Meersbrook Park is set on a steep hillside in Meersbrook

Meersbrook

Meersbrook is a suburban district in the Gleadless Valley ward of Sheffield, England located to the south of Heeley. The name comes from the stream, the Meers Brook, a tributary of the River Sheaf which means 'boundary brook' and in ancient times this, along with the River Sheaf formed the...

, Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, United Kingdom, and offers a stunning panoramic view over central Sheffield to the north. Within the park are two historic buildings: Bishops' House

Bishops' House

Bishops' House is a half-timbered house in the Norton Lees district of the City of Sheffield, England. It was built c. 1500 and is located at , on the southern tip of Meersbrook Park...

 (c1500) is one of the oldest buildings in Sheffield and is open as a museum, and Meersbrook House. Meersbrook House was built in 1780 by Benjamin Roebuck. The property included walled kitchen garden and house's estate extended to Meers Brook. The house was the home of the Ruskin Museum until 1950. John Ruskin

John Ruskin

John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...

 originally set up his museum as the Museum of St. George in 1871 at a small cottage in Walkley

Walkley

Walkley is an electoral ward in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.Walkley ward—which includes the districts of Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe, Walkley and parts of Neepsend—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northwestern part of the city...

, but it was renamed and moved to Meersbrook House in 1890. The Ruskin collection can still be seen in Sheffield's Millennium Galleries

Millennium Galleries

The Millennium Galleries is an art gallery in the City of Sheffield, England. Opened in April 2001 as part of Sheffield's Heart of the City project, it is located in the city centre close to the city library, Sheffield Hallam University, and the city's theatre district...

. Although the area was still in Derbyshire the councillors in Sheffield were already looking over the border for amenity facilities for their citizens. In January 1885 Sheffield City Council

Sheffield City Council

Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors...

 bought both the house and the land as a public park or pleasure ground, the house is now a Grade II listed building.