Woodseats
Encyclopedia
Woodseats is a district of Sheffield
, South Yorkshire
in the Graves Park
ward. Historically, Norton Woodseats was a village that straddled Derbyshire Lane running from Four Lane Ends to Bolehill (now part of Graves Park), originally in Derbyshire
but since 1934, part of the City of Sheffield.
The name Woodseats comes from the Old English
Wodesettes, which means a 'fold in a wood'. Nether Woodseats itself was little more than a cluster of cottages around a road called 'The Dale' close to the intersection of Woodseats Road and Chesterfield Road
(A61)
and Upper Woodseats, near the Abbey Lane and Chesterfield Road junction.
The first annual Woodseats Festival took place in July 2006.
:
The Woodseats Palace
Situated on Chesterfield Road
the Woodseats Palace opened in 1911 and closed some time in the late 1950s. The building subsequently became a supermarket under various names until it was eventually bought by the Weatherspoons chain and is now The Woodseats Palace public house.
The Chantrey Picture House
Situated on Chesterfield Road
this building was subsequently used as offices for a number of years by the construction company Gleesons.
The church was built using local rubble for the walls, Bath stone for the window tracery and nave arcade, and Westmorland slates for the roof.
The Vicarage was built in 1914 for £1,800 and is one of the last large vicarages to be built.
Today St Chad's Church http://www.stchads.org, situated on Linden Avenue, is a lively church which seeks to serve the community.
It has regular Sunday services at 9am and 11.00am as well as youth activities, small groups and a thriving Third Age Ministry reaching out to older people in the community.
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...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
in the Graves Park
Graves Park (ward)
Graves Park ward—which includes the districts of Norton, Norton Lees, Norton Woodseats, and Woodseats—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southern part of the city and covers an area of 5.8 km2. The population of this ward in 2001...
ward. Historically, Norton Woodseats was a village that straddled Derbyshire Lane running from Four Lane Ends to Bolehill (now part of Graves Park), originally in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
but since 1934, part of the City of Sheffield.
The name Woodseats comes from the Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
Wodesettes, which means a 'fold in a wood'. Nether Woodseats itself was little more than a cluster of cottages around a road called 'The Dale' close to the intersection of Woodseats Road and Chesterfield Road
Chesterfield Road (Sheffield)
Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
(A61)
A61 road
The A61 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Derby to Thirsk in North Yorkshire. From Derby, it heads north via Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon...
and Upper Woodseats, near the Abbey Lane and Chesterfield Road junction.
The first annual Woodseats Festival took place in July 2006.
Schools
There are two schools in the Woodseats area: Abbey Lane Primary School and Woodseats Primary School.Public Houses
There are a number of public houses situated on Chesterfield RoadChesterfield Road (Sheffield)
Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
:
- The Woodseats Palace, Chesterfield RoadChesterfield Road (Sheffield)Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
, was formerly a cinemaMovie theaterA movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, opened in 1911. It was then used as supermarkets (Fine Fare, Kwik Save, Alldays) and is now a WetherspoonsWetherspoonsJ D Wetherspoon plc is a British pub chain based in Watford. Founded as a single pub in 1979 by Tim Martin, the company now owns 815 outlets. The chain champions cask ale, low prices, long opening hours, and no music. The company also operates the Lloyds No...
Free House. - The Chantrey Arms, Chesterfield RoadChesterfield Road (Sheffield)Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
, named after sculptor Sir Francis Chantrey who was born nearby in Norton. - The Woodseats Hotel, Chesterfield RoadChesterfield Road (Sheffield)Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
, made the National news when Firkin BreweryFirkin BreweryThe Firkin Brewery was a chain of pubs in the United Kingdom. The original UK chain is now defunct, but a number of pubs operate under the Firkin name in other countries. The chain took its name from the firkin, an old English unit of volume....
changed its name to the Floozey and Firkin. The Woodseats Hotel has now closed and the building is now the Viraaj restaurant which opened in October 2010. - The Big Tree, Chesterfield RoadChesterfield Road (Sheffield)Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
, was once called Masons Arms but was renamed in 1936 after the large tree which grew in front of the building. Ironically by the time the name had been changed the tree in question had been pulled down, reputedly by an elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
from a touring circusCircusA circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
that had been tethered to it. A new tree was planted in its place that lasted until the 1980s when it blew down after becoming diseased after which it too was replaced. The pub's past links are shown by masonic symbols inlaid into the floor but these are now covered by carpets. The pub was known as Brewburgers for short period in the 1980s. - The Abbey, Chesterfield RoadChesterfield Road (Sheffield)Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
, features a trapezoidal bowling green and is one of the last pubs in Sheffield to retain its bowling facilities.
Cinemas
Woodseats once boasted two cinemas but neither of these are still in existence.The Woodseats Palace
Situated on Chesterfield Road
Chesterfield Road (Sheffield)
Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
the Woodseats Palace opened in 1911 and closed some time in the late 1950s. The building subsequently became a supermarket under various names until it was eventually bought by the Weatherspoons chain and is now The Woodseats Palace public house.
The Chantrey Picture House
Situated on Chesterfield Road
Chesterfield Road (Sheffield)
Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and...
this building was subsequently used as offices for a number of years by the construction company Gleesons.
Churches
Churches in Woodseats include: St Chad's Parish Church, Woodseats Evangelical Church, Woodseats Baptist Church and Woodseats Methodist Church http://www.woodseatsmethodistchurch.com.Our Lady of Beauchief and St Thomas of Canterbury
A Roman Catholic church situated at the boundary of Woodseats and Meadowhead. Our Lady of St Thomas was founded at the request of local Catholics who had been meeting at the Big Tree public house due to the lack of a suitable church in the area. The first building was erected in 1910 and remained as a temporary structure until the existing building was erected and opened in 1932.St Chad's Church
The first stone of the building was laid on 3 August 1911. The nave and aisles were built first and the church was consecrated on 25 July 1912, costing £5,100. The chancel, vestries and organ were added in 1933 and cost £4,460. The original design of the building was modelled on XIVth Century English designs and is the only Anglican church designed by the Catholic architects Hadfield & Hadfield.The church was built using local rubble for the walls, Bath stone for the window tracery and nave arcade, and Westmorland slates for the roof.
The Vicarage was built in 1914 for £1,800 and is one of the last large vicarages to be built.
Today St Chad's Church http://www.stchads.org, situated on Linden Avenue, is a lively church which seeks to serve the community.
It has regular Sunday services at 9am and 11.00am as well as youth activities, small groups and a thriving Third Age Ministry reaching out to older people in the community.