Bishops' House

About

Bishops' House is a half-timbered house in Norton Lees, a suburban area of Sheffield, England. It was built c. 1500 and is located on the southern tip of Meersbrook Park. It is one of the three surviving timber-framed houses in Sheffield (the others being the Old Queen's Head and Broom Hall).

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 is 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 descendants were Benjamin Blyth, Sir Arthur Blyth and Benjamin Blyth II. The house was subsequently let to a tenant farmer and his labourer, at which point it 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. It is a Grade II* listed building and has been open as a museum...