Endcliffe Park is a large park in the city of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The park was opened in 1887 to commemorate the Jubilee of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. When travelling West from the city centre it is the first in a series of parks and green spaces, known collectively as the Porter Valley Parks, all of which lie along the course of the

Porter Brook The Porter Brook is a river which flows through the City of Sheffield, England, descending over from its source on Burbage Moor to the west of the city to its mouth where it joins the River Sheaf in a culvert beneath Sheffield railway statio ...

. The next park in the sequence is Bingham Park, separated from Endcliffe Park by Rustlings Road. In 1924

Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English regional and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior to the Second World ...

said of the parks, "The Porter Brook Parkway, consisting as it does of a string of contiguous open spaces, is the finest example to be found in this country of a radial park strip, an elongated open space, leading from a built-up part of the city direct into the country, the land occupied being a river valley and so for the greater part unsuitable for building." Endcliffe Park comprises parkland as well as woodland. The portion along Rustlings Road is grassy and used as a recreation ground whilst the Northern border, separated from the recreation grounds by the Porter Brook is woodland, and is traversed by many paths. The Ecclesall Road entrance to the park is next to the former

Hunter's Bar Hunter's Bar is a roundabout and former toll bar on Ecclesall Road in south-west Sheffield, England; the toll bar was active until the late 19th century. The name also attaches to the area surrounding Hunter's Bar roundabout at the intersectio ...

toll bar on the former Sheffield and Chapel-en-le-Frith toll roa
Old-Maps - the online repository of historic maps - home page
Next to the entrance is a Grade II listed pavilion and lodge, built in 1891. Close to the park's entrance is the Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club.

Monuments

Endcliffe Park - Queen Victoria's statue 13-05-06

The park features three monuments dedicated to

. Near the entrance is a statue of Queen Victoria and midway up the path towards Whiteley Woods is an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

also in honour of Queen Victoria. Both originally stood at the top of

Fargate Fargate is a pedestrian precinct and shopping area in Sheffield, England. It runs between Barker's Pool and High Street opposite the cathedral. It was pedestrianised in 1973. Fargate also holds a Continental Market approximately 4 times a year, ...

city centre. In the centre of the park, enclosed by railings, is a pile of rocks arranged to form a dolmen. The top stone has a coat of arms and an inscription which refers to the founding of the park. A tree planted by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee stands near her statue. There is also a memorial stone marking the crash site of the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

"Mi-Amigo" with a description board, installed by the Parks Department ahead of the 75th anniversary. The stone was put in place in 1969 after a fund-raising drive by the Sheffield branch of the Royal Air Force Association, who have since organised the annual service of remembrance. Ten American oak trees, one per airman, were planted by the City Council in 1969 and since then, if any have needed replacing, another tree has been planted in advance, as happened in 2019/20.

Facilities and events

The park has a playground which was revamped in 2008 which has many attractions for children. The park also includes a parkour training facility which was built in 2014, funded by the Sheffield Parkour Movement group. There is also an outdoor gym area which includes pull up bars and self-weighted machines. All these facilities are currently free to use. There is also a family-friendly cafe which is open daily, serving a wide range of food and drinks. There are also toilet facilities and a small children's amusement area next to the cafe. The park often hosts many events in the summer, such as circuses, musical events and a fair; including the Easter duck race event. The ''Folk in the Forest'' music festival is held in the park during the ''

Tramlines Festival The Tramlines Festival is an annual music festival held in Sheffield, UK. The festival was originally free to attend, but now requires tickets. The line-up consists of national and local artists. The festival was curated and organised by a pan ...

''. The Sheffield Hallam

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

takes place weekly. Endcliffe Park - Second pond 13-05-06

Ponds

The

, although flowing freely between the many old trees of the park, is dammed and forms two ponds, home of ducks and feral pigeons. The first pond, situated to the West of the park has an island. There is no access to the island. Like all the ponds along the Porter Valley, the ponds in the park are old mill ponds and retain their races that once drove a water wheel. In Endcliffe Park these have been semi-blocked to achieve an attractive waterfall effect. Endcliffe Park and many of the other parks and public spaces along the

, are a re-claimed, pre-steam-age industrial landscape. These days the ponds act as wildlife refuges, especially the island in the larger pond, with

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

moorhen Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus ''Gallinula'', Latin for "little hen". They are close relatives of coots. They are of ...

and

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

resident, joined by a flock of

black-headed gull The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds res ...

s each winter. The ponds also enjoy frequent visits from

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

s and

kingfishers Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

throughout the year. The

itself supports many more species, including the territories of

dippers Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

in its higher reaches.

Grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted t ...

s frequently feed on insects just above the brook all along its length and are usually first glimpsed as a flash of bright canary yellow when strolling along those paths of Endcliffe Park that follow the course of the Brook.

Special designations

*City Park *Listed on English Heritage's Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England *Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

features: Toll Gates, Jubilee Monument, Jubilee Obelisk, Pavilion & Lodge, Statue of Queen Victoria.

References

*Courage Above the Clouds: the full true story of B17 Mi-Amigo and the heroes of Endcliffe Park, by Paul Allonby (lulu.com August 2016, 84-pages, illustrated with cover art by Paul Rowland)

External links

Sheffield's Parks, Woodlands & Countryside
{{Parks and Woodlands in Sheffield Parks in Sheffield 1887 establishments in England Porter Brook