Sheffield South Yorkshire 15th February 26

On Sunday the 15th February 2026, we left Sitwell Arms Hotel and drove to a café nearby for breakfast. Well I was gobsmacked how cheap cafes are up here. More than half the price you'd spend in the South!

After Breakfast we drove to have a look about Sheffield.

As we entered Sheffield via Bramall Lane, we pass Sheffield Utd Football Ground. Hard to get excited about a club that made a big deal about relegation against West Ham in 2009. Ha ha no I haven't forgotten even after all this time!

After eventually finding a car park on Solly Street, we walked into the city.

We reach Sheffield Cathedral, we walk around trying to find the entrance to look about.

The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, also known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914. Sheffield Cathedral is one of five Grade I listed buildings in the city, along with the Town Hall, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, and the parish churches at Ecclesfield and Bradfield.

The cathedral is located on Church Street in the city centre, close to the head of Fargate. Construction of the earliest section of the cathedral dates back to c. 1200, with the newest construction completed in 1966; the building is an unusual mixture of medieval and modern architecture. Cathedral tram stop, located outside the front churchyard, opened in 1994 and is today served by all four lines of the Sheffield Supertram network. Most recently, the cathedral underwent an interior and exterior refurbishment in 2013–2014.

Sheffield Cathedral was damaged in a fire on 14 May 2020, an investigation into which is ongoing; a 40-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with arson. The fire destroyed a portion of the cathedral used by a homelessness charity. A previous fire caused damage to the cathedral belltower in 1979.

I have no pictures of the inside as when we entered there was a service going on. We had programs thrust into our hands and a man of the cloth rushed over and ushered us to empty seats.

Now if anyone knows me that was like a living hell for me. I am no way religious in fact an atheist. To have to endure sitting through a service was a horror. I wanted to just get up and leave, but Mel was too embarrassed. So we sat through a bit then they were giving communion. I saw one couple leave at this point, so I nudged Mel and we quickly made our escape!

Once out we made our way through the city and to the Town Hall.

The current building, commissioned to replace the Old Town Hall, was designed by the London-based architect Edward William Mountford in the Renaissance Revival style and constructed between 1890 and 1897. The building was opened by Queen Victoria, using a remote control lock from her carriage, on 21 May 1897. The turning of the key in the lock triggered a light in the building which was the signal for three concealed men to open the gates.

An extension designed by F. E. P. Edwards was opened by the Prince of Wales on 29 May 1923.

The gardens were first laid out in 1938, following the demolition of St Paul's Church. Originally named St Paul's Gardens, they were immediately nicknamed the "Peace Gardens", marking the contemporary signing of the Munich Agreement.

An extension designed in the Brutalist style was added to the east of the Peace Gardens in 1977; nicknamed The Egg-Box after its appearance, it was demolished in 2002.

Outside the Town Hall is the sole surviving Police box in Sheffield. 

The boxes in Sheffield were painted green and white They also featured a design that allowed them to be used as temporary lock-ups to detain suspects. Both the telephone and a first aid kit could be accessed from the outside by members of the public or the constable.

When radio communications became available for individual officers, cities began removing the boxes. The only one left in Sheffield can be found along Surrey Street, just outside the town hall. Although no longer a police callbox, this one is still used by city ambassadors to provide tourists with a helping hand and travel information.

We pass the Peace Gardens in front on the Town Hall. 

The Peace Gardens area was originally the churchyard of St Paul's Church, which was built in the 18th century. The church was built to accommodate Sheffield’s increasing population, which had outgrown the capacity of the Parish Church (which is now the Anglican Cathedral).

A wealthy local goldsmith called Robert Downs paid for St Paul’s Church to be built and work started in 1720. However, Robert Downs later had a disagreement with the church authorities and for a short time he allowed dissenters to worship in the building. This was stopped when the church was finally consecrated or blessed in 1740.

By 1938 the Church of England had no further use for St Paul’s and it was demolished to make way for a proposed extension to the Town Hall. Unfortunately, due to the Second World War, the extension was never built and all that remained of the building were the churchyard walls.

We created a temporary garden with the remaining walls and named it St Paul’s Gardens. However the name soon changed to the Peace Gardens due to the popular desire for a return to peacetime. The name became formal in 1985.

