Army to quit steel baron's mansion after century

The Army has used the Grade II* listed site, in Endcliffe Vale Road, near Broomhill, for 100 years

The Army is planning to leave the former mansion of a Victorian steel baron after 100 years at the site, documents have revealed.

Planning documents submitted to Sheffield Council said the Reserve Forces and Cadet Association (RFCA) “aims to sell the Endcliffe Hall site, including all land and buildings”.

The Grade II* listed site, in Endcliffe Vale Road, near Broomhill, is currently the headquarters of the 212 Field Hospital, which is one of ten Army Reserve field hospitals and is currently run by the RFCA for Yorkshire and Humber.

The sale plans were included in documents asking the council for permission to remove works of art at the site.

The document stated: “The proposed removal of the framed works of art and display cases has been assessed to result in some minor loss of fabric from part of a wall that is assessed as likely being a later 20th Century (1990s) addition to the ballroom."

They added the works were judged necessary to ensure the "safe removal and future conversation" of cultural heritage items associated with the Army's occupation of Endcliffe Hall.

The mansion was originally built for Sheffield businessman Sir John Brown between 1863 and 1865.

Sir John headed steel firm John Brown and Company and he "wanted a home befitting his status as one of the leading industrialists of the Victorian age", the documents stated.

It stayed as a home until 1892, with the Brown family developing the grounds into a series of themed gardens and building large tropical greenhouses.

After his wife Mary died, Sir John retired to the south coast of England and following his death in 1897, it was then put up for sale.

The documents said there are plans to ask the council for permission to remove works of art at the site

It was bought in January 1914 to be a base for the Hallamshire Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment.

The documents added that “since the early part of the 20th Century, the building has been used by the army as various formal reception rooms, staff mess rooms, offices, kitchens and accommodation".

There is also an “extensive cellar beneath the building, and this has, in recent times, been used for field hospital training and for storage”.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.