Kenwood House

A gargoyle in the grounds of Kenwood House

My trip to the central library and the art gallery in Leeds took place on the last day of August and the next week was spent finishing my preparations for the Heritage Open Days at St. Helen’s church in Treeton, which would run over the second week in September.

The front elevation of St. Andrew's church

With a day’s break between the events at St. Helen’s church, I wanted to make the most of the Heritage Open Days event for my own leisure and on the Thursday, I set off to see St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Sheffield, dated 1915, which has some modern stained glass. 

Modern stained glass at St. Andrew's church

Although built of local sandstone, its architectural features didn’t merit detailed investigation and I didn’t stay too long. Having never visited Nether Edge in Sheffield before, I asked if there was anything in the neighbourhood worth seeing and it was recommended that I visit Kenwood House - now Kenwood Hall Hotel. 

The west elevation of Kenwood House

A Heritage Open Day at this place had been arranged for the following week but I decided to go and have a quick look, to see if it would be worth visiting. Having introduced myself at the reception, I was told that I could have a wander round the grounds and the old house, which was used for conferences, at leisure. 

The south elevation of Kenwood House

Built in 1844 for the cutlery manufacturer George Wostenholm and designed by William Flockton in the fashionable Tudor gothic style, the original Kenwood House and its landscaped grounds sits in the middle of the Nether Edge region of Sheffield. 

The east elevation of Kenwood House

Based on Boston in the USA, this area is an early example of town planning - with large spacious houses and tree lined streets – and was considered highly desirable by wealthy business men, and it still has an exclusive character. 

Carved head stops to a bay window on the east elevation

Although not a listed building, Kenwood House is very unusual for Sheffield in that it is built from Carboniferous limestone from Derbyshire and not from local Carboniferous sandstone, although a medium grained gritstone, which is occasionally pink coloured, is used for the dressings and with a different buff variety for carved head stops on a bay window to the east elevation. 

A gargoyle

One interesting feature that I discovered when wandering around the small lake in the grounds was the presence of four enormous stone gargoyles, which have been placed next to the footpaths. I haven’t been able to find any information on these, and therefore don’t know their age and origin, but they look good in their present setting.

A gargoyle