The Goodwin Fountain has 89 individual jets of water and is dedicated to Sir Stuart and Lady Goodwin. Sir Stuart was the founder of an important Sheffield steel and tool making firm - Neepsend Ltd - and a man of considerable wealth.

Throughout their lives they donated a lot of money to a number of charities in the local area, especially hospitals. One of the donations was for the construction of a new fountain at the head of Fargate in 1961. The fountain was originally intended as a tribute to Alderman James Sterling, however, it became known as the Goodwin Fountain and was eventually dedicated to them.

In 1998, the old fountain at the top of Fargate was worn out and was replaced by the new fountain in the Peace Gardens.

The Holberry Cascades are 8 large water features that are dedicated to Samuel Holberry, who was the leader of the Sheffield Chartist Movement, and are located on either side of the 4 entrances to the main area of the Peace Gardens.

The waterfalls from the bronze vessels represent both the pouring of water into Sheffield's 5 rivers, and the pouring of molten metal used in Sheffield's metal industries.

57,000 litres of water are pumped through its water features. The system employs a water re-circulation system and is kept clean using a brine solution rather than chemicals.

For several hundred years, Standard Measures were displayed in a public place so that commercial disputes about Short Measures could be settled without an argument.

The Measures are a symbol of local government, as well as an early method of consumer protection. The Measures were originally put in St Paul's Parade, but were relocated to Cheney Row, between the Peace Gardens and the Town Hall, in 1998.

The Spanish War Memorial records the names of the volunteers from South Yorkshire who fought in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War in 1936-39.

The plaque also commemorates the men and women at home who worked endlessly campaigning, raising money and sending supplies, to support the fight against fascism. It is located on the ramp close to the Town Hall which leads up to Cheney Row.

We stop in Costa for a drink, before we walked on, passing the Town Hall again we reach the Winter Gardens. Sheffield Winter Garden is a large temperate glasshouse located in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the largest temperate glasshouses to be built in the UK during the last hundred years, and the largest urban glasshouse anywhere in Europe.[1] It is home to more than 2,000 plants from all around the world. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 22 May 2003.

Part of the £120 million Heart of the City regeneration project that has created the Peace Gardens and the £15 million Millennium Galleries, the Winter Garden was designed by Pringle Richards Sharratt Architects and Buro Happold and is some 70 metres (77 yd) long and 21 metres (23 yd) high.

The building has background frost protection to a minimum of 4 degrees Celsius and it is one of the largest Glued Laminated Timber or "Glulam" buildings in the UK (Glulam is made by forming and gluing strips of timber into specific shapes). The wood used is Larch, a durable timber which will, over time, turn a light silvery grey colour. The larch, derived from sustainable forests, requires no preservatives or coatings. This reduces the use of solvents and also avoids the use of chemicals that could harm the plants.

The building has an intelligent Building Management System which controls fans and vents to make sure the plants are cooled in summer and kept warm in winter. The system will "learn" year by year.

The bedding plants are changed five times a year, to give a seasonal change, and all the plants are watered by hose or by watering can, as it is the only way to ensure that all the plants get the correct amount of water.

This was a lovey Oasis in the middle of a city!

We leave the Winter Gardens and in front of us we see The Crucible Theatre.

The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city.

In addition to regular theatrical performances, the theatre also serves as a sports venue, having hosted the World Snooker Championship annually since 1977. The Guardian newspaper has called the Crucible the "spiritual home of snooker". The World Women's Snooker Championship and the World Seniors Championship have also been staged at the venue.

Next to the Crucible is the Lyceum Theatre.

There has been a theatre on the site since 1879 when the Grand Varieties Theatre was built. Made of wood and originally intended to be used as a circus, the theatre was managed by the parents of the music hall comedian Dan Leno in 1883, who regularly performed there in the early stages of his career. Leno's lease came to an end in 1884 and the theatre burnt down in 1893. This was replaced by City Theatre but this was demolished six years later to make way for what is now the Lyceum.

Built to a traditional proscenium arch design, the Lyceum is the only surviving theatre outside London designed by the theatre architect W.G.R. Sprague and the last example of an Edwardian auditorium in Sheffield. The statue on top of the Lyceum Theatre is Mercury, son of Zeus and Maia.

