

Looks like your eBay purchase is earning its keep already "Bayleaf". W/E.

[Bayleaf]

Looks like your eBay purchase is earning its keep already "Bayleaf". W/E.

I like to share! ;-)