Shepherd Wheel
| Shepherd Wheel | |
|
Yorkshire | |
|---|---|
 The Shepherd Wheel | |
| Type: | Watermill |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK31748540 |
| Location: | 53°21’52"N, 1°31’28"W |
| History | |
| Watermill | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust |
Shepherd Wheel is a working museum in a former water-powered grinding workshop on the Porter Brook in the south-west of the City of Sheffield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The mill was one of the earliest water-driven factory mills on the River Porter, though in time this type of enterprise became commonplace in the Sheffield area. Today it is one of the few remaining, and effectively complete, examples. The wheel is 18 feet in diameter; an overshot water wheel powered from a large dam stocked with water diverted from the Porter Brook. The workshops, dam, goit and weir are Grade II listed,[1] and the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
History and buildings
In 1584, William Beighton, a cutler of Stumperlowe left to his sons in his will
all my interest terms titles and possession which I have in and upon one watter whele called Potar Whele which I have of the grant of the said Lord.
This is the earliest reference to a wheel on the site. The description of this wheel matches one that a Mr Shepherd held the tenancy of in 1794. There were no similar wheels in the area, which leads us to the conclusion that the references are to the same wheel. From the 1820s, the wheel was occupied by a family called Hinde. They worked there for over a hundred years until the end of Shepherd Wheel's working life in about 1930.
In William Beighton's time, the land was originally owned by Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, who was Lord of the Manor of Sheffield. When he died, his estates passed to Thomas Howard, who became Duke of Norfolk. The land remained with the Dukes of Norfolk until 1900, when Sheffield City Council bought Whiteley Woods to make a public park. Shepherd Wheel was included in this public park.
Over many years, local historical societies campaigned for the restoration of the Shepherd Wheel and the site was opened as a museum in 1962. After closure in 1997 the site was placed under the management of Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust in 1998.
The present buildings date from c1780, when the tenant (from 1749 to 1794) was Edward Shepherd, after whom the site is named. Throughout the 19th century the wheel was held by the Hinde family, who operated it until its closure in 1930.[2]
In 1900, Sheffield City Council bought the land surrounding the wheel from the Duke of Norfolk to make a public park. After a campaign by local history societies, the wheel was restored and opened as a museum in 1962. The museum was closed in 1997 and passed to the management of the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust in 1998.[2]
Museum
Since 1998, Shepherd Wheel has been run as a museum by the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust. The museum includes a water wheel, two grinding hulls (rooms with multiple large grinding wheels, operated by the water wheel, built into the floor) and grinding wheels; there is also a collection of tools and equipment on display within the grinding hulls.
The Shepherd Wheel reopened (after a restoration project partly funded by a £500,000 Heritage Lottery grant) on 31 March 2012.
Pictures
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Shepherd Wheel) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1255068: Shepherd Wheel and attached dam, goit and weir
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'A History of Shepherd Wheel': Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust
- Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust (2012) Shepherd Wheel - A Visitor's Guide
