Hallamshire

Hallamshire (or Hallam) is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, in the current city of Sheffield.

The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Hallam" originating from a formation meaning "on the rocks". An alternative theory suggests it is derived from "halgh", meaning an area of land at a border.David Hey, "Historic Hallamshire"]

Historically, the term "shire" would simply mean the district appropriated to some city, town, or castle, and didn't necessarily refer to a county. Hallamshire could therefore be assumed to be the district associated with a town ("vill") called "Hallam", although there is no known record of such a town's existence. [Hunter, "Hallamshire", chapter 1] In 1931, T. Walter Hall claimed that the district's original settlement was at Hallam Head, above the River Rivelin, and that it had been destroyed during the Harrying of the North. As evidence, he noted that the location lies by the ancient Long Causeway route and that the name of the neighbouring Burnt Stones Common referenced its destruction. This theory is rejected by David Hey, who notes that there is no evidence of any settlement larger than a hamlet ever having existed at the site, and that evidence suggests that the Harrying of the North did not affect the Sheffield area.

History

Anglo-Saxon Hallamshire

In Anglo-Saxon times, Hallamshire was the most southerly shire of the Kingdom of Northumbria. Its southern border with Mercia was already fixed and may have Celtic origins. The Domesday Book states that the manor of Hallam ("Hallun") included sixteen hamlets or settlements and had existed before the 1066 Norman conquest of England as part of the lands owned by Waltheof, the Earl of Huntingdon, who had an "aula" or hall located in this district. Some historians have suggested that Sheffield was the location of Waltheof's "aula", stating as evidence that the Domesday book asserts that the manor of Sheffield had once been "inland" of the manor of Hallam—that is, land reserved for the Lord of the manor. Indeed, an early 20th century excavation at the site of Sheffield Castle found evidence of an Anglo-Saxon building on the siteAccounts of the 1927–1930 (and more recent) archaeological investigations of Sheffield Castle can be found on the [http://www.sheffieldmarkets.co.uk/sheffield-castle-investigation.php Sheffield Markets website] and at the Sheffield Galleries & Museums Trust [http://www.idigsheffield.org.uk/ archaeology website] (both accessed 13 August 2005).] . Other historians have concluded that the Domesday Book specifically excludes Sheffield as the site for the aula, noting that it describes Hallam and Sheffield as separate manors, and states that Waltheof's aula was in the manor of Hallam. [See Hunter (1819) p18] Alternate sites have been suggested in and around the Rivelin valley, but it is unlikely that a definitive location for the aula will ever be identified.A discussion of possible locations of the aula can be found in chapter II of Hunter (1819)]

Sheffield and Attercliffe, although once parts of the manor of Hallam, were separate manors at the time of the Domesday survey.Fact|date=July 2008

After the Conquest

Waltheof initially submitted to William I and was allowed to keep his lands. He took part in a failed uprising to support the 1069 invasion by Sweyn II of Denmark and Edgar Ætheling (including an attack on York), but then once again submitted to the William and was granted Judith, the King's niece, to marry. However, after taking part in a conspiracy against William in 1075 Waltheof was executed.

Initially, Judith retained his lands (including Hallamshire), but after Judith refused a second marriage to the Norman knight Simon Saint Liz, William confiscated much of her lands and handed them to her eldest daughter Maud, who then married Saint Liz in Judith's stead. After the death of Saint Liz, Maud married David, the heir to the crown of Scotland, and the Waltheof's lands and Earldom were passed to him.

It is possible that Hallamshire was exempted from this transfer and remained in Judith's hands. The Domesday book states that the manor of Hallam was held by Roger de Busli "of the Countess Judith". The exact nature of the arrangement between Judith and de Busli is unknown, however there is evidence that such an arrangement may have continued for a number of centuries—an inquisition following the death of Thomas de Furnival in 1332 found that his ancestors had held the manor of Sheffield "of the King of Scotland", paying a yearly service of two white greyhounds.

The full name "Hallamshire" is first recorded in a charter of 1161.

