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Oldest Building In Sheffield


Guest roger mortis

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Guest roger mortis

Hi All,

most likely been asked before but does anyone know the oldest building in Sheffield still standing?

in something like its original appearance

not the oldest site i.e ladies bridge isn't the original one.

I'm thinking the likes of bishops house - the cross keys at handsworth or the queens head or maybe paradise square.

i dunno :( so I'll leave up to you experts cheers ;-)

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If you mean Sheffield as it is now, then the oldest building is probably Ecclesfield Priory.

David Hey, echoing Jonathan Eastwood, suggests it was built between 1267 and 1273.

In the photo it is the building on the right.

http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=t01117

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If you mean Sheffield as it is now, then the oldest building is probably Ecclesfield Priory.

http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=t01117

And there lies the problem Gramps.

Do we mean the modern and ever expanding City of Sheffield?

Or do we mean in a much smaller Sheffield at the time "the oldest building" was built?

I have always said that the Nailmakers at Hemsworth, just off Blackstock Road near Norton water tower is NOT the oldest pub in Sheffield simply because for most of its existance it was in North Derbyshire, only coming under Sheffield jurisdiction in the early 20th century.

So perhaps we need to clarify what we mean by "Sheffield" in years gone by first in order to answer this one.

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Guest plain talker

When was Beauchief Abbey built?

saying that, the Abbey might fail, under the same reasoning as DaveH put forward, above.

Rigor :- Paradise Square is only about 200/ 250 years old, so I don't think that would come anywhere near qualifying, when The Old Queen's Head and Bishop's House are probably 200 years + older than that.

The Anglican Cathedral is about a thousand years old, which would put it in the bracket above even OQH and BH... ( you can still see the original stonework )

According to the Cathedral's own website, it claims to be the oldest building in the City... dating from pre Norman conquest times.

http://www.sheffieldcathedral.org/visiting/home-visiting-sheffield-cathedral.php

although it contradicts itself slightly when it then goes on to say that the church was demolished and rebuilt in 1280 and again in 1430

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I have always said that the Nailmakers at Hemsworth, just off Blackstock Road near Norton water tower is NOT the oldest pub in Sheffield simply because for most of its existance it was in North Derbyshire, only coming under Sheffield jurisdiction in the early 20th century.

Suprisingly, having been well promoted as "Sheffields oldest pub" in the past, the Nailmakers is now promoting itself as a NEW pub :blink:

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When was Beauchief Abbey built?

saying that, the Abbey might fail, under the same reasoning as DaveH put forward, above.

Rigor :- Paradise Square is only about 200/ 250 years old, so I don't think that would come anywhere near qualifying, when The Old Queen's Head and Bishop's House are probably 200 years + older than that.

The Anglican Cathedral is about a thousand years old, which would put it in the bracket above even OQH and BH... ( you can still see the original stonework )

According to the Cathedral's own website, it claims to be the oldest building in the City... dating from pre Norman conquest times.

http://www.sheffield...d-cathedral.php

although it contradicts itself slightly when it then goes on to say that the church was demolished and rebuilt in 1280 and again in 1430

Mmm, sounds a bit like great-granny's sweeping brush, only had 3 new handles and 5 new heads! I read some years ago that the only part still there which is Saxon is a small section of wall behing the high altar.

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great-granny's sweeping brush, only had 3 new handles and 5 new heads!

In a classic episode of "Only fools and horses" Trigger, a road sweeper of 25 years with Peckham council and well noted for saying something really stupid comes out with almost this exact statement.

However, I first came across this in a 1934 Stanley Holloway monologue by Weston and Lee called "The Beefeater" in which Holloway plays a beefeater who is a tour guide around the Tower of London and his monologue is the beefeaters tour speech.

Part of it goes, -

"And this here is the headsman's block Sir,

From this fell many heads with a thud

And to keep those stains fresh these past 300 years,

We've used gallons and gallons of blood.

Now here is the axe, that's the genuine axe

That's given Royal necks some hard whacks

It's had a new handle and happeen a new head

But it's the genuine original axe"

I sort of learnt this from friends with traction engines in my days with Sheffield Steam Society.

This is because most traction engines have had new boilers, fireboxes, smokeboxes, chimneys, gears, engine motion parts, tenders and wheels that there can't be many "original" parts left on them.

So now as well as "How big is Sheffield?" if we are talking about buildings in it at a particular point in history we also have to consider how authentic and original the building is.

It gets more complicated by the posting.

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Guest roger mortis

Thanks for the responses

I think I've perhaps been a bit ambiguous in my question

I'm thinking more the oldest building still standing in its almost original state (like bishops house or queens head)

rather than the cathedral (although i find that information fascinating too) and as for the boundries i was thinking more

the city as we know it now having engulfed the villages of ecclesfield and the like

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Thanks for the responses

I think I've perhaps been a bit ambiguous in my question

I'm thinking more the oldest building still standing in its almost original state (like bishops house or queens head)

rather than the cathedral (although i find that information fascinating too) and as for the boundries i was thinking more

the city as we know it now having engulfed the villages of ecclesfield and the like

In that case my bet would be with the queens head

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Guest plain talker

Mmm, sounds a bit like great-granny's sweeping brush, only had 3 new handles and 5 new heads! I read some years ago that the only part still there which is Saxon is a small section of wall behing the high altar.

Hi bayleaf.

yes it sounds a bit like Trigger's sweeping brush off "Only Fools And Horses!", too. that was the same! :D

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