Occupiers recorded in the Census returns:
1911 - Samuel Francis Mills (tripe and general dealer) It had 6 rooms
1901 - John Dearnley (beer house keeper) It had 5 or more rooms
1891 - Sam Barker (sickle maker & beer house keeper)
1881 - George Platts (mason & sexton)
1871 - George Platts (mason & keeper of the Blue Bell)
1861 - George Platts (mason & stone cutter)
1851 - George Platts (mason)
In 1902 and 1911 this building is recorded as No. 2 High Street; not the same as the No. 2 that is in Taylor’s Buildings. Built in the 17th century, it was demolished in the 1930s or 40s, certainly before the Second World War.
The Blue Bell stood at the bottom of the High Street, where the car park now is. It is thought to have had cottages attached to it, on the left, ie Soaper Lane, side. These burnt down early in the C20th. Roger Redfern’s mother, Rachel Dearden (b.1909), remembered being let out of Miss Bedingfield’s school at the Old Grammar School to watch a fire which destroyed all the cottages to the left of the Blue Bell on the brink of Soaper Lane.
George Platts’ family were stonemasons, sextons and cemetery supervisors for generations. This George lived from 1831 to 1903 and during the 1870s and 1880s combined keeping the Blue Bell with the family trades.
The handsome stone agricultural building set back from High Street dates to the early 18th century.
Successful lead and millstone merchant John Rotherham extended the structure and clad its internal Medieval timber frame in sandstone, concealing a spectacular secret within. Wooden beams and king post timbers inside dating from 1430 suggest the presence of a high status Medieval Hall on the site, possibly Dronfield’s first manor house and oldest domestic building.
Evidence within the structure suggests the Hall may have had a Medieval dais canopy, positioned above the Lord of the Manor’s seat at the high table when entertaining guests of distinction.
The barn formed part of the Hall Farm complex of buildings owned by the Rotherham-Cecil estate, with cottages and workshops standing in front. Dividing walls and stalls were added internally to house livestock and agricultural material. A breeze block wall and concrete floor were constructed later by Jowett’s, who used the building for storage of building supplies.
Occupiers recorded in the Census returns:
1911 - Daniel James Scott (farmer) It had 9 rooms
1901 - Louisa Creswick (farmer)
1891 - Joseph Creswick (farmer)
Standing at the top corner of the High Street, next to the Manor House, this house was built in the 1880s. Joseph Creswick died there on 8 June 1893. The 1895 directory lists George Creswick, farmer, there. Daniel James Scott was listed in the 1912 directory; he died in 1937 when he lived on Sheffield Road, Dronfield. The 1925 directory lists Frank Bingham, farmer. Later a Mr Woodhead occupied the property and more recently the Slinn Systems and Radius businesses occupied it. In 2016 the building was owned by Mike Slinn and occupied by EFI UK Ltd (computer software development).
Occupiers recorded in the Census returns:
1911 - Henrietta Jarvis Cecil (widow of private means) It had 21 rooms
1901 - Thomas G Lucas (ironfounder)
1891 - Henrietta Cecil
1881 - William Hewitt (colliery proprietor & farmer)
1871 - Jonathan Rhodes (colliery owner)
1861 - Olivia Dickinson (schoolmistress & pupils)
1851 - Harriet A Flockton (housekeeper)
1841 - Samuel Cecil (independent)
Formerly known as Dronfield House. Between the 1841 and 1881 Censuses part of this property was occupied by the Hydes family, as follows:
1881 George Robert Hydes (farmer of 15 acres & cattle dealer)
1871 Elizabeth Hydes (farmer)
1861 Elizabeth Hydes (widow farming 90 acres), George Robert Hydes (farmer) and Samuel Torr Hydes (farmer)
1851 John Hydes (farmer)
Recorded in 1710 as The Manor House. In 1749 it was purchased by John Rotherham. It was gifted to Joseph Cecil, great grandfather of Rotheram Cecil. In 1871 Jonathan Rhodes, who was related to the Lucas family, moved out of the Manor House and went to Sheffield. In 1879 the death is noted of John Linley Hewitt, aged 71, the Manor House, Dronfield, leaving a £6000 estate. Joseph Jenkinson noted in his diary that the house was vacant and the gardens neglected.
