Tag: news

Eckington Hall, Mosborough

Mosborough’s Eckington Hall was probably completed in the autumn of 1871. We know this because of an advertisement in a local newspaper by Joseph Appleyard of Conisbrough, “makers of fine Hall, Dining Room, Drawing Room and Bedroom Suites for the new residence of Mr Joseph Wells at Eckington Hall”.
Joseph Wells (1816-1873), the son of George Wells (1773-1844), coal master and farmer of Eckington and his wife Jane (formerly Hazlehurst, 1789-1850), was born at Eckington on 3rd October 1816. Local historian George Foster gives an account of Joseph Wells in his “Reminiscences of Mosborough During the Present Century”, published in 1886.
According to Foster, “He looked in vain for a suitable place in Eckington, so he chose a beautiful site in Mosbro’, and there built it. Thus we have got Eckington Hall at Mosbro’ whether we like the name or not. He lived but a very short time at his new Hall, dying very suddenly on 6th October 1873.” His widow, Mary, occupied the Hall until her death on 15th November 1916.
Their eldest son, Joseph Habershon Wells J.P. (1860-1925), inherited the Hall from his mother and lived there with his younger brother, John Matthew Habershon Wells (1869-1921), a housekeeper, cook, and two housemaids until he died in 1925. He wrote his will on a half sheet of notepaper, leaving the Hall to Sophia Jane Wells (1856-1935), the wife of Joseph’s brother William Edward Wells, who took over the ownership of Eckington Hall on Joseph’s death. She lived at Elmwood Hall, a neighbouring property built by her husband until she died in 1935. Meanwhile, Eckington Hall was leased to a succession of tenants, including a Miss Stooke who lived in all or part of the Hall between 1914 and 1934.
Sophia Jane Wells’ executors released the Hall for sale by auction in 1935, and it was purchased by Eckington solicitor and County Councillor Albert Edward Hall (1865 – 1951). He lived there relatively briefly until 1939 when he passed it on to his daughter Marjorie and her husband James Greaves Mudford, a rope and cover manufacturer with premises in Sheffield.
The Hall was acquired around 1992 by Trans-Pennine Breweries, which converted the building into an entertainment venue, hosting weddings, conferences, and medieval banquets in the Chatsworth Restaurant and The Shambles bar. It is now a private residence.

Tony’s Fish and Chips, 23 Chapel Street, Mosborough

Fig. 1 – Tony’s Fish and Chips, 23 Chapel Street, Mosborough

Tony’s Fish and Chip Shop, located at 23 Chapel Street in Mosborough (Fig. 1), is recognized as one of the oldest chip shops in Sheffield. In January 2025, the establishment was placed on the market by its owners, Robert and Helena Hatt. Robert commenced his employment at the shop 45 years prior, having been hired by his brother-in-law, Tony Buxton, after whom the shop is named. He acquired ownership of the shop in September 2002.

The building itself exhibits significant historical characteristics, as evidenced by the stone coping and kneelers situated over the gable wall. It likely served originally as a small barn, stable, or coach house for the adjacent property at 21 Chapel Street, with origins that probably trace back to the early nineteenth century.

The shop was first referenced in a newspaper article in February 1913, in which a local figure named Fab Ashley was reported to have been found intoxicated at Frank Thorley’s fