Sheffield campaign gets crafty with help from Quirky Metals to raise funds for Meersbrook Hall restoration
Chance to tour historic building with local guides
Campaigners who want to reopen a historic building in a Sheffield park have linked up with a city craftsman to raise money for the restoration project.
Members of the Friends of Meersbrook Hall visited the workshops of Quirky Metals in Valley Road, near the 18th-century grade II-listed building in Meersbrook Park.
Pewter craftsman Jim Stringer got members to help him make special badges and bookmarks that will be on sale at events taking place this month.
The group has also been granted a two-month licence to reopen the hall by Sheffield City Council, with a view to making a longer-term agreement when a viable business plan is in place.
The Friends are inviting people to join a Big Clean-Up Weekend running from this Friday, September 4, to Sunday 6 from 11am-4pm.
They are also holding a Community Picnic outside the hall, with live music and entertainment, on Sunday, September 13 from noon to 4pm.
“We are inviting everyone to take part in a Holding Hands Around the Hall event between 2.10pm and 2.30pm to symbolise people’s love for the building,” said joint secretary Andy Kershaw.
“We’ve had some exquisite new pewter brooches and bookmarks made by Jim Stringer from Quirky Metals in Heeley with the hall in relief and the words ‘Love Meersbrook Hall’ with a heart on them, and these will be on sale at the picnic.
“We’re also very pleased to announce that a new book called The Story of Meersbrook Hall, written and researched by local retired archaeologist Ken Dash, will be on sale at the picnic event for £7.99.”
Ken has been training volunteer tour guides for when the hall reopens to the public during Heritage Open Days 2026.
Tours will take place on September 11 and 18 at noon and 2pm. Booking is essential as numbers will be limited, said Andy.
Funding for the group’s initial activity and the book has come from the council’s south local area committee and a donation from the Guild of St George, the organisation set up by Victorian artist and naturalist John Ruskin which was based in the hall for many years.
To book on a tour, get involved in the campaign or volunteer for the clean-up days, email [email protected]