By the late 1950s, the Lyceum was experiencing financial difficulties and by 1966 bingo callers were keeping the rumoured threat of demolition at bay. The theatre closed in 1969 and, despite being granted Grade II listed status in 1972, planning permission was sought for its demolition in 1975. The building was saved in part due to campaigning by the Hallamshire Historic Buildings Society.

Over the years the building changed ownership many times, being used variously as a bingo hall and a rock concert venue. By the 1980s, the interior was in a state of disrepair. The theatre was bought by two Sheffield businessmen in 1985, with financial support from Sheffield City Council, and it was reclassified to Grade II* listed status. Between 1988 and 1990 the Lyceum was completely restored at a cost of £12 million.

The theatre reopened in 1990 and now serves as a venue for touring West End productions, as well as locally produced shows. It is part of the Sheffield Theatres complex with the neighbouring Crucible Theatre and the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse.

We made our way back to the car for the long drive home!

Eyam,Derbyshire The Plague Village 14th February 26

We booked the Sitwell Arms Hotel in Renishaw in Derbyshire for Saturday 14th February 2026. So before we booked in we wanted a walk in the area, nothing of any interest nearby so we see Eyam and its interesting history was ideal and wouldn’t be full of mud walk as it hasn’t stopped raining for ages.

It is a dark and gloomy story, but one of such interest and astoundment of the villages sacrifice.

Up until the events of 1655, Eyam (pronounced ‘eem’) was a relatively unknown rural village. There is evidence of early occupation by Ancient Britons on the surrounding moors more than 4000 years ago, but Anglo-Saxons were the village’s first residents.

The name Eyam means ‘village by the water’ and was named ‘Aiune’ by the Anlgo-Saxons. You can spot lots of stone water troughs throughout the village, dating all the way back to their 1588 water system. Apart from the plague, the village is also known for its old mines that have been there since Roman times and the silk and cotton mills from the 18th and 19th centuries. The village’s oldest building, Laburnum Cottage, dates all the way back to 1550!

The story of the plague begun when a plague-infested box of cloth from London introduced the disease, killing 260+ residents over 14 months—roughly a third of the population—before the outbreak ended in November 1666.

After parking on Church Street for free, We walk down the hill and into the village.

We first walk up to the house that was formerly the Foresters Arms. It was built on the site of a family Graveyard dating from the plague period. Sadly the gravestones were destroyed when it was built.

Almost next door is the Village Green Café, where there is a plaque describing this as John Torres House. He died here on 29th July 1666. His son Godfrey aged 8 months died 3rd August 166 and his wife Joan survived.

Outside the Café is a Bullring attached to a stone. This was originally located on the centre of the village green before being moved in 1986 during improvements. To this ring a bull or bear was tethered and set upon by dogs for entertainment during Wakes Week. It was outlawed in 1835.

We walk across the road to the Eyam Tea Rooms. On the side of this was a plaque stating it was formerly the Bold Rodney Inn.

Here the Rowland family lived in 1665.

Thomas died on this day on 14th February 1666.

His daughter Hannah dies aged 15 on 5th November 1665.

His daughter Mary died aged 13 on 1st December 1665.

His Son Abel aged 10 died on the 15th January 1666.

Abel's gravestone can be seen in the churchyard.

Alice and her son Francis survived. This house was built in addition to the Bold Rodney Inn.

We head inside the tearoom to have a Cream Tea and connect to their WiFi as I have no signal in the village.

We leave the tearoom to go and find the boundary stone to the village and I will tell the story about this is a bit.

We walk up Lydgate which was the main road in and out of the village during the middle ages.

Here on Lydgate the male occupants that lived here took it in turns to stand “Watch and Ward” from 9pm to 6am at a gate to question any strangers wishing to enter the village. This was confirmed by The Watch and Ward Act of November 28th 1833.

Walking up a bit further we pass the Lydgate Graves. Here are the graves of George Darby who died on the 14th July 1666 and his daughter Mary aged 20 who died on 4th September 1666. Georges wife survived and died in 1674.

We walk on down Lydgate and onto a footpath leading us through beautiful Peak District Countryside.

We eventually reach the Eyam boundary stone, sitting beside the path.

