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Tudor site must be open to public
A WOMAN who lived in Sheffield's historic Bishop's House as a child is backing a campaign opposing plans to restrict its opening hours. Janet Moore lived at the 400-year-old Tudor property with her family in the early 1950s when her father worked as head gardener and park keeper at Meersbrook Park.
Janet, who is now in her 60s and lives in Brighton, contacted The Star after hearing about the council's plans to cut Museums Sheffield's budget by 2.5 per cent.
It means the organisation must make efficiency savings - and one proposal is to close the Meersbrook tourist attraction at weekends, the only time when it is open to the public.
It would remain open to school study groups during the week and to the public on a handful of special occasions. But The Friends of Bishop's House and the Meersbrook Users' Trust are angry at the proposals and have organised a petition.
Janet said: "I have many happy memories of living at Bishop's House and I was so shocked to hear about this plan. It is such a beautiful house, it was amazing to live there, and I think this is a real shame.
"It's a fascinating place, part of Sheffield's history and it would be a great shame if it was no longer open for the public to discover."
Janet, who lived at Bishop's House with her parents and four brothers when she was eight, said her happy memories included the wood carvings in her bedroom, bathing in a tin bath, playing Roundheads and Cavaliers in the cellar, and running away from the resident ghost.
She said: "We would dash around in and out of the rooms, along the landings, and have a bath in a tin bath.
"We played for hours in the cellar - there were several doorways blocked up and one of the many rumours about the house was that Oliver Cromwell hid from the Cavaliers in the passages.
"My parents were sometimes annoyed when people, intrigued by the old building, knocked on the door and asked to look round, usually when we were eating.
"There were large bolts on the door - heavy for an eight-year-old."
She added: "We had our very own ghost that walked along the top landing and down the stairs every night. We always had the feeling she was female and she never bothered us at all. In fact, we found her quite comforting - all was well with the world when we hard the creak of the stairs at night."
Bishop's House stands on a hill and Janet said one of her most vivid memories was admiring the panoramic view of Sheffield's bonfires and fireworks as they lit up the night sky on Guy Fawkes night.
She added: "Bishop's House Museum is a fascinating part of history for all ages.
"I consider it an honour to have lived in such a beautiful house."
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
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