The 1888 directory lists Thomas Lucas there. In 1894 Rotheram Cecil lived there. The 1899, 1895, 1912 and 1925 directories record Mrs Henrietta Cecil as being there. In 1901 Major Thomas Lucas is noted there, having previously lived at the Hall and later moved to Bowshaw House and then to Rose Hill.
In July 1829 the following report appeared in the Sheffield Independent: We understand that a writ of habeas corpus has been granted by Mr Justice Bayley to James Hardy and Henry Hardy of Sheffield, surgeons, commanding them to bring the body of the wife of the latter before the Court, in order that she might be restored to her friends. Our readers will recollect that a few weeks ago, we announced the marriage of Henry Hardy with Miss Clara Cecilia Cecil, of Dronfield, at Gretna Green. The writ has been issued at the instance of the young lady’s mother, and Hardy and his wife are gone to London in obedience to its mandate. Before it could be granted, it would be necessary for some person to make oath that the young lady is a minor, and that the marriage is void. We cannot anticipate in what manner the Learned Judge will deal with the case.
In 1939 Mrs Henrietta Jarvis Cecil, widow of Rotheram Cecil, moved out of the Manor House to Rossington House, which was previously named West Villa, having been built and lived in by the Poplar family in 1913.
The Derby Mercury of 14 December 1831 recorded that Mr Samuel Cecil was about to take up his residence at Dronfield Hall (ie, Manor House) and would follow his profession as an artist, portraitist and lithographer. He was noted for his engravings.
Before World War II the house was purchased by Dr Fletcher and given to the town. It became the library and offices, being totally given over to the library in the 1970s. In the 1950s the caretaker was a Mr May. The gates and high wall which surrounded the Manor House were removed c.1954 and Manor Bungalows were built on the rear garden.
Roger Redfern gives the following description of the Manor House:
“A well-proportioned stone house of 7 bays on its main east front. Stone steps lead up to a front door in the single projecting central bay. The arched doorway has Tuscan pilasters. Former set of well proportioned stone chimney stacks atop the hipped slate roof were removed late 20thC. Windows in the roof that illuminated the attic storey were also removed in the late 20thC. The old walled garden below the south front of the house was replaced by Manor Bungalows. A fine gateway on the west side gave access to the rear of the house, coach house and stables to the west.”
Dronfield Conservation Area Character Statement records: two storey house and basement, converted into the library in 1967. Coursed squared coal measures sandstone with ashlar dressings and a shallow chamfered plinth. Hipped Welsh slate roof with moulded eaves cornice and brackets. Advanced central two storey porch with semi-circular steps, doorway with semi-circular headed moulded surround, impost blocks and keyblock with flanking pilasters. Six C20th casement windows at ground floor level with seven similar to first floor level. Listed building.
Historical Information
“The Mason's Arms (formerly the King's Head) was situated near the top of Farwater Lane. The building was a gabled Elizabethan house which stood empty throughout World War II before being demolished. The site is now occupied by Dronfield Civic Centre.”
Built in 1863 as the Dronfield Methodist Free Church, this splendid edifice next to the Blue Stoops, at the entrance to the Civic Centre (which used to be the head of Farwater Lane) replaced the earlier Non-conformist chapel which stood at the top corner of High Street opposite the Manor House. It was a totally local enterprise: the land, formerly part of the Market Place, was bought from John Wildgoose and Edward Outram for £125; the bricks came from Meadowhead brickyard, the stonework was done by George and John Davison; the slate roof by Mr Gerrison (ie, Margerrison); the painting by Alexander Earl, the plastering by M and H Hogg and the pulpit was made by Mr Machin of Machin’s Yard. The whole thing cost between £400 and £500. The Church Trustees gave the building to the town in 1990 for use as a Community Centre. It has been very busy doing that ever since.
Standing on the site of the old market cross and stocks, the Peel Monument was built in 1854 to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws by Sir Robert Peel in 1846. It contained Dronfield’s first public water pump. It was also a popular gathering place for passing the time of day (there being little traffic back then). Old photographs show it adorned with gas lamps which were still there in the 1950s.
