Ecclesall

Evidence of early occupation of the area can be found in Ecclesall Woods. A cup and ring-marked stone was discovered in 1981, and has been dated to the late Neolithic or Bronze Age periods. It, and the area a 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) diameter around it, is a scheduled ancient monument.^[3][4]

Ecclesall electoral ward was created 1934 when the old Ecclesall Bierlow ward was divided into Ecclesall, Broomhill and Hallam.

The boundaries of the ward include about half of the area that was historically known as Ecclesall Bierlow—one of the six 'townships' that made up the old Parish of Sheffield. Ecclesall Bierlow encompassed most of the land between the River Sheaf and the Porter Brook from The Moor to Ringinglow. It also included the areas of Broomhall and Crookesmoor to the north of Porter Brook. Though this area contained numerous small villages and hamlets, there was never a village called Ecclesall. The parish of Ecclesall was formed on 1 April 1904 from "Ecclesall Bierlow",^[5] on 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Sheffield.^[6] In 1931 the parish had a population of 203,892.^[7] It is now in the unparished area of Sheffield.

In ancient times this area was part of the Barnsdale Forest that, together with Sherwood Forest, made up the forest of the Robin Hood legends. The River Sheaf was thought for a time to be a "boundary" between the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia to the south. There is no historical proof of such a boundary as Northumbria stretched deep within Lindsey and modern Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire at different stages between the 6th and 11th century. What is thought to be the earliest historical record of this area refers to the submission of the local Northumbrian army to Egbert of Wessex and his invasion force at nearby Dore in 829.

 

The name Ecclesall (either from Heeksel-Hallr meaning the witches' hill,^[8] or Eccles (church) halh (hollow))^[9] is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086—at that time Ecclesall was a part of the manor of Hallam. The name Ecclesall/Eccleshall is thought to be of Anglo-Scandinavian origin. The name is first found about 150 years later in the name of Sir Ralphus De Ecclesall a Norman feudal overlord who had took over lands in the area from native Northumbrian landlords after the Norman invasion. The De Ecclesall family gave land to Norman and French monks who had come to Britain after the invasion. At Beauchief they established a corn mill on the river Sheaf, which was part of Beauchief Abbey. Many of the buildings of Ecclesall corn mill can still be seen at the northern end of Millhouses park—the district of Millhouses taking its name from this mill. In payment for the mill the monks of Beauchief were to provide a canon to say prayers daily at the Ecclesall chapel. These services continued at the chapel until the Dissolution of the Monasteries when Beauchief Abbey was abandoned. The chapel was restored in 1622 but was demolished when the present church was built nearby in 1788.

Until the 19th century Ecclesall Bierlow was very sparsely populated—in 1801 there were just 5362 people. This changed with the coming of the industrial revolution and the subsequent expansion of nearby Sheffield and by 1831 the population had increased to 14,239. In 1837 the Ecclesall Bierlow Poor Law Union came into being. As well as Ecclesall Bierlow, this encompassed Nether Hallam, Upper Hallam, Beauchief, Dore, Norton, and Totley. A workhouse was built at Nether Edge, in 1929 the Ecclesall Bierlow Union 'Workhouse' was renamed Nether Edge Hospital and it remained in use as a hospital into the 1990s. Part of the Union became Nether Edge Grammar and later Brincliffe Grammar School.

Historic sites within the ward include Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and Shepherd Wheel (both now museums). Ecclesall Wood has many examples of white coal kilns and the grave of a wood collier who was killed here when his cabin burned down on 11 October 1786.

Banner Cross is a district of Sheffield centred on the intersection of Ecclesall Road and Psalter Lane. This district is split evenly between Nether Edge/Sharrow and Ecclesall Wards. Banner Cross Hall, an ancient esquire seat, was virtually rebuilt in 1820. The main place of worship is Banner Cross Methodist Church. The nearby Banner Cross pub gained infamy when the notorious criminal Charles Peace shot and killed Arthur Dyson in the passageway beside the pub on 29 November 1876. The base of an old stone cross still remained at Banner Cross in 1819.^[10] Addy (1888)^[11] suggested that the name derives from bæna kross, meaning the cross of prayers.

Carter Knowle or Carterknowle (grid reference SK335843) lies south of Brincliffe Edge, between Ecclesall Road and Abbeydale. A residential area, which includes what was originally known as Knab Farm Estate. Housing was built on former farmland there, in the valley between Brincliffe Edge and the upper part of Carter Knowle Road during the late 1950s / early 1960s by local building firm Gleesons. The area was home to Sheffield College's Bannerdale campus, but after its closure and demolition, a new educational academy, the Mercia School was opened on the site adjacent to Carter Knowle Road in September 2018.^[12]

The district of Ecclesall (grid reference SK323844) is centred roughly on Ecclesall parish church at the intersection of Carter Knowle Road and Ecclesall Road. The present church, dedicated to All Saints, was built in 1788, consecrated in 1789 and has been altered several times since. Banner Cross Hall, also in the area, was built in 1820.

Greystones (grid reference SK322851) lies to the north of the district of Ecclesall. It is on a headland overlooking the Porter valley to the north and west.

Millhouses (grid reference SK330833) lies to the south of the district of Ecclesall. Its origins lie in a small hamlet that grew around the Ecclesall Corn Mill.

Bents Green (grid reference SK316843) lies to the west of the district of Ecclesall

Ringinglow (grid reference SK290837) is a village on the western border of Ecclesall Ward. Although it is within the boundary of the City of Sheffield, it is self-contained, entirely surrounded by open countryside. It is focussed on the intersections of Fulwood Lane and Houndkirk Road with Ringinglow Road.

Ecclesall Road is the main road (A625) from central Sheffield to the south-west, at first following the Porter Brook, then running through Ecclesall and Dore. The road is a major shopping area. Attractions including the Sheffield Botanical Gardens and the Sheffield General Cemetery lie alongside it, as does one of the campuses of Sheffield Hallam University. Abbeydale Road South (A621) is another major road that runs through the ward. The Midland Main Line railway line runs along the southern boundary of the ward, though the closest stations are outside of the ward at Sheffield and Dore & Totley. The former Millhouses & Ecclesall station was closed on 10 June 1968. The Sheffield Supertram currently has no routes through Ecclesall ward, but a planned extension to Dore would skirt the southern boundary.

About half of Ecclesall ward is made up of rural areas, parkland, or woodland. These areas include a large portion of the 350-acre (140 ha) Ecclesall Woods, an area of ancient woodland that is known locally for being a bluebell wood. In the north section of the ward is Bingham Park, Whiteley Woods and part of the Porter valley; Millhouses Park marks the ward's southern boundary. The ward also includes some of Whirlow Brook Park and the Limb Valley. The Sheffield Round Walk skirts the ward, running through a number of these parks.

There are two secondary schools within Ecclesall ward, High Storrs School and Silverdale School. The ward also includes Ecclesall Primary School (formerly Ecclesall Infants) and Clifford All Saints C Of E Primary School (formerly Ecclesall Junior School), Dobcroft Junior School, Greystones Primary School, Mylnhurst Convent School, and St Wilfrid's Primary School.

• Sources for the history of Ecclesall Produced by Sheffield City Council's Libraries and Archives