Hillsborough House

Hillsborough House, later called Hillsborough Hall is a large stone built mansion built in the Adam style in the latter part of the 18th century. It stands four km NW of the centre of Sheffield at grid reference gbm4ibx|SK331901 in the suburb of Hillsborough within Hillsborough Park, a council owned public recreational area. For 124 years the house was a private dwelling, however since 1906 it has housed the Hillsborough branch library. It is a Grade Two listed building.

Private dwelling

Hillsborough House was built in 1779 as a dwelling for Thomas Steade (1728-1793) and his wife Meliscent, who had been living in nearby Burrowlee House, which is situated just 250 metres to the east. The Steade’s were a family of local of landowners whose history went back to at least the 14th century. At the time of construction the house stood in rural countryside well outside the Sheffield boundary. Steade named his new residence in honour of Wills Hill who at the time was known as the Earl of Hillsborough, an eminent politician of the period and a patron of the Steades."The Complete Hillsborough by her people", Mick Drewry, ISBN 1901 58747 9 Pages 80 -82 Gives historical information.] "A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain", John Burke, page 150, Gives details of Steade family.]

Stead acquired more land and the grounds eventually had an area of convert|103|acre|km2, they were much more extensive than the present Hillsborough Park, stretching north to the current junction of Leppings Lane and Penistone Road and included the site on which Hillsborough Stadium now stands. It extended further south encompassing the site now occupied by the Hillsborough arena. The grounds had areas given over to agriculture but there was also extensive parkland featuring a lake, two lodges and a tree lined avenue. There was also a walled garden, which still exists today, which provided fresh produce for the house’s kitchens. [http://www.hwg.btik.com/p_History.ikml Hillsborough walled garden website.] Gives details of garden and some history.]

Broughton Steade inherited the house upon his fathers death in 1793 but sold it 1801 to John Rimington Wilson of the Broomhead Hall family. In 1838 it was sold again to John Rodgers, the owner of a well known local cutlery firm. Rodgers renamed his residence Hillsborough Hall as he thought this better reflected the significance of the property. Edward Bury of Johnson Cammell & Co. was the next owner of the house, he lived there until 1860 when he sold it to Ernest Benzon, a German born financial advisor.

In 1865 Benzon sold the house to James Willis Dixon, son of the founder of the well known Sheffield firm of James Dixon & Sons, silver and metal smiths. Dixon made considerable alterations and redecorated the property. Archives record that at that time there were six servants bedrooms with a nursery on the second floor and five family bedrooms on the first floor. On the death of James Willis Dixon in 1876 his extensive library over 1,000 books was sold off, his art collection which included works by Rembrandt, Rubens and Watteau were also auctioned. "Old Ordnance Survey Maps (Hillsborough 1902)" Notes by Sylvia Pybus Gives historical information.]

The death of J.W. Dixon junior in 1890 caused the hall and its grounds to be divided into 14 lots and auctioned off. Sheffield Corporation (now Sheffield City Council) bought lot one which included the hall and the surrounding 50 acres of land. A northern section of the estate on the far side of the River Don was sold to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club who needed a new home ground as the lease on their Olive Grove ground had run out. Lands on the western side of the estate were sold to build Hillsborough Trinity Methodist Church and to accommodate new housing as the city of Sheffield expanded. The streets that these new houses were built on were named Dixon, Wynyard, Willis, Lennox and Shepperson, all names connected to the Dixon family.

Hillsborough Library

In 1906 the house opened as Hillsborough library, although there were suggestions that it could be an art gallery and museum. The surrounding 50 acres of land purchased by the council became Hillsborough Park. Hillsborough’s first librarian was Harry A. Valantine who received a salary of £111. In 1929 a single storey extension was added to accommodate a new junior library. In 1978 the building was found to have dry and wet rot and was closed for a period for repairs. The rooms on the library’s upper floors are used by local councillors and Members of Parliament for surgeries. Former politician Roy Hattersley who was brought up in Hillsborough had this to say in his autobiography "A Yorkshire Boyhood", “The library remained our constant joy. It was part of our lives, a home from home housed in what had once been a mansion owned by a local worthy”."A Yorkshire Boyhood", Roy Hattersley, ISBN 0330313940 Gives this quote.]

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