Whitley Hall is a 16th-century mansion which since 1969 has been converted into a restaurant and then a hotel. It is situated in the northern rural district of the City of

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 ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

, England. The small hamlet of Whitley lies in the countryside between the suburbs of

Grenoside Grenoside is a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the West Ecclesfield ward of the city. History The name Grenoside is derived from the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The name Grenoside, which was first ...

, Chapeltown and

Ecclesfield Ecclesfield is a village and civil parish in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Sheffield City Centre. Ecclesfield civil parish had a population of 32,073 at the 2011 Census. Ecclesfield wards ...

some north of the city centre. The hall 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 ...

History

Present day Whitley Hall dates from the 1580s, however a dwelling was present on the site prior to this. This dwelling, known as Launder House was first recorded in a deed of 1406 when it was transferred from John Cartwright to William Robinson. Launder House was also known as Launderhouse, Lownderhouse and Loundhouse over the years, in 1487 it passed into the hands of Thomas Parker who held the property in

Copyhold Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the ma ...

from the

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Sheffield in return for ploughing and harvesting the land. The arrival of the Parkers at Launder House signalled the start of a 135-year association with the site over six generations. It was the grandson of Thomas Parker, also known as Thomas who commenced the extensive rebuilding in the mid part of the 16th century which turned Launder House into Whitley Hall. Thomas’ son William is believed to have finished the rebuilding as a carving over one of the new doors reads,''”Willm Parker : Made this Worke 1584”''. In 1622 Thomas Shiercliffe became the owner of the Whitley Hall estate which beside the Hall also included a corn mill, dovecote, smelting house, eight fields, two acres of woodland and four cottages. The Hall remained the property of the Shiercliffe family until the early part of the 19th century.

Mary, Queen of Scots connection

A local legend states that

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, spent a night at Whitley Hall in the 1580s while in captivity at

Sheffield Castle Sheffield Castle was a castle in Sheffield, England, constructed at the confluence of the River Sheaf and the River Don, possibly on the site of a former Anglo-Saxon long house, and dominating the early town. A motte and bailey castle had been ...

. This rumour was first reported by Jonathan Eastwood in his ''History of Ecclesfield'' of 1862. However, there is no documentary evidence to back up the claim.

Boys' boarding school

Around the year 1790 the Hall was leased out by the Shiercliffes to John Rider who turned it into a boys' boarding school. The school is thought to have housed approximately 45 pupils with the most famous pupil being the railway engineer Sir John Fowler who travelled from nearby

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 ...

to attend between 1826 and 1833. Fowler noted of his time at Whitley Hall later in life: ''“I was fairly quick in elementary scholarship, and in mental arithmetic was decidedly beyond the average of boys and men a gift which was of great convenience and value in after life.”'' Internet Archive.
Gives details of John Fowler at Whitley Hall School (Text of "The Life of John Fowler" by Thomas Mackay). The exact time that the Hall remained a school is not known but by 1841 it was lived in by William Charlesworth who leased it from the Bingley family who had become the owners in 1816. The Bingleys family eventually moved into the Hall and lived there until 1939 when it was taken over by the army at the start of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

with the officers and their servants being billeted in the Hall and the other ranks using the stable block and

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of Corrugated galvanised iron, corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British ...

s in the grounds.''"Whitley Hall, An Illustrated History"'', Joan & Mel Jones,

Conversion to a restaurant and hotel

The Hall was owned by Hugh Bingley up until his death in 1962, although he never lived there after the war as he owned substantial properties in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

and the Hall was let out to tenants. In 1962 the Hall was bought by John I. Fearn, the head of a local firm of

agricultural engineers Agricultural engineering, also known as agricultural and biosystems engineering, is the field of study and application of engineering science and designs principles for agriculture purposes, combining the various disciplines of mechanical, civil ...

. Mr. Fearn carried out considerable renovation and refurbishment over a period of seven years and Whitley Hall was opened as a restaurant in July 1969. Classic British Hotels.
Gives some details of present-day hotel. In the late 1970s the Hall became a hotel, initially with just three bedrooms. However, considerable extension work has been carried out over the years and the hotel now has 32 en-suite bedrooms. The extensive gardens have two small lakes. In May 1995, Whitley Hall was granted a licence carry out civil wedding services, the first location in South Yorkshire to become licensed. The Hotel also offers six conference and meeting rooms. The restaurant, which is open to non-residents, is still an important part of the business. Whitley Hall Hotel website
gives details of present-day hotel.

References

{{SheffieldStructures Houses completed in the 16th century Houses in Sheffield History of Sheffield Grade II* listed buildings in Sheffield Grade II* listed hotels Country houses in South Yorkshire Ecclesfield