Sheffield Heritage Fair: 1,500 visitors flock to popular city history celebration

The event, organised by local history enthusiasts David Templeman and Ron Clayton in conjunction with Sheffield Museums, gave an opportunity for more than 40 local history and heritage groups to showcase their work.

There was a constant stream of visitors all day on both days.

On Sunday lunchtime, visitors were also entertained with a display from Grenoside Sword Dancers.

One of the organisers, Ron Clayton, said: “It’s been brilliant. We’re very pleased with the attendance announced.

“You get to see many old faces and new faces. It’s an indication of the diversity and importance of heritage. To quote (Star editor) Nancy Fielder at Sheffield at a Crossroads, ‘the heritage of the past is the big platform of the future’. That needs to be recognised at a higher level in the city council, especially about Castlegate.”

He said the fact that David Templeman’s book on Mary Queen of Scots in Sheffield, the Captive Queen, is now part of the national curriculum for schools shows what the potential is for heritage to play a key role in Sheffield’s development.

David is chair of the Friends of Manor Lodge, which is where Mary was imprisoned for many years at the orders of Elizabeth I.

He said: “People have been very impressed with the stalls. There’s something for everyone. Museums Sheffield have given this free of charge. It’s a great sacrifice by them.

“It’s a wonderful platform to promote Sheffield heritage. We need that platform.”

David said that his book has been accepted on to the GCSE history curriculum. He added: “We’ve just been inundated with schools from all over England.

They’ve been in nearly every day, from Wales, from the South East, from all over. We’ve got national recognition.”

He added: “The chief examiner said this is a very important piece of European history.”

Another important part of the city’s history being celebrated was the campaign to get a fitting permanent memorial to Stan Shaw, Sheffield’s last little mester and world-renowned knife-maker, who died last year.

Stan’s widow Rosemary and daughter Jane were at the stall. A memorial service to mark the anniversary of his death will be led by the Rev Canon Keith Farrow at Sheffield Cathedral on Sunday, February 27 at 4pm.

The event will also see the launch of the Stan Shaw Memorial Appeal Fund to raise £10,000.

Jane explained that because of Covid, the family never got the chance to give Stan the send-off he deserved. “My dream was always to have something at the cathedral.

"The appeal is to recognise him as the treasure of the city that he was and to try and get him a lasting memory, perhaps a stone outside the Cutlers’ Hall, maybe a heritage trail, anything so that the legacy he left will remain with the city and he’ll not be forgotten.”

There will also be a chance at the memorial service to see many beautiful examples of Stan’s craftsmanship, said Jane.

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