During this early period, the name Hallamshire was retained for the Norman lordship. It was administered from Sheffield Castle, at the confluence of the River Don and the River Sheaf. A smaller castle was built at High Bradfield. During the 12th century, William de Lovetot acquired most of the land within the Sheffield area including the old manors of Hallam, Sheffield, and Attercliffe. He constructed a more substantial castle in Sheffield, establishing the town as the dominant settlement within Hallamshire. Sheffield gained a sizeable parish, split from the large parish of Ecclesfield, and a larger manor which encompassed most of Hallamshire. A charter of 1268 describes Hallamshire as containing just three manors: Ecclesfield, Sheffield and Bradfield. However, confusion arose later, as Sheffield acquired other manors outside historic Hallamshire, such as that of Handsworth. [See chapter I of Hunter (1819) for a discussion of the boundaries of Hallamshire.]

Present day Hallam

Hallam has come to mean, broadly speaking, that area of Yorkshire in the foothills of the Peak District and southwest of the River Don. The region includes much of western Sheffield, and the parish of Bradfield. Suburbs and villages within this area include Bradfield, Broomhill, Crookes, Fulwood, Hillsborough, Loxley, Stannington, Strines, and Walkley.

A number of institutions, companies, and Public Houses use the "Hallam/shire" name to reflect their association with the Sheffield area :
*The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire is a trade guild of steelworkers, founded in 1624 and based in Sheffield.
*Sheffield Hallam is a Parliamentary constituency in western Sheffield, demographically one of the wealthiest such constituencies in Britain.
*Hallamshire was a Parliamentary constituency from 1885 to 1918
*The Diocese of Hallam is a Roman Catholic diocese in England, covering South Yorkshire, northern Derbyshire and northern Nottinghamshire. Its mother church is the Cathedral Church of St Marie in Sheffield.
*Royal Hallamshire Hospital is a large hospital in the Broomhill district of Sheffield.
*Sheffield Hallam University is one of the two universities in the City of Sheffield. Created when Sheffield City Polytechnic became a university in 1992, it took the name "Hallam" to distinguish it from the pre-existing University of Sheffield.
*Hallam FM is a local radio station which broadcasts in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, and Barnsley.
*The Hallam Line is a railway line that runs from Sheffield to Leeds "via" Barnsley.
*Hallam F.C. is one of the oldest football clubs in the world.
*The Hallamshire Lodge, freemasons lodge at Tapton Hall, Sheffield

Connection to Robin Hood legend

The small village of Loxley, now a suburb of western Sheffield, lies within Hallamshire. A 1637 survey by John Harrison of the estates in or near Sheffield belonging to the Earl of Arundel states that a place called little Haggas croft in Loxley Firth contained 'the foundacion of an house or cottage where Robin Hood was born'. [Quoted in Addy, "A Glossary of Words Used in the Neighbourhood of Sheffield", p. lxxiii. Note that Addy believed this statement to be 'a piece of popular fiction'.] Antiquarian Joseph Hunter—writing in 1819—reaffirmed this local tradition, stating that Loxley Chase has 'the fairest pretensions to be the Locksley of our old ballads, where was born that redoubtable hero Robin Hood.' [Hunter, "Hallamshire", chapter 1, p. 3] In many legends Robin Hood is said to have been a displaced son of the lord of Hallamshire, who at this period in history resided at his manor at Loxley.Fact|date=November 2007 This also ties in with the traditional idea of Robin Hood being related to Scottish nobility, if not distantly, because the lords of Hallamshire were descendants of the early medieval kings of Scotland through the Earl of Huntingdon.

ee also

*History of Sheffield
*History of Yorkshire
*List of hundreds of England and Wales

Bibliography

*cite book |last=Addy |first=Sidney Oldall |title=A Glossary of Words Used in the Neighbourhood of Sheffield. Including a Selection of Local Names, and Some Notices of Folk-Lore, Games, and Customs |year=1888 |publisher=Trubner & Co. for the English Dialect Society |location=London ()
*cite book |last=Hunter |first=Joseph |authorlink=Joseph Hunter (antiquarian) |title=Hallamshire. The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York |year=1819 |publisher=Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mayor & Jones |location=London ()

References and notes