Worrall is a small rural village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Bradfield,

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, north west of

Sheffield city centre Sheffield City Centre (referred to locally as simply Town) is a district of the Sheffield, City of Sheffield and is covered partly by the City ward, Sheffield, City ward of the City of Sheffield. It includes the area that is within a radius of ...

. It has an area of 233 hectares, and population of 1,306 as of 2006,Sheffield Council Neighbourhood Profile for Worrall.
/ref> and borders the Sheffield suburbs of

Wadsley Wadsley is a suburb of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It stands north-west of the city centre at an approximate grid reference of . At the 2011 Census the suburb fell within the Hillsborough ward of the City. Wadsley was for ...

, Middlewood and Loxley to the south and east and the adjoining village of

Oughtibridge Oughtibridge ( ) is a residential village in the north of Sheffield within the bounds of Bradfield civil parish. The village stands north-west of the city centre in the valley of the River Don. The population of the village has increased si ...

to the north; to the west is a rural area extending towards the village of

High Bradfield High Bradfield is a rural village north-west of the centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England and within the city's boundaries. The village lies just within the Peak District National Park, inside the park's north-eastern border, is at ...

History

The origins of Worrall go back to Viking times as the names of Towngate Road and Lund Road indicate. Also it is sited away from existing Anglo-Saxon villages such as Wadsley and this was quite common for many Viking settlements. There is no evidence of Anglo-Saxon activity in Worrall. It had its roots in farming and was mentioned in records as part of a manor which also included the areas of

Ughill Ughill is a small, rural hamlet within the City of Sheffield in Bradfield Parish in England. It is 5 mi (8 km) west-northwest of the city centre. It stands in a lofty position at 918 ft (280 m) above sea level, on a ridge between Bradfield Dal ...

and

. The manor was held by the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

chief Aldene and included 14 bovates of land and an open woodland, a mile square. The villages name derives from the Saxon word ''Hrivfull'' meaning "top" and this would certainly apply to Worrall's lofty position above the

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

and Loxley valleys. After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

Worrall was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as being part of the land held by

Roger de Busli Roger de Busli (c. 1038 – c. 1099) was a Norman baron who participated in the conquest of England in 1066. Life Roger de Busli was born in or around 1038. His surname comes from the town now known as Bully (near Neufchâtel-en-Bray, mentioned ...

. Throughout its history Worrall was closely connected with the nearby village of Wadsley which lies two km to the SW. A certain Geoffrey ("of Worrell") de la Pole, c,1430-1474, is believed to have been associated with Worrall. In 1541 Henry Everingham was named as lord of the manor of both villages in a charter which granted relief from paying certain duties as long as tenants paid their annual rent. The manor of Worrall was transferred to the ownership of Robert Swyft in 1557 and then to Sir Francis Leake before passing into the estates of the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

. In the 18th century the Stead family estate owned properties in Worrall; at his death Thomas Stead (1728–93) owned 16 properties and in various parts of

Hallamshire Hallamshire (or Hallam) is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, approximating to the current City of Sheffield local government area. The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Halla ...

and Sheffield. Throughout this period Worrall was predominantly a farming community. Worrall developed some small-scale industry at the onset of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when some small

Little Mester A little mester is a self-employed worker who rents space in a factory or works from their own workshop. They were involved in making cutlery or other smallish items such as edge tools (i.e. woodworking chisels). The term is used almost exclusivel ...

workshops were set up to make cutlery and knives. Nearby Wadsley had a reputation for making

pocket knives A pocketknife is a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle. They are also known as jackknives (jack-knife), folding knives, or may be referred to as a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A typ ...

and Worrall found it easier to trade with Wadsley than with the more distant Sheffield.

Ganister A ganister (or sometimes gannister ) is hard, fine-grained quartzose sandstone, or orthoquartzite,Jackson, J. A., 1997, ''Glossary of geology'', 4th ed. American Geological Institute, Alexandria. used in the manufacture of silica brick typically ...

mining and quarrying were other industries that grew in the area. Quarrying developed from the middle of the 17th century when there was an expansion of farming in the area and farmhouses and cottages needed to be built for the workers. The biggest quarry in the area was the Middlewood quarry off Mowson Lane which was owned by George Turner. Local historian Joe Castle has suggested that stone from this quarry was used to build the

Wicker Arches Wicker Arches form a long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare Wicker, which passes through the main arch of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheff ...

in Sheffield. The quarry closed at the start of

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 ...

and is now a new housing development. There were three ganister mines in the immediate Worrall area. The Yews Mine and the Langhouse Mine were owned by Charles Bramall, while the Stubbin Mine was owned by the

Silica Firebrick Company and was the last to close in November 1927. The Bramall Company owned 2 silica brickworks in the area - Birtin Works and Caledonia Works, both had closed by 1927.

