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Notra Dame


tozzin

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I received this email from my Nephew who's teaching at Notre Dame, he also attached a couple of photos    "Oakbrook House Mark Firths former home. According to caretaker there it was taken over by the nuns in 1919 and turned into a school in 1935. Although it's been hacked about a bit a lot of original features survive. The hacking about continues because the servants quarters were only taken out about five years ago and turned into store rooms.
The bloke said the tower was added to the house when the prince of Wales came to stay. It was built to stick a flagpole on top to fly the prince of Wales flag in a position where two of Firths competitors could see who he'd got staying. Don't know how much of that is fact but that's what I was told today"

The photos show a richly decorated ceiling and frieze, my query is, at the side of the fireplace is a brass lever that only works from one side to the other, it doesn't go full circle but what's this lever for? does it open a flue for the fire? is it some kind device to summon staff?

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I didn't think i would answer my own post but I contacted English Heritage and they confirm the ornate brass lever was a bell system to summon servants.

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All very fascinating... recalling times past when Sheffield really was a City with some national clout and with some entrepreneurs who not only created wealth ( at some human cost no doubt) but also were benefactors to the emerging City.. An interesting comparison with the all girls Notre Dame would be the all boys Firth Park Grammar....Both schools eventually using the homes of steel magnates...in the latter case, The Brushes, once home to Kayser ( of Sanderson Kayser fame).

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Don't know about the flagpole bit, but I was given a tour by a member of staff a few years ago and was told the porch and tower were built especially for the royal visit. The other story he told concerned the lake with the small island in the centre. It seems in the early days of the school it was fee paying. One family whose daughter was there fell on hard times and couldn't pay the fees. They were duly summoned to see the head, who explained that the girl could no longer attend the school, but she had found her a place at another school whose fees were lower. Because of the 'delicacy' of this meeting, the head rowed the couple out to the island where she'd set up 3 chairs so they could be private.

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I'd  recommend the  Ranmoor book. It's primarily Ranmoor of course  but there's a wealth of Sheffield history in it too.

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I'd  recommend the  Ranmoor book. It's primarily Ranmoor of course  but there's a wealth of Sheffield history in it too.

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