Woodseats is a district 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 ...

in the

Graves Park Graves Park is a large parkland area in the South of Sheffield, between the districts of Norton, Woodseats Woodseats is a district of Sheffield, South Yorkshire in the Graves Park ward. Historically, Norton Woodseats () was a village that ...

ward. Historically, Norton Woodseats () was a village that straddled Derbyshire Lane running from Four Lane Ends to Bolehill (now part of Graves Park), originally in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

but since 1901, part of the City of Sheffield. The name ''Woodseats'' comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''Wodesettes'', which means a 'fold in a wood'. Nether Woodseats itself was little more than a cluster of cottages around a road called 'The Dale' close to the intersection of Woodseats Road and Chesterfield Road (A61) and Upper Woodseats, near the Abbey Lane and Chesterfield Road junction. The first annual Woodseats Festival took place in July 2006.

Schools

There are two schools in the Woodseats area:
Abbey Lane Primary School
' and
Woodseats Primary School
'.

Public houses

Current public houses

There are a number of public houses situated on Chesterfield Road: *''Guzzle MicroPub'', Chesterfield Road serves delicious, fresh, locally brewed cask and keg ales. *''Sport Shack'', Chesterfield Road, was formerly a Greggs bakery and a charity shop. The building has had a dramatic transformation to become Woodseats first sports bar. The brand owned by Daniel Grayson and James Dobson operate 2 other venues in Sheffield, located in

Hillsborough, Sheffield Hillsborough () is a suburb in north-west Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The centre of the district is popularly thought to be 'Hillsborough Corner' where Langsett Road, Middlewood Road, Holme Lane and Bradfield Road all meet. The Hillsb ...

and

Ecclesall Road Ecclesall Road is a road in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, that runs for about south-west from Sheffield's city centre under the number A625. At Banner Cross, where the house numbers reach 1001, the road name changes to Ecclesall Road ...

. *''The Woodseats Palace'', Chesterfield Road, was formerly a

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

, opened in 1911. The building later housed various supermarkets (Fine Fare, Kwik Save, Alldays) and is now a

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It op ...

Free House. *''The Chantrey Arms'', Chesterfield Road, named after sculptor Sir

Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

who was born nearby in

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada *Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

. *''The Big Tree'', Chesterfield Road, was once called Masons Arms but was renamed in 1936 after the large tree which grew in front of the building. Ironically, by the time the name had been changed the tree in question had been pulled down, reputedly by an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

from a touring

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

that had been tethered to it. A new tree was planted in its place that lasted until the 1980s when it blew down after becoming diseased after which it too was replaced. The pub's past links are shown by masonic symbols inlaid into the floor but these are now covered by carpets. The pub was known as Brewburgers for a short period in the 1980s. *''The Abbey'', Chesterfield Road, features a trapezoidal bowling green and is one of the last pubs in Sheffield to retain its bowling facilities.

Former public houses

*''The Woodseats Hotel'', Chesterfield Road, made the National news when

Firkin Brewery The Firkin Brewery was a chain of pubs in the United Kingdom. The original UK chain is now defunct, but a number of pubs operate under the Firkin name in other countries. The chain took its name from the firkin, an old English unit of volume. ...

changed its name to the ''Floozey and Firkin''. The Woodseats Hotel closed in 2010 and was converted into a restaurant, operating as the Viraaj.

Public transport

Cinemas

Woodseats once boasted two cinemas but neither of these are still in existence. The Woodseats Palace
Situated on Chesterfield Road the Woodseats Palace opened in 1911 and closed some time in the late 1950s. The building subsequently became a supermarket under various names until it was eventually bought by the

chain and is now The Woodseats Palace public house. The Chantrey Picture House
Situated on Chesterfield Road this building was subsequently used as offices for a number of years by the construction company Gleesons.

Churches

Churches in Woodseats include: ''St Chad's Parish Church'', ''Woodseats Evangelical Church'', ''Woodseats Baptist Church'' and ''Woodseats Methodist Church'

Our Lady of Beauchief and St Thomas of Canterbury

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church situated at the boundary of Woodseats and

Meadowhead Beauchief and Greenhill ward—which includes the districts of Batemoor, Beauchief, Chancet Wood, Greenhill, Jordanthorpe, Lowedges and Meadow Head—is one of the 28 electoral wards in the City of Sheffield, England. It is in the southern p ...

. Our Lady of St Thomas was founded at the request of local Catholics who had been meeting at the Big Tree public house due to the lack of a suitable church in the area. The first building was erected in 1910 and remained as a temporary structure until the existing building was erected and opened in 1932.

St Chad's Church

The first stone of the building was laid on 3 August 1911. The nave and aisles were built first and the church was consecrated on 25 July 1912, costing £5,100. The chancel, vestries and organ were added in 1933 and cost £4,460. The original design of the building was modelled on 14th century English designs and is the only Anglican church designed by the Catholic architects Hadfield & Hadfield. The church was built using local rubble for the walls, Bath stone for the window tracery and nave arcade, and Westmorland slates for the roof. The Vicarage was built in 1914 for £1,800 and is one of the last large vicarages to be built. Today St Chad's Churc

situated on Linden Avenue, is a lively church which seeks to serve the community. It has regular Sunday services at 9am and 11.00am as well as youth activities, small groups and a thriving Third Age Ministry reaching out to older people in the community.

Other notable buildings

Other places of note include: ''The Double Six Youth Club'' and ''Woodseats Scout Unit''.

The Roddick Building

Woodseats Medical Centre, Woodseats Library, Lloyds Pharmacy

Opening in 2017, The Roddick Building is built on the site of the old Woodseats Library. Built as a community hub by the owners of the Medical Centre, it houses both the Public Library on the ground floor, the Medical Centre on the second floor and offices related to the Medical Centre on the third floor. There is also a Lloyds Pharmacy attached next to the main entrance. The building is step free access, with the Library being on the bottom floor, and with two lifts serving the Medical Centre, there are two Disabled Parking bays but the rest of the parking is for Staff only.

Woodseats Police Station

A station which used to have an incident desk, Woodseats Police Station lost this amenity in the mid-2000s. The station is a staffed station, but has no public access. It is the base for the Sheffield South West Policing Team.

Sport

Woodseats is currently represented by two footballing teams; Woodseats FC and Woodseats B FC. Both currently compete in the Sheffield & District Fair Play League.

Parks

is situated around the area. Trees rise up on the hillside and the park is home to two playgrounds, tennis courts, golf course, animal farm, waterfall wood, and a large waterfall.

In popular culture

In the 1977 film ''

The Price of Coal ''The Price of Coal'' is a two-part television drama written by Barry Hines and directed by Ken Loach first broadcast as part of the ''Play for Today'' series in 1977. Set at the fictional Milton Colliery, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, the ep ...

'', a reference is made to a militant colliery at Woodseats where the officials are Communists and would not endorse a visit by royalty. In fact, there was no colliery at Woodseats at the time.

References

External links

The Woodseats FestivalWoodseats Methodist Church websiteSt Chad's Church websiteHistory of St Chad's ChurchOur Lady and St ThomasWoodseats Scout UnitWoodseats FC
{{Authority control Suburbs of Sheffield