Bishops' House
by pho-Tony
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bishops' House is a half-timbered house in the Norton Lees district of the City of Sheffield, England. It was built c. 1500 and is located at 53°21′5″N 1°28′13″W, on the southern tip of Meersbrook Park. It is one of the three surviving timber-framed houses in the city.
It is known as Bishops' House because it was said to have been built for two brothers, John and Geoffrey Blythe, both of whom became Bishops. There is, however, no evidence that they ever lived in this house—the first known resident being William Blythe, a farmer and scythe manufacturer, who was living here in 1627.
Samuel Blyth was the last of the family to live in the house, dying in 1753, after which his sons sold the house to a William Shore. The Blyth family subsequently moved to Birmingham. Notable descendents were Benjamin Blyth, Sir Arthur Blyth and Benjamin Blyth. The house was subsequently let to a tenant farmer and his labourer, at which point the house was sub-divided into two dwellings.
In 1886 ownership passed to the Corporation (Sheffield City Council) and various recreation department employees lived in the house until 1974.
