I came across this rather marvelous photograph that must have been taken over 100 years ago
Britain welcomed around 250,000 Belgians to its shores following the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914. Sheffield offered hospitality to some 3,000 of these displaced Belgians. Shirle Hill at Nether Edge became a receiving base for Belgian refugees and other receiving bases were established in Westbrook House, Firvale House, Wadsley Hall and the Ecclesall Union.
The core of the Shirle Hill, (Cherry Tree Road, Nether Edge) was built in 1809. For a time it was the home of John Brown who founded the world famous firm of John Brown and Co. Ltd. More information is in the publication "Old Sharrow and Nether Edge in Photographs" by the Nether Edge Neighbourhood Group
This is fascinating. I've just finished reading Ferdinand Mount's "Kiss Myself Goodbye", a history of his aunt and many of the ways she fabricated her life. There is a lot about Sheffield in it, much of it fascinating. However I think there is a mistake in this sentence, about the employer of the aunt's mother, Walter Walsh. "During the Great War, he and some other local businessmen clubbed together to buy Shirle Hall, Sharrow, outside Ripon, as a home for Belgian refugees." Do you think he may have meant Shirle Hill? And is this the house now called Shirle Hill (now a cohousing setup where some of my friends live), or was Shirle Hill an area name which applied to more than one house?
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