As the plague took hold and decimated the villagers it was the selfless decision to quarantine themselves that prevented the spread of the disease, and it is here that their closest neighbour, Stoney Middleton, just a short stroll across an open field joins the story. To minimize cross infection, food and other supplies were left at the Boundary Stone which was situated midway between the villages. The stone had 6 holes drilled into its surface where money left as payment for food and medicine which was left in vinegar soaked holes, believed to kill the infection.

Vinegar or not I suspect the villagers from Stoney Middleton must have still been pretty scared to collect the money!

A story of heartbreak concerning Emmott Sydall and Rowland Torre, separated from one another when the village of Eyam quarantined itself during an outbreak of the Plague, meeting daily at a distance they would shout to each other until one day when all fell silent.

Cucklett Delf is a picturesque dale between the village of Eyam and Stoney Middleton and represents a story of heartbreak concerning Emmott Sydall and Rowland Torre. Emmott was a young girl of about twenty two who was betrothed to Rowland Torre from Stoney Middleton. Emmott lived in a cottage across from Mary Cooper’s house where the Plague started. Her father John Syddall and four of her siblings were among the first victims of the disease.

At first Rowland would visit Emmott in the village, but when they realised this was too dangerous, the lovers would arrange to meet secretly but at a distance minimalizing any risk of Rowland catching the disease. It is suggested that the two would only have looked at each other from a distance, and in silence, lest their plan should be discovered. When Emmott stopped appearing towards the end of April 1666, Rowland continued to go to their meeting place, with hope that against all odds, she might still show up. He was one of the first people to re-enter the village when it was pronounced safe towards the end of 1666, but was soon told the worst; Emmott Syddall had died in the April.

 

We have more great views over the Cucklett Delf and down into Stoney Middleton.

We start the walk back the way we came.

Over to over to our left is the cliff of an quarry where there’s another story to be told.

The Lovers Leap acquired its name after an incident in 1762, when a young woman by the name of Hannah Baddeley, daughter of William Baddeley and his wife Joan née Townsend. She was baptised 22 Feb 1738/9 and at the age of 24/5 attempted to commit suicide by throwing herself over the cliff top. Her lover, William Barnsley, had jilted her, and she had decided to end it all. Miraculously her billowing petticoats acted like a parachute on the way down, until they were caught in brambles protruding from a ledge. This saved her life and all she suffered were a few cuts and bruises. However, this story does not have a happy ending: Hannah died two years later of natural causes, still unmarried. She was buried 12 Dec 1764. Her father William died in 1758, and mother Joan in 1766, and they were survived by just one grandchild. The details of this event are recorded on an information board outside the Curry Cottage Restaurant that marks the location of the leap.

We back down Lydgate and back into the village.

We pass the Miners Arms in Eyam.

The Miners Arms in Eyam is a historic 17th-century pub and restaurant located in the heart of the "plague village" in the Peak District. Originally known as The King's Head, it was renamed in 1764. The pub historically served as a meeting place for the Barmote Court and the Prosecution of Felons committee since 1812.

The pub operated as The King's Head until it was renamed The Miners Arms in 1764.

It was used for meetings of the Barmote Court, where mine owners and officials determined lead mining land rights.

The pub is reputedly haunted by two young girls who died in a fire on the site before the pub was built and are said to make their presence known to visitors. A ex-landlady who was murdered here by her husband also makes an appearance in a old fashioned dress and makes a loud rustling sound as she roams the corridors at night. You can stay at the pub from a £100 a night.

We walk on back up Church Street, pass the car and to the St Lawrence Church.

The churchyard contains a very well preserved Saxon cross, beautifully carved with intricate interlace patterns on the shaft, with scrollwork and foliage, and figures depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary, and angels are carved on panels on the shaft and crosshead.

The church contains 16th-century murals, a 1775 sundial, and a notable plague exhibition.

Plague victims gravestones beside the church wall.

There has been a place of worship on this site from the the 13th century.

The church's stained glass windows are mainly Victorian; the most recent window is more modern and depicts the story of the plague for which the village is famous. The window includes a 'ring of roses', a reminder that the nursery rhyme had a deadly origin. The ring of roses is symbolic of a rosy skin rash which turned purple, a plague symptom. The posies were herbs and flowers carried as a protection and to ward off the smell of the disease. Sneezing or coughing was a final fatal symptom, and 'all fall down' was death.

