Images and Memories of Manor Castle Village
Contemporary observers were not kind to the community that grew up amongst the old ruins, the former grandeur of the Manor frequently contrasted with its current inhabitants:
"A not less numerous tenantry possess the remains of Sheffield Manor house than when it was entire and afforded accommodation to the vast retinue of Shrewsbury's earls. Some of the poorest of the poor have made their habitations in these once splendid apartments, and have erected an incongruous mass of brick cottages against and amongst the dilapidated walls of the edifice, which render it utterly impossible to discover the exact arrangement of its various suites of apartments, or to collect any distinct appropriation of some which have been partially spared from the general ruin. One end of this once proud structure when last we saw it was converted into a public-house. In this part of the building were preserved a key and other trifles found in the ruins; and some years ago a small enamelled phial of neat workmanship, and a coin of Philip and Mary in excellent preservation, were picked up amongst the ruins."
Charles Mackie, The Castles, Palaces and Prisons of Mary Queen of Scots, 1850
"Anything more squalid, more wretched, or more dangerous than the dwellings that have been formed out of its remains would be difficult to conceive."
J D Leader, ‘The Remains of Sheffield Manor’ 1875
Some of the images from the time enable us to capture a glimpse at what contemporaries would have seen of the Manor and its inhabitants. Click here to view.
From the 20th century the village that surrounded Manor Lodge would move away from the Manor ruins themselves and new ways of life and technology, such as the motorcar, would change the areas character and relation to Sheffield, but people continued to live within sight of the Manor and its many landmarks. Click here to view how things changed.
After the Second World War the area around Manor Lane briefly became a haven for squatters made homeless by the war. Click here to learn more.
