Digital Archive from Archaeological Excavations at Sheffield Manor Lodge 1968-2012
Dawn Hadley, Eleanor Drew, 2020. https://doi.org/10.5284/1085001. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Museums Sheffield unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Primary contact
Prof
Dawn
Hadley
University of York
King's Manor
Exhibition Square
York
YO1 7EP
England
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 3816
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1085001
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
The site of the sixteenth-century hunting lodge at Sheffield Manor Lodge (South Yorkshire) has been the subject of several periods of excavation and assessment, the most significant of which took place between 1968-80 under the direction of Alan Butterworth and Pauline Beswick of Sheffield City Museum. These investigations uncovered evidence for the extension of the medieval building beyond the visible ruins, and the location of an eighteenth-century kiln built into the ruins of the ‘Wolsey Tower’ which, at the time of writing, remains the only pottery kiln discovered in Sheffield.
Excavations were aided by a significant corpus of antiquarian illustrations, now included in the archive, showing the ruins in various states of decay. Based on these and contemporary descriptions of the Manor Lodge, initial attention focused on locating the two gate towers on the West Front. Further investigation into the rooms behind these towers demonstrated the multi-phased history of the site, containing as they did the original walls and drains of the medieval hunting lodge, debris from the demolition of the site by the 8th Duke of Norfolk in 1709, and kiln waste from the eighteenth-century pottery kiln of John Fox (later located in the Wolsey Tower at the north of the site).
Hitherto the largest excavation undertaken in Sheffield, the 1968-80 seasons are particularly notable for the high level of local engagement with the site. The site director’s notebook records a number of volunteers from schools, universities, and local archaeological societies, and offers a fascinating insight into community involvement in archaeology.
Later work on the site, including the 2011 excavation of the Outer Courtyard by the University of Sheffield, aimed to expand understanding of complex relationships uncovered by the 1968-80 excavations and enhance the public presentation of the site. The material compiled in this archive provides an overview of the development of Sheffield Manor Lodge, from its initial medieval construction to its modern presentation as a heritage site.
