News - Half million pound boost for site (Manor Lodge, Sheffield)

HALF a million pounds has been awarded to Manor Lodge in Sheffield to complete the historic site’s restoration and transformation.

The last piece in the jigsaw of the ongoing renovation of the plot is the cottages and barns which make up the wider estate. They will be turned into a World War Two Evacuee Experience Education Centre with exhibition space above to tell the story of Life at Manor Cottages through the eyes of previous residents. A new programme of activities will also be organised to bring stories of the site to life.

The tale of the nearby colliery village will also be told, along with that of food and farming techniques of the time.

There will be new volunteering opportunities, a Big Dig archaeology project, discovery trails, public history events, and a Heritage Skills Training Programme.

The £500,000 grant has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and will be spent by Green Estates.

The project will complete a wider vision for the social and economic regeneration of the site off Manor Lane.

The 14-acre green space is all that remains of what was once the Great Sheffield Deer Park. Visible features still standing today include the ruins of Sheffield Manor Lodge, which sit alongside the restored Turret House, the newly created Discovery Centre, and the Manor Oaks Farm complex. The once derelict landscape is being returned to productive use providing food, minerals and timber.

Fiona Spiers, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for Yorkshire, said: “This project is the second major initiative we have funded at this important Sheffield heritage site.

“Where the Manor Lodge and Discover Centre focus on the Tudor period and life of Mary Queen of Scots, this new project will bring alive the more recent and wider social history.”

Green Estates project leader Sue France said: “This grant really is the realisation of a dream.

“It will give us the opportunity to finish the transformation of the whole site.”

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/half_million_pound_boost_for_site_1_3277397