Present day

Today Worrall is mostly a residential village with a mixture of new and older housing. Most of its working residents commute to their jobs in Sheffield and other areas. There is a higher proportion of older people in the village compared to the rest of Sheffield with 32% of the population aged between 45 and 64. 87% of the houses in Worrall are owner occupied, a high figure compared to the 60% average for Sheffield as a whole.NHS Worrall Neighbourhood Profile.
/ref> There are still several farms on the periphery of the village but farming is much reduced from the 19 farms that existed in the immediate area in the 1930s. Some such as Lund Farm, Grange Farm and The Yews Farm have been sold for housing development in recent years. The last farm to operate in the centre of Worrall was the Wiggan dairy farm on Towngate Road. Sycamore Park is a public recreation area off Briarfields Lane in the village; it is 1.4 hectares (3.46 acres) in area and has a playground, mini football pitch, cycle track and picnic benches.
Gives details of Sycamore Park.

Significant buildings

There are two

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s in the village. The Blue Ball is believed to have been originally two cottages which were connected at some time to make bigger premises. There is no documented date of origin although first licensed in 1825 (Robert Waite 1825-1833 first Landlord). The Shoulder of Mutton was formerly farm buildings but has been a pub since at least 1817, it was modernised in the 1980s. Worrall Independent Chapel dates from 1878 and has a foundation stone inscribed "This stone was laid by John Wycliffe Wilson of Sheffield July 15th 1878". Worrall National school was founded in 1848 and eventually closed in 1966 with the pupils being transferred to Oughtibridge Primary School; the old school house is now a private residence.

Bradfield School Bradfield School is a secondary school with academy status situated on the edge of the village of Worrall, in the civil parish of Bradfield, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The school is a specialist Engineering College formerly cater ...

, a secondary school for pupils aged between 11 and 16 was built in 1957 on Kirk Edge Road as it leaves the village; there are approximately 1,000 pupils at the school. Worrall Hall situated on Kirk Edge Road is the oldest building in Worrall but it has three distinct sections all of different time periods. The west wing dates from the 16th century while the central section has a date stone of 1720; the eastern section dates from 1820. The Hall was formerly a

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 ...

but was taken off the list in 1985. It is a private house and has undergone renovation work in recent years after becoming run down. The adjoining Worrall Hall Farm has not been a working farm for many years. The Yews is a building located on Worrall Road as it enters the village from the SE. It dates from the 1880s and was formerly a hospital. It was owned by Sheffield Primary Care Trust and was used as offices for the Mental Health Team. Now it has been sold at auction and there is a renovation project to turn it into a £1million plus valued home. The Worrall Memorial Hall is a venue for local social and fundraising activities; it is situated next to Sycamore Park. Hillsborough Golf Club lies to the south of the village. The course was created in 1920 with the club house added in 1936. Worrall Male Voice Choir was formed on 7 September 1970 and is a highly respected local vocal group which is based in the village; it has a busy schedule of concerts and fund raising activities. The

Monastery of The Holy Spirit The Monastery of the Holy Spirit, officially the Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit, is a Trappist monastery located near Conyers, Georgia in the United States. As of 2022 the monastery is a community of twenty-eight monks spanning severa ...

, known locally as Kirk Edge convent stands two km to the west of the village. Built in 1871, it is a monastery of the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

order of

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

Notable residents

Stan Shaw Stan Shaw (born July 14, 1952) is an American actor. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, he is the son of Bertha Shaw and saxophonist Eddie Shaw, and cousin of the late soul singers Sam Cooke and Tyrone Davis. His brother is Vaan Shaw, a ...

, a knife maker and

little mester A little mester is a self-employed worker who rents space in a factory or works from their own workshop. They were involved in making cutlery or other smallish items such as edge tools (i.e. woodworking chisels). The term is used almost exclusivel ...

, was born here.

References

External links

* {{Districts of Sheffield Villages of the metropolitan borough of Sheffield History of Sheffield