High Bradfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
High Bradfield is a small village located 10 kilometres north west of the centre of the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England at Grid Reference SK268924. The village lies just within the Peak District National Park, two kilometres inside the parks north eastern border and is situated at an altitude of 260 metres (850 feet) and has extensive views across Bradfield Dale towards Derwent Edge and the Dark Peak. The most striking feature of the village is the Church of St. Nicholas, Bradfield, a Grade One Listed building[1] originally dating from 1109. The name Bradfield translates from the Old English language as “Broad stretch of open countryside”[2] and the area around the village is predominately grazing land with dairy and sheep farming dominating. High Bradfield has a sister village, Low Bradfield which lies less than a kilometre to the south west but at a considerably lower altitude down in the upper Loxley valley. The two villages are linked by the steep Woodfall Lane.
[edit] History
High Bradfield is believed to stand on the site of an Anglo-Saxons settlement, there was a place of worship[3] which predates the stone built church which was later built on the same site. After the Norman conquest of England the Normans saw the high ground around High Bradfield as tactically advantageous and built a Motte-and-bailey castle on Bailey Hill[4]. The castle was constructed out of wood on a mound of over 10 metres in height, today there are no traces of any buildings but the motte mound is distinctive and high and seems to have been constructed of piled stones covered with earth. The site is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. William de Lovetot was made Lord of Hallamshire by William I of England and he constructed the original St Nicholas Church in 1109. The church was rebuilt in 1480s in the Gothic Perpendicular style.
500 metres to the west of the village is Castle Hill, another motte-and-bailey site which has drawn interest from historians, the site is marked on old maps as a “supposed Saxon encampment”[5] The site occupies a rocky ridge at the head of a high escarpment partially enclosed by ring work[6]. The Enclosure Act of the early 1800s altered the appearance of the countryside around High Bradfield as the profusion of stones in the soil resulted in many small fields in the area. Around the same time many people in the Bradfield area were influenced by the Industrial Revolution and moved to nearby Sheffield to improve their standard of living.[7]. The Bradfield Parish workhouse was based in High Bradfield between 1759 and 1847, the building is still there today and stands across the road from the Old Horns pub on Jane Street, it is a private house today[8].
[edit] Present Day
The present day village is still dominated by farming. Church farm is a large dairy farm which supplies a large amount of milk for the surrounding area. Watt House Farm is also a dairy farm but is unique in that it is the home of the Bradfield Brewery, which is based in a converted barn on the farm. It brews three regular beers, Farmers Bitter, Farmers Stout and Farmers Pale Ale as well as some seasonal specials[9]. There is one Public house in the village the Old Horns Inn.
[edit] References and Footnotes
- ^ Sheffield City Council website. Downloadable list of all listed buildings within the Sheffield boundary.
- ^ Local place names Bradfield and beyond. Gives translated meaning of name.
- ^ www.bradfieldparish.org.uk. “is believed to stand on the site of an Anglo-Saxon place of worship“.
- ^ The Gatehouse website. Describes castle on Bailey Hill.
- ^ old maps.co.uk at yorkshirehistory.com. Shows Castle Hill marked as “Supposed Saxon encampment“.
- ^ yorkshirehistory.com. Gives details of Castle Hill site.
- ^ A brief guide to Bradfield .. Past and Present. Enclosure Act and Industrial Revolution.
- ^ www.bradfieldparish.org.uk. Dates of Workhouse existence.
- ^ Bradfield Brewery website. Gives details of brewery.
