1. The History
Birley Spa is located on the outskirts of South-East Sheffield, South Yorkshire. It was originally the site of a Roman bath, although there is evidence remains today. The first records date back to 1734 and Dr Thomas Short’s book ‘Mineral Waters of England’ published in 1788 mentioned a spa where it was noted that “the estates abound with wells and also springs of different mineral qualities where people from Sheffield etcetera come, both for bathing and drinking the waters”. The first incarnation of the bath was literally a large hollow filled with big stones.
In 1842 the 2nd Earl Manvers, and Lord of the Manor of Beighton, developed a new spa combining a small bath house and a hotel, which opened to the public on 1st May 1843. Thomas Staniforth, owner of the Thomas Staniforth & Co Sickle and Scythe works on nearby Main Street was chosen to manage the committee by Lord Manvers. The building was built into the hillside, the hotel at ground-floor level and the bath house below on the lower ground-floor level. The baths had convenient dressing rooms, a hot slipper bath, and two basins to contain the spring water. The spa was aimed at a broad selection of the population. Shortly after it opened, on 26th May 1843, the Duke of Portland (from Welbeck) arrived in his carriage and three horses and proceeded to stayed for over a week, taking hot baths. Despite initial success, by 1845 the baths were not making a profit. By the end of the century only one plunge bath remained in operation and the hotel was no longer in operation. An 1875 Ordnance Survey map labelled the building Birley Spa (P.H.) but by 1878 there was a marked decline in usage of the spa and the hotel part was shut down. In 1895, a local farmer, John Platts, became proprietor of Birley Spa with only the large plunge bath in use.
In 1913 the spa was sold to a cab proprietor George Moulson who, with his partner William Smith, turned it into a pleasure garden named ‘The Children’s Paradise’. The pleasure grounds included a wishing well, swing boats, sand pit and paddling pool, along with a boating lake, fed by the spring water. The spa became a very popular venue, especially for families and groups, seen as a Bank Holiday or Sunday School treat. However, with the outbreak of World War Two, the grounds were closed down due to the prohibition of assemblies of crowds of people, in case of air raids and as a consequence, the building and grounds were allowed to fall into disrepair.
A couple of old pictures of Birley Spa, one for the main pool and another external taken circa 1912:
In the 1950s Sheffield Corporation compulsorily purchased Birley Spa when it was building the post-war Hackenthorpe housing estate. Plans drawn up in 1961 by J L Womersley, Sheffield City Architect, show the large, oval plunge bath flanked by cellars and a loggia at lower ground-floor level, with two flats at ground-floor level, one with two bedrooms and one with a single bedroom. In 1997 the architect Peter Pace drew up plans to restore the plunge bath and to turn the ground floor into a community space with a large room for meetings, teaching and events, a kitchen, a store, and WCs. This involved the removal of many of the non-structural walls related to its previous domestic use, the removal of a staircase between the floors in the south-east room, the replacement of the central, south doorway with a window, and the insertion of a fireplace at the west end of the large room. He then undertook the restoration between 2001 and 2002. Nothing was done subsequently, and the building fell into disrepair again. However, in the Summer of 2018, hope raised its head again in the shape of “Friends of Birley Spa” which was established to lobby and campaign for the restoration and re-opening Birley Spa, and they continue their good work at the present time. More info HERE https://www.friendsofbirleyspa.org/
2. The Explore
This was a permission visit as part of Heritage Open Day’s annual UK-wide September 2021 event. Hence, I visited as part of a small pre-booked group but was pretty much given free reign to take pictures on my own. The tour-de-force of Friends of Birley is Fiona. A truly wonderful lady who is full of energy and good intentions. The building itself is pretty study but the roof has sprung a number of leaks. As a consequence, the upper hotel floor is out-of-bounds so only the downstairs plunge poor is open. It still made for an enjoyable visit and the pool area is worth visiting the spa for alone.
3. The Pictures
Gable end shot:
And the other end:
Front view:
Entrance area:
“Repose in pious confidence”.
