Whirlow Brook Park

Whirlow Brook Park is a landscaped garden of 39 acres in Whirlow, Sheffield, which are open to the public, containing Whirlow Brook Hall. It stretches from Ecclesall Road and joins on to Limb Brook Valley heading towards the Peak District, with an entrance to Whinfell Quarry Garden.[1]

History

Whirlow Brook Hall was built in 1906 by Percy Fawcett, a director of Thomas Firth & Sons,[2] with an elevated terrace giving fine views over Ecclesall Woods to Abbeydale. In 1920 the house was sold to his sister, Lily Marguerite 'Madge', who was married to Sir Walter Benton Jones, the son of a baronet and chairman/managing director of the United Steel Companies.[3] They were keen gardeners and working with the Royal Horticultural Society along with six staff developed the grounds to include a Japanese rock garden, shrubberies and the lakes.[4]

Lady Jones died in 1938 and was buried in the grounds.[5] Sir Walter moved to the family seat at Irnham Hall, Lincolnshire. In 1946 the house along with 39 acres of grounds was sold to a consortium, which included the Town Trustees, the J.G. Graves Charitable Trust and Sheffield Corporation, for £15,000; the grave of Lady Jones was moved.[6] The grounds were opened to the public in 1951 as Whirlow Brook Park.

The house is now a venue for weddings, conferences and events.[7]

  • Whirlow Brook Hall
    Whirlow Brook Hall
  • Whirlow Brook Park
    Whirlow Brook Park
  • The Shelter
    The Shelter
  • The Shelter Cafe
    The Shelter Cafe

A Friends of Whirlow Brook Park was set up in 2021 to help fund the restoration of the gardens[8] and a new shelter erected in the Commemorative Garden.[9] In the summer they hold concerts in the park. A Tree Trail was opened in 2023.[10] The Shelter café and toilets opened in summer 2023.

References
  1. "Whirlowbrook Hall". Sheffield.
  2. "PERSONAL.-Mr. F. C. Fairholme, of Nether Hall". Times. 29 September 1909. Retrieved 27 July 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  3. "The United Steel Companies Limited". Times. 28 May 1934. Retrieved 27 July 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  4. Whirlow Brook Park information board
  5. "Buried in Grounds of Her Home". Hull Daily Mail. 24 September 1938 – via British Library Newspapers.
  6. "City Buys £15,000 Mansion". Sheffield Star. 21 July 1946.
  7. "Welcome to Whirlow Brook Hall". WHIRLOW BROOK HALL.
  8. Ward, Sam (28 April 2021). "Community at the root of 'beautiful park' transformation in its 70th year". Sheffield Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  9. "Celebration and launch of Friends of Whirlow Brook Park Wednesday 23 June 2021" (PDF). u3a Sheffield. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  10. "Friends of Whirlow Brook ParkNewsletter Issue 13 – Summer 2023" (PDF). Friends of Whirlow Brook Park. 2023.

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