The Corn Laws were imposed between 1815 and 1846 to place restrictions and tariffs on imported grain in order to keep the price high and thus protect domestic producers (ie the landowners). This was extremely unpopular, especially during times of bad harvests, and Sir Robert Peel was persuaded to repeal the law, thus reducing the price of bread for the poor.
During the 1970's it was badly damaged when a large lorry hit it and it had to be rebuilt. The monument has become the town’s “trade mark”.
Occupiers recorded in the Census returns:
1911 - Empty
1901 - Joseph Ashforth (nut, bolt & screw manufacturer)
1891 - Joseph Ashforth (nut, bolt & screw manufacturer)
1881 - William H Rangeley (colliery proprietor)
1871 - No entry
1861 - Richard Wright (proprietor of coal mines)
The oldest part of the property dated from the C17th. It had an enclosed garden on the south side of the house. Some grounds still survive between Sainsbury’s car park and the road. The house was demolished in 1968. George Jowitts built their premises on the site, to be succeeded by Sainsbury’s.
Earlier occupants were – Richard Wright (tenant) in 1868 when the Cecil’s owned it, he was in trouble with the Local Health Board over bad drainage (a frequent complaint in the town). A notice in 1884 offered The Rookery for let, No 1 of 20 lots in Dronfield on offer. The lease included a garden, 3 acres of land, a coach house and stables. The rent was £32, application to Mr James Wildgoose. The lease was acquired by Joseph Ashforth in 1885, for £30 a year. He was mentioned in the papers concerning a trap accident in 1890, and in 1893 for winning a prize at Bakewell Show for his cheese! He repeated the success in another agricultural show in 1900.
In the 1912 and 1925 directories Arthur Stratton lived there, and in 1929 George Ward. A Lt. Claude Mawhood, of The Rookery, Dronfield, died in the First World War, on 14 September 1916. His family lived at The Rookery at that time, his wife being Myra Gladys Stratton. Born in 1885, Claude had a distinguished war record in Egypt, Russia and finally the Western Front. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
On the Rotherham Cecil estates map the tenant is noted as Mr J Ensor. The last occupants were Mr and Mrs Jim Savage, who moved to Cornwall in the 1960s, sometime between 1964, when J B Savage was still in the phone book, and the house’s demolition in 1968.
Kelly’s Directory of 1881 states “ the Town Hall is a substantial stone building, built in 1863, in which are held the petty sessions, local board meetings, etc. The Mechanics Institute occupies the lower room as a reading room and library”. The Town Hall was enlarged in 1877 at a cost of £1,700. The directory for 1912 states that the building was erected by the Trustees of Taylor’s Charity in 1863 for the holding of Petty Sessions, Council Meetings etc.
The Mechanics Institute was established in 1850 and is noted in directories for 1868 and 1872. It included a library and reading room, also with newspapers available, as was customary for these institutes, which were intended as a self-help self-improvement resource for working men, aimed not only at their education but to keep them out of the pubs. In 1857 the directory notes that Samuel Lucas was the secretary and John Rowe the librarian.
In contrast to the Mechanics Institute, a very popular activity which took place in the Town Hall was the annual Widows’ Tea. These events were first established in honour of the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII)’s wedding and provided “an excellent tea to which the poor widows of the parish are invited.” Expenses were met by subscription, and dancing and entertainment were included, for upwards of 200 attendees. Apparently a good time was had by all.
At one time a branch of Williams Deacons bank operated in the Town Hall.
In 1925 the caretaker was Mrs Elizabeth Fletcher and the Comrades Club met there, Frank Gratton being the secretary.
In 2015 No 10a was the JD lounge bar, occupying the upstairs premises that had been the Town Hall.
Dronfield Conservation Area Character Statement records: three storey stone terrace c.1877. Coursed squared coal measures sandstone with ashlar dressings and string course at second floor level. Welsh slate roof with red brick ridge stacks. Moulded doorway surround with cornice. Modern shopfronts to ground floor with gated entrance arch leading to rear. Vertical sliding sash windows to first and second floor levels.