Once a yeoman’s house in a Derbyshire hamlet, Bishops’ House today is an architectural gem in the midst of Sheffield’s suburbs. The story of the house and its inhabitants provides a valuable insight into Sheffield’s history.
Bishops House was built in 1554, during the short but turbulent reign of Mary Tudor (1553 to 1558), and appears to be the last surviving building from that time of Norton Lees. Norton Lees was then a tiny village surrounded by fields of the Derbyshire countryside, with Sheffield a small town some two miles away.
In 1884 the estate containing Bishops’ House was bought by Sheffield Corporation and became Meersbrook Park. Bishops’ House was occupied until 1974 when it was restored and opened as a museum.
