Dial House is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

located on Ben Lane in the Wisewood area of the City of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

in England. The house was originally a private small country house, before becoming a

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education ...

and more recently part of a development of modern

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

History

Private house

The house was constructed in 1802. It consists of two storeys with a three window range and is built from squared stone with a stone slate roof. The house had various additions and alterations to it in the 19th and 20th centuries. The front door has a square panel above with a vertical

sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

attached, this has the date 1802 and the name Coopland on it. Gives details of architecture. It is not known if Coopland were the first family to live in the house or were the makers of the sundial. There is also a verse on the sundial which reads: The

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map of 1850 shows Dial House in a rural location well outside the town of Sheffield before its industrial expansion. It stood about one kilometre to the west of the village of Wadsley in an area that included the other country houses of Dykes Hall and Wadsley Hall.National Library of Scotland
1850 6 inch OS map. The first known occupant of the hall was William Rotherham, a gentleman who lived in the house between 1841 and 1845. In 1845 the house was occupied by Sidney Roberts (1804–1859), a

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

and silver plater who lived there with his wife Sarah and their two sons John and Augustus. Sidney Roberts had been a partner in the silversmith business of Roberts, Smith & Co. of Park Grange, Sheffield between 1826 and 1836, however by the time he came to live at Dial House at the age of 41 he was listed as a retired silver plater and a gentleman of independent means. The family's elder son John Shearwood Roberts, a GP and

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

inherited the house in 1856 although it seems that he did not reside at Dial House as his mother lived there until 1868, just before her death.rootsweb.ancestry.com
Gives details of Roberts family. Subsequent occupants included Captain Henry T. Holmes (1868–1871) who was followed by William Haden, Gentleman, who was a corn miller employing 8 men at the time of the 1881 census and sometime

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

to nearby Wadsley Parish Church. He died on 12 December 1887, by which point of time he had been received as a Gentleman, according to his Probate record. He was the nephew and one of the beneficiaries of the will of John Haden of Holywell House, Swinton, Yorkshire, Gentleman.The Hadens of Holywell House
A web page about the Haden family of Holywell House In 1910 Arthur James Blanchard owner of a well known local clothing and furniture

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

on Infirmary Road moved into Dial House and lived there until 1919. Blanchard became

Lord Mayor of Sheffield The Lord Mayor of Sheffield is a ceremonial post held by a member of Sheffield City Council. They are elected annually by the council. The post originated in 1843, with the appointment of William Jeffcock as the first Mayor of Sheffield. ...

in 1923.Sheffield Council website
Lists Sheffield Lord Mayors. John Woodcock Hemmings was the final resident of Dial House as a private residence between 1919 and 1932.Picture Sheffield
Gives details of residents.''"A History Of The Manor And Parish Of Wadsley"'', H. Kirk-Smith, Short & Co. Ltd (1955), No ISBN (booklet), Gives short history of house.

Working men's club

In 1927 Dykes Hall, which stood 400 metres to the south of Dial House, was demolished and much of its land along with that of Wadsley Hall was used to construct a new housing estate known as the “Sutton Estate” built by the William Sutton Housing Trust. Dial House lost its rural tranquillity and was suddenly surrounded by the Sheffield housing suburbs of Wisewood and Wadsley. In 1932 Dial House was purchased by Charles Goodison and a group of 25 individuals and the Dial House Social Club and Institute was opened as a

. In its early days the club was also known informally as the Sundial Club.''"A Wisewood Diary"'', Joe Castle etc, Self published (1987), No ISBN (booklet), Gives some details of Working Mens Club. The club had a concert room, bowling green, billiard room, cricket pitch and a football team, in 1939 the club had 50 paying members and by 1964 it had 2,400 members including 800 ladies.The Star newspaper (accessed 17 May 2015)
Gives details of Working Mens Club. The club was very popular in the 1960s through to the 1980s and had a large financial turnover. During that time some of Sheffield's best known entertainment talents played there, including: Tony Christie, Dave Berry,

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

Marti Caine Marti Caine, born Lynne Denise Shepherd (26 January 1945 – 4 November 1995), was an English comedienne, actress, dancer, presenter, singer, and writer, who first came to national attention by winning the television talent show '' New Faces'' ...

, Bobby Knutt and

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

. The Dial House club went into decline and finally closed in 2005 due to financial difficulties.Club Historians
Gives details of Working Mens Club.

Modern developments

In 2013 Dial House and its surrounding land was purchased by the Sheffield construction company Campbell Homes Ltd and has been incorporated into a new housing development known as Dial House Court. The original house has been turned into three cottages while new building work has created 33 two bedroom apartments in total with communal gardens.
Gives details of Dial House Court.

References

{{coord, 53.4077338, N, 1.5124635, W, scale:5000_region:GB, display=title Houses in Sheffield History of Sheffield Houses completed in 1802 Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield Country houses in South Yorkshire Working men's clubs