Glen Howe Park is a public recreation area in the village of

Wharncliffe Side Wharncliffe Side is a village in South Yorkshire, England, northwest of Sheffield and within the city borough. Wharcliffe Side is located on the west bank of the River Don, approximately northwest of Sheffield city centre, and northwest of ...

within 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 ...

, England. The park covers an area of 19 acres in the valley of the Tinker Brook, a minor tributary of the River Don. It is home to a variety of

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, rare plants and animals only found in ancient woodlands.

History

The valley of the Tinker Brook first became colonised by trees after the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

and has remained wooded ever since. The Tinker Brook and Howe Wood were first mentioned on OS maps in 1855. Glen Howe Park was set up in the valley in 1881 through the patronage of a local businessman, Joseph Dixon, and a landowner and

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

, John Mills. Dixon was the owner of the nearby Spring Grove

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

at Oughtibridge and was known as a local benefactor who also provided funds towards the school and workers' housing at Wharncliffe Side. Mills had previously purchased the land on which the park now stands for £1,000. In 1881, he built Glen Howe Tower at the main (western) entrance to the park and lived there until 1917. He was responsible for much of the landscaping of the park, as well as the cascades and ponds in the brook. In the 1890s, charities such as the Ragged School Union, the Fresh Air Group and local police forces brought groups of poor children from Sheffield's

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

s to play in the park. In 1913, tennis courts were built in the park on the site of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

. The park was gifted to Wortley District Council by Dixon and Mills in 1917. In 1925, a packhorse bridge was dismantled and brought to the park from the Ewden valley. The bridge, which dates from 1734, was going to be inundated by the waters of the Morehall Reservoir which was under construction at the time. Dixon paid for the bridge to be dismantled and moved. It is now a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

.Images of England
/ref> In 1971, ownership of the park passed to Sheffield City Council.Information board at Glen Howe Park.

Features

The woodlands of Glen Howe Park are partly natural and partly replanted with exotic species such as

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

and

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

. The main native varieties are

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, sycamore,

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

and holly. In recent years, the woodland has been managed by the local "Fuelling A Revolution" programme which has thinned out invasive species such as sycamore,

Japanese knotweed ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...

and rhododendron. A children’s play area and car park stand just outside the main entrance while another area of grassland known as the Top Field lies in the southern part of the park. The recent restoration project has upgraded and repaired many of the paths and the dry stone boundary wall.

References

{{Parks and Woodlands in Sheffield Parks in Sheffield