High Hazels Park is a 20-hectare parkland area in

Darnall Darnall is a suburb of eastern Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Darnall is approximately east-north-east of Sheffield city centre. History Darnall was initially a small hamlet usually included with Attercliffe. William Walker, a resident ...

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 ...

. Since the 19th century, Darnall has been a centre of the coal and steel industry in Sheffield. High Hazels House, located in the park, was built in 1850 by

William Jeffcock William Jeffcock, JP (1800 – 1871) a coal-master of Jeffcock, Dunn & Co., later known as the Sheffield Coal Company, Ltd.Family Recollections, by William Philip Jeffcock, published 1941 became the first Mayor of Sheffield in 1843. Biograp ...

(the first

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Sheffield). In 1894,

Sheffield City Council Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under No Overall Contr ...

(the Corporation of Sheffield) bought the land and house from the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

and Messers Jeffcock for £10,875. In 1895, the land was first used as a public recreation ground and was classed as one of the finest parks within the city of Sheffield. The park used to be home to a boating lake, which has since been filled in.

High Hazels House

High Hazels House was commissioned by

, and was ''built regardless of cost''. The building included a number of outbuildings and stabling for twelve horses. The arches that lead to the main entrance were built of the same stone as the Houses of Parliament. Following the death of Jeffcock Jr. in 1863, the house was rented out and at one point used as a boys

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

to avoid the house falling into ruin. Following the purchase of the estate by the city council in 1894 the gardens were landscaped, possibly by

Robert Marnock Robert Marnock (1800–1889) was one of the outstanding English horticulturalists and garden designers of the 19th century. He was considered by his contemporaries to be the best exponent of the Gardenesque school of landscape gardening. Life Bef ...

, to become a public park. In 1901, High Hazels House became a museum which housed a collection with many rare pieces relating to Sheffield history and which, in its heyday attracted over 60,000 visitors a year. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the house was used as a base for the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

with many local residents being recruited. The museum closed shortly after the war, and became the clubhouse for Tinsley Park golf course.

The Formal Garden

The

Formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a forma ...

was officially opened on 16 March 2005 by Councillor

Gill Furniss Gillian Furniss (born 14 March 1957) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Shadow Minister for Roads since 2022. Early lif ...

and

John Jeffcock John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, the 4th great grandson of

who built High Hazels House. The design for the Formal Garden was developed by the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

following community consultation. Work on the garden included opening up the woodland area, new planting and restoration of seating. Local artist

Hilary Cartmel Hilary Cartmel (born 1958) is an English sculptor. She has created many public sculptures by commission, which stand in locations in Britain. Life Cartmel, born in Wendover in Buckinghamshire, studied at Exeter College of Art and Design from 1976 ...

designed the entrance to the garden which includes ''welcome'' in various languages.

The Sensory Garden

High Hazels Park - Sensory Garden 13-05-06

sensory garden A sensory garden is a self-contained garden area that allows visitors to enjoy a wide variety of sensory experiences. Sensory gardens are designed to provide opportunities to stimulate the senses, both individually and in combination, in ways that ...

designed to stimulate the five senses has been planted near the house. The garden was once a rose garden, but was transformed to a sensory garden before opening on 6 June 2004.

References

External links

History of High Hazels HouseSheffield's Park, Woodlands & Countryside
{{Coord, 53.385504, N, 1.398418, W, scale:5000_region:GB, display=title Parks in Sheffield 1850 establishments in England