In 1665 the Plague was raging in London. A tailor from Eyam by the name of George Viccars ordered some cloth from the capital. It arrived damp and had to be laid out to dry, releasing plague carrying fleas. Within days Viccars and some of his neighbours fell ill and died, some families began to panic and fled the area. William Mompesson, the Rector, feared that this would spread the disease over a wider area and asked villagers to quarantine themselves.

The Saxon Font

The Norman Font

Food and medical supplies were left at various points on the village boundary. Eyam church was closed, there were no funerals and families buried their own dead near their homes. At nearby Riley, a Mrs Hancock buried her husband and 6 children in a space of 8 days.

The plague ended in October 1666 and had claimed 260 lives in a 14 month period. Some of the village cottages now carry a commemorative plaque. An authentic history of those fearful months is vividly told in an exhibition in the church and museum.

Further along Church Street is the family home of the Hawksworth family.

Peter the third victim of the plague dies on 23rd September 1665.

Humphrey his son died aged 15 months on 17th October 1665.

Jane was the sole survivor of the household and lost 25 relatives including in-laws.

Next door is the Plague Cottage where it all began.

The history of the plague in the village of Eyam began in 1665 when a flea-infested bundle of cloth arrived from London for Alexander Hadfield, the local tailor. Within a week, his assistant George Viccars, noticing the damp bundle, had opened it.

Shortly after, he died, and more members of the household began to perish.

As the disease spread, the villagers sought leadership from their rector, Reverend William Mompesson, and the ejected Puritan minister Thomas Stanley.

In May 1666, they implemented several measures to slow the illness's spread.

These precautions included families burying their own dead and relocating church services to the natural amphitheatre of Cucklett Delph, allowing villagers to maintain distance and

reduce infection risk.

Mary Hadfield formerly Cooper lived her with her two sons, Edward and Johnathon, her new husband Alexander Hadfieldand an employed hand George Vicars.

George Vicars the first plague victim died on 7th September 1665.

Edward Cooper aged 4 died on the 22nd September 1665.

Johnathon Cooper aged 12 died on the 2nd October 1665.

Alexander Hadfield died on the 3rd August 1666 and Mary alone survived but lost 13 relatives.

Just a little way on we pass Rose Cottage.

Here nine members of the Thorpe family lived.

Thomas Thorpe died 26th September 1665.

Mary his daughter died 30th September 1665.

Elizabeth his wife died 1st October 1665.

Thomas his son died 20th December 1665.

Alice his daughter died 15th April 1666.

Robert his son 2nd May 1666.

William his son died 2nd May 1666.

William and Mary Thorpe the parent of Thomas senior died 1666.

We pass the revolving roasting jack.

The Eyam Revolving Roasting Jack is a historic,, mechanical, 18th-century style, roasting apparatus, located in the Peak District village of Eyam, Derbyshire, England. This specialized, device is historically used for roasting whole sheep on Church Street during annual village events.

As we continue along the road we pass The Brick House.

 

This is unique in Eyam where all the other buildings are made of local stone. This was once the Stags Parlour Inn but converted to a private residence in 1828.

Across the road is Eyam Hall.

Eyam Hall is a historic 17th-century Jacobean manor house located in the village of Eyam, Derbyshire. Built in 1672, shortly after the village's famous plague outbreak, it has been the home of the Wright family for 11 generations. While it was leased by the National Trust for five years ending in 2018, it is now back under the private management of the Wright family and serves as both a family home and a wedding venue.

On the green are the stocks. Probably used by the Barmcote court which ruled the lead mining industry for the punishment of miners committing minor crimes.

We pass the Market Hall where farmers wife’s used to sell eggs, butter, cheese and poultry.

We enter the grounds of Eyam Hall where there are shops, a tearoom and toilets.

We have a coffee here before we walk back to the car.

We pass the Bulls Head Inn which was formerly called The Talbot Inn run for generations by the Talbot Family, the last whom died in 1813. It is now flats since 2000.

Back at the car we have a 40 minute drive to our hotel in Renishaw.First I had to park outside the Tearoom to use their WiFi to get Google Maps to find a route.

 We book in for the night and look to visit Sheffield tomorrow before the drive home.

We eat out that night for Valentines night at a nearby Harvester.