Whirlow Brook Park is a landscaped garden of 39 acres in

Whirlow Whirlow is a suburb of the City of Sheffield in England, it lies south-west of the city centre. The suburb falls within the Dore and Totley ward of the City. It is one of the most affluent areas of Sheffield, with much high class housing and ...

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 ...

, which are open to the public, containing Whirlow Brook Hall. It stretches from

Ecclesall Ecclesall Ward—which includes the neighbourhoods of Banner Cross, Bents Green, Carterknowle, Ecclesall, Greystones, Millhouses, and Ringinglow—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southwester ...

Road and joins on to Limb Brook Valley heading towards the Peak District, with an entrance to

Whinfell Quarry Garden Whinfell Quarry Garden is an early 20th century ornamental garden in Whirlow, Sheffield, built in an old quarry, containing rare trees and including a limestone rock garden designed by the horticulturist and plant collector Clarence Elliott. It i ...

History

Whirlow Brook Hall was built in 1906 by Percy Fawcett, a director of

Thomas Firth & Sons Firth Brown Steels was initially formed in 1902, when Sheffield steelmakers John Brown & Company exchanged shares and came to a working agreement with neighbouring company Thomas Firth & Sons. In 1908 the two companies came together and establish ...

, with an elevated terrace giving fine views over Ecclesall Woods to Abbeydale. A stone in the rockery inscribed 1867-1897 names their six children. 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 The United Steel Companies was a steelmaking, engineering, coal mining and coal by-product group based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. History The company was registered in 1918 and the following year saw a joining together of ste ...

. They were keen gardeners and working with the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

along with six staff developed the grounds to include a Japanese rock garden, rose garden, rockery, shrubberies, two ponds and a lake. Lady Jones died in 1938 and was buried in the grounds. 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. The grounds were opened to the public in 1951 as Whirlow Brook Park. The house is now a venue for weddings, conferences and events. File:Whirlowbrook Hall.jpg, Whirlow Brook Hall File:Whirlow_Brook_Park,_pond.jpg, Whirlow Brook Park File:Whirlow Brook Park, shelter.jpg, The Shelter File:Whirlow Brook park, cafe.jpg, The Shelter Cafe A Friends of Whirlow Brook Park was set up in 2021 to help fund the restoration of the gardens and a new shelter erected in the Commemorative Garden. In the summer concerts are held in the park. A Tree Trail was opened in 2023. The Shelter café and toilets opened in summer 2023.

References

External links

Friends of Whirlow Brook Park

Friends of Whirlow Brook Park (facebook)
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