Brush
House was built in the 1790s. However, long before the mansion was
erected there was a farm called "Brushes Farm" - a dwelling-house and hay-house,
together with a croft called Woodhead. The estate was situated in the parish of
Ecclesfield ". It was two miles from the Parish Church; you would have a
long walk across Hartley Brook and up steep Sheffield Lane, till you
reached Sheffield Lane Top. Then you would see Brushes Farm, 400 yards down
the road towards Sheffield, on the edge of Brushes Common. It extended half a
mile south as far as Bolsover Cottages, and the same distance east, to the
Bell Houses. To the west, on the other side of Brushes Common, were the
grounds of Crowder House, a fine 17th century mansion owned by the Wilkinson
family, just over the crest of the hill. Looking ahead towards Sheffield was
a pleasant, undulating countryside with few buildings and the lovely Roe
Woods crowning the hillside on the other side of Fir Vale.
We first hear about Brushes Farm at the time of the Civil War. The farm belonged to a Captain Burley. However, he was fighting for Charles I and the farm was left in the hands of his housekeeper, Anne Warter and two servants. In 1646, Anne was troubled by a series of murderous attacks. First, on 13 June, she spent the Saturday evening chatting to her two servants in front of the fire when someone opened the doors and fired two bullets at them from his musket. Fortunately, they missed. The following night, she was lying in bed when a musket shot rang out from the window and a bullet lodged itself in the wall. The window was walled up the following day. Next Saturday, two more bullets were fired into another bedroom; five days later more bullets were fired. Finally, on 18 July they broke into a buttery and forced open the door into the parlour. One of the attackers put his arm and shoulder through the door and struck at Burrowes, one of the servants. Burrowes however was ready with his sword and stabbed him in the thigh. Anne Warter caught a glimpse of two of the men and immediately recognised them. She brought an action against them at the Court at York Castle (this account is taken from Surtees Society Transactions Vol. 40; unfortunately, there is no record of the verdict).
This gives a vivid picture of the lawlessness of the time, while the country was rent by Civil War and the danger of being without a bodyguard in a lonely farm-house in South Yorkshire. It is lucky that the villains were bad marksmen! Captain Burley never returned to Brush House. He paid he penalty of being on the losing side in the Civil War and was executed in 1646 in the Isle of Wight.
Brushes Farm changed hands three times in the next 60 years. First, the Roundheads seized the Farm and it was sold to Emanuel Scorah. In 1700, Frances Scorah sold it to William Motte, who - in turn - sold it in 1708 to John Booth of Loundside, Nailer. His family were to own the Brushes for the next 180 years.
(Adapted from 'The Brushes Story' by T F ('Spike') Johnson)
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<< There is a strong local tradition that the castle-like tower which was such a conspicuous feature of the old Firth Park Grammar School building was erected by Charles Kayser. It was said that: "Kayser put up the tower to remind him of his German homeland". In a picture of Brush House taken about 1860 there is no trace of the tower; the old farm house stands where the tower stood. However, in this photo taken about 1900 - showing bearded Charles Kayser standing by its side - the tower stands in all its glory. |
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Aerial photo of FPGS > |
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