The Towers is a small English country house situated in

Sheffield Sheffield is a 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 historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

, England. The house stands on Sandygate Road close to the junction with Coldwell Lane in the suburb of

Crosspool Crosspool is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, located west of the city centre. The suburb falls within the Crookes ward of the City of Sheffield. It is a middle class residential area''"Approach To Urban Sociology" ...

. It is 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 ...

as is the lodge and attached gateway and the concave garden wall. It has been described as ''“an extraordinary Scottish baronial fantasy”''.''"Pevsner Architectural Guides - Sheffield"'', Ruth Harman & John Minnis, Yale University Press, , Pages 272, Gives this quote and some history.

History

The Towers which is constructed in the Scottish Baronial style was built by the architects Flockton & Gibbs in 1896, the house was built on the north side of what had been a public pleasure ground in the early 19th century, set up by George Woollen, owner of the Rivelin Corn Mill. The Towers was built for Christopher D. Leng (1861-1921), the son of W. C. Leng, editor of the

Sheffield Daily Telegraph The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England. Founded in 1855 as the ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'', it became known as the ''Sheffield Telegraph'' in 1938. History The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' was founded i ...

from 1864 until his death in 1902. Christopher D. Leng succeeded his father as joint owner of the newspaper. Leng was also an

agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...

and had the house built in what was then a rural situation with a small dairy farm attached and set up his company The Sheffield Model Dairy Ltd. which applied modern (Canadian) dairy farming methods to produce its own dairy products for retail. The house was extended to the west in 1905 and a low curtain wall was constructed with eight small towers built at the angles. Christopher Leng became something of a local character, he was a keen

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er and was influential in founding the nearby Hallamshire Golf Club which he opened in 1897. Hallamshire Golf Club
About the club. He also became involved in the campaign to save Endcliffe Hall in 1913, in 1920 he became engaged in setting out the housing on Den Bank Avenue. He died suddenly on New Years Day 1921, aged 59. After Leng’s death the house was used for various purposes, 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 opposing ...

The Towers provided a temporary headquarters for the Sheffield tool firm Spear & Jackson when their offices were bombed. In 1954

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 Con ...

opened the house as a centre for handicapped children. In 1996 the house was purchased and restored and is now back in use as a private residence.''"Sheffield‘s Remarkable Houses"'', Roger Redfern, The Cottage Press, , Page 19 Gives historical details of house.

Architecture

The house is constructed from coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, it has a plain tile roof and all windows are

sash A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...

design. The houses most striking features are at the east corner with the tall

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

ed main tower and its attached even taller circular stair turret with conical roof. The tower has five storeys and features two storey oriel and

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...

s. The south facing frontage is two storey with two further smaller conical turrets, it faces onto a large lawn. There is extensive use of

Crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

s which along with the turrets are integral elements of the Scottish Baronial style. The interior has kept much of its original embellishments, including a panelled entrance hall. Most of the original doors, doorcases, skirting, coving and fireplaces survive. The lodge is constructed in the same style as the main house with an attached round tower with conical roof. The attached gateway has ashlars piers and wooden gates. Gives architectural details of main house. Gives architectural details of lodge.

References

{{SheffieldStructures Houses in Sheffield History of Sheffield Infrastructure completed in 1896 Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield Country houses in South Yorkshire Scottish baronial architecture