A Study in plaster

In the ceiling of the parlour on the ground floor, the plaster moulding in one corner does not follow the line of the wall but encloses a square part of the ceiling about 92 cm [36 in.] across. We think that this square was once part of an access to the first floor from the […]

A Scandal in Norton

When the Parker Shore Bank ceased trading in 1843 it caused something of a local scandal. Here was Sheffield’s oldest bank which had been operating, apparently successfully, for thirty years. What had happened? The reasons, when looked at, were several. There had been an economic depression for many years. In 1825, 93 provincial private banks […]

The Sign of the Two

When a timber framed building was constructed, the trees would have been felled and sawn for timbers, which would have been brought to the site and then jointed and reinforced by wooden pegs. But with hundreds of pieces of wood, how to be sure that the right timbers were put together? One way was to […]

The grind stone

All the main upright timbers used when the house was built rest on pads of stone to level them up and to keep the wood off the ground and dampness. On the north side of the house, in the middle of the wall, you can see a vertical row of stones where one of these […]

The Devil’s Foot

More than one visitor to Bishops’ House has asked us what the mark is on the North West corner of the house. One visitor suggested that it could be some sort of mark made centuries ago by a witch. Unfortunately the explanation is much more mundane and anyone who goes out walking will recognise it […]

What is a wind-eye?

When you get to the top of the main staircase look to your left. Tucked up in the corner of the wall is what looks like a stone crucifix, with the shape of the cross cut out. This is a window [originally ‘wind–eye’, the place where the wind comes in] in the east wall of the first […]

The second stair

    Why are there two staircases in such a small house, especially as the main one is so big and grand? Why would you need another? The answer goes back to the mid or late eighteenth century when we think that the owner of the house was Benjamin Roebuck, who had bought Meersbrook Farm […]

The crooked beam

If you’re outside Bishops House on the south side [nearest the road] look up at the top of the wall, towards the centre. You’ll see a curious curve in the horizontal beam at the top of the wall.   Now come inside and you’ll see the same thing in the beam at the top of […]

The Stone Basin in the Cellar

What is this strange stone basin? For a long time we had no idea until someone found something very similar in a book. It turned out to be a salting trough. In the seventeenth century the only way of keeping meat for a long time was to salt it. A joint of meat rubbed with […]

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