Birley Explained

53.345°N -1.394°W

Official Name:Birley
Static Image Name:sheffield-wards-Birley.png
Static Image Caption:Location in Sheffield
Metropolitan Borough:City of Sheffield
Metropolitan County:South Yorkshire
Region:Yorkshire and the Humber
Country:England
Constituency Westminster:Sheffield South East
Councillors:Matt Dwyer (Labour Party)
Karen McGowan (Labour Party)
Denise Fox (Independent)
Population:16,943
Population Ref:(2011 census)
Hide Services:yes

Birley ward — which includes the area of Frecheville, and parts of Gleadless and Hackenthorpe — is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southeastern part of the city and covers an area of 5.1km2. The population of this ward in 2011 was 16,943 people in 7,393 households.[1] It is one of the five wards that make up the Sheffield South East constituency.

Frecheville

See main article: Frecheville.

Origins

Frecheville is a housing estate to the north of Birley Estate developed in the 1930s by Henry Boot Limited.[2] The firm constructed around 1,600 private houses, mainly traditional brick built 2 or 3 bedroom semi-detached family homes for rent and gave the Frecheville estate its name. A local pub's signboard shows the coat of arms of the Frecheville family, who were lords of the manor at Staveley but there is no evidence that the Frechevilles ever owned land on Birley Moor, so the name given to Frecheville remains something of a mystery.[3]

Frecheville was historically in Derbyshire, until 1967.[4]

Frecheville is home to the well-known Frecheville Pond, with ducks, swans, and fishing, and also houses the parish church, library, and community centre provided for the neighbourhood by the builder which still has an active forum, [5] and has run the Frecheville carnival every year between 1937 and 2006 with the exception of during the war years.[6] The majority of homes on the estate are now owner-occupied after being handed over to residents in the 1950s.[7]

Birley

Birley Estate is a housing estate in the southeastern part of Sheffield. It is built on what was Birley Moor just to the north of the small hamlet of Birley. Birley Spa to the northeast was a hotel and spa built in 1842 around a spring of mineral water. The building was restored in 2001/02 and is Grade II listed.

The original hamlet featured farmland and farm buildings, most of which are now used to house the Birley Wood Golf Club.

Gleadless

See main article: Gleadless.

Base Green

Base Green is a housing estate to the west of Frecheville and east of Gleadless Townend. It is built on the land that was formerly Basegreen Farm, with the remains of an old orchard still evident within the playing fields of what is now Jaunty Park.

What was Base Green Junior School, for pupils in between Frecheville Infant School and Frecheville Comprehensive School, is now housing.

Quarry Vale Road and Quarry Vale Grove sit behind what was once a quarry, along the ancient border of the Shire Brook. The hill above Quarry Vale Road and Quarry Vale Grove used to be Frecheville Comprehensive School and its extensive school fields, where Manchester United footballer George Best once filmed a series of short football programmes for BBC TV.

Charnock

Charnock (sometimes called Charnock Hall) is a housing estate to the south of Basegreen. The estate was built on the former Charnockhall Farm which stood where Farm Close is today.

Hackenthorpe

See main article: Hackenthorpe. Most of Hackenthorpe (down the hill from Birley Moor Road) is in the Beighton ward. The significant historic site here is Birley Spa.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics – Area: Birley (Ward). Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. 3 November 2016. 4 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161104044045/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13689547&c=birley&d=14&e=62&g=6355788&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1478174401904&enc=1. dead.
  2. http://www.stcyprian.force9.co.uk/HistMisc.htm St Cyprian's Church History
  3. http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4025 Wartime Frecheville
  4. Web site: Sources for the History of Frecheville. PDF . 15 January 2022. Sheffield.gov.uk. 4.
  5. http://www.southeastsheffield.co.uk/pdf/Overview%20environment_pdf.pdf South East Sheffield Community Forum
  6. http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=119627 Frecheville Carnival
  7. http://www.ageconcernsheffield.org.uk/files/Birley12-06.pdf Age Concern Factsheet