The cleaned-up coal hole:
Love the gothic style windows:
But it’s all about this:
The main pool in its full glory:
The steps down:
Reflections:
Electrics need a bit of work:
As does the ceiling:
Damp coming through in the back room:
Bye-bye for now Birley Spa:
Birley Spa is located on the outskirts of South-East Sheffield, South Yorkshire. It was originally the site of a Roman bath, although there is evidence remains today. The first records date back to 1734 and Dr Thomas Short’s book ‘Mineral Waters of England’ published in 1788 mentioned a spa where it was noted that “the estates abound with wells and also springs of different mineral qualities where people from Sheffield etcetera come, both for bathing and drinking the waters”. The first incarnation of the bath was literally a large hollow filled with big stones.
In 1842 the 2nd Earl Manvers, and Lord of the Manor of Beighton, developed a new spa combining a small bath house and a hotel, which opened to the public on 1st May 1843. Thomas Staniforth, owner of the Thomas Staniforth & Co Sickle and Scythe works on nearby Main Street was chosen to manage the committee by Lord Manvers. The building was built into the hillside, the hotel at ground-floor level and the bath house below on the lower ground-floor level. The baths had convenient dressing rooms, a hot slipper bath, and two basins to contain the spring water. The spa was aimed at a broad selection of the population. Shortly after it opened, on 26th May 1843, the Duke of Portland (from Welbeck) arrived in his carriage and three horses and proceeded to stayed for over a week, taking hot baths. Despite initial success, by 1845 the baths were not making a profit. By the end of the century only one plunge bath remained in operation and the hotel was no longer in operation. An 1875 Ordnance Survey map labelled the building Birley Spa (P.H.) but by 1878 there was a marked decline in usage of the spa and the hotel part was shut down. In 1895, a local farmer, John Platts, became proprietor of Birley Spa with only the large plunge bath in use.
In 1913 the spa was sold to a cab proprietor George Moulson who, with his partner William Smith, turned it into a pleasure garden named ‘The Children’s Paradise’. The pleasure grounds included a wishing well, swing boats, sand pit and paddling pool, along with a boating lake, fed by the spring water. The spa became a very popular venue, especially for families and groups, seen as a Bank Holiday or Sunday School treat. However, with the outbreak of World War Two, the grounds were closed down due to the prohibition of assemblies of crowds of people, in case of air raids and as a consequence, the building and grounds were allowed to fall into disrepair.
A couple of old pictures of Birley Spa, one for the main pool and another external taken circa 1912:
In the 1950s Sheffield Corporation compulsorily purchased Birley Spa when it was building the post-war Hackenthorpe housing estate. Plans drawn up in 1961 by J L Womersley, Sheffield City Architect, show the large, oval plunge bath flanked by cellars and a loggia at lower ground-floor level, with two flats at ground-floor level, one with two bedrooms and one with a single bedroom. In 1997 the architect Peter Pace drew up plans to restore the plunge bath and to turn the ground floor into a community space with a large room for meetings, teaching and events, a kitchen, a store, and WCs. This involved the removal of many of the non-structural walls related to its previous domestic use, the removal of a staircase between the floors in the south-east room, the replacement of the central, south doorway with a window, and the insertion of a fireplace at the west end of the large room. He then undertook the restoration between 2001 and 2002. Nothing was done subsequently, and the building fell into disrepair again. However, in the Summer of 2018, hope raised its head again in the shape of “Friends of Birley Spa” which was established to lobby and campaign for the restoration and re-opening Birley Spa, and they continue their good work at the present time. More info HERE https://www.friendsofbirleyspa.org/
2. The Explore
This was a permission visit as part of Heritage Open Day’s annual UK-wide September 2021 event. Hence, I visited as part of a small pre-booked group but was pretty much given free reign to take pictures on my own. The tour-de-force of Friends of Birley is Fiona. A truly wonderful lady who is full of energy and good intentions. The building itself is pretty study but the roof has sprung a number of leaks. As a consequence, the upper hotel floor is out-of-bounds so only the downstairs plunge poor is open. It still made for an enjoyable visit and the pool area is worth visiting the spa for alone.
3. The Pictures
Gable end shot:
And the other end:
Front view:
Entrance area:
“Repose in pious confidence”.
The cleaned-up coal hole:
Love the gothic style windows:
But it’s all about this:
The main pool in its full glory:
The steps down:
Reflections:
Electrics need a bit of work:
As does the ceiling:
Damp coming through in the back room:
Bye-bye for now Birley Spa:
