Millhouses Park

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Millhouses Park is a large park in the south of Sheffield. Lying between Abbeydale Road South (A621) and the railway line, it follows the course of the River Sheaf for approximately a mile through the Abbeydale valley. The park contains open grassed areas, woodlands, and floral displays. Sporting facilities on offer include:

• Football pitches
• Bowling greens
• Cricket pitch
• Boating lake
• Basketball court
• Children's play area
• Skate park
• Adventure playground
• Tennis courts
• 9-hole putting course

As well as these, visitors are provided with car parking, public toilets and a cafe serving gourmet food.

[edit] History

In 1907 Earl FitzWilliam gave the city some land in Millhouses. The City Council bought more land and laid out a public park, including many of the current facilities and also an open-air swimming pool and paddling pools. These have had to be closed due to water quality problems; the lido site now houses the children's play area. At one time this park could attract up to 50,000 visitors on summer weekends.^[1] Before the existence of the park, this area of Sheffield had been used for farmland, and a number of mills had been built to take advantage of the power provided by the river.^[2]

There is an annual fair/festival that takes place in the park featuring live bands, stalls, and a duck race on the River Sheaf, all raising money for the upkeep of the park. There was previously a full-time funfair on the grassed area at the northern end of the park; it had to be removed when Yorkshire Water installed a large storm drain under this area of land, and it is not known whether the fair will return now the work is complete.

[edit] External links

• Sheffield's Parks, Woodlands & Countryside - City council parks guide
• Friends of Millhouses Park - a voluntary organisation devoted to assisting with maintenance of and provision of facilities in the park.
• Notes on History of Millhouses

[edit] References

1. ^ Harvey, Peter (1996). Abbeydale and Millhouses. Stround: The Charlford Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 0-7524-0732-5
2. ^ Water Wheels on the River Sheaf in Abbeydale (2003-04-20). Retrieved on 2006-08-14.

	Parks and woodlands in Sheffield
Abbeyfield | Beauchief Gardens | Beauchief Park | Beeley Wood | Bingham Park and Whiteley Woods Botanical Gardens | Bowden Housteads Woods | Concord Park | Cholera Monument and Clay Wood Crookes Valley Park | Ecclesall Woods | Endcliffe Park | Firth Park | Graves Park High Hazels Park | Hillsborough Park and Garden | Hutcliff Wood | Longley Park Meersbrook Park | Millhouses Park | Norfolk Park | Rother Valley | Rivelin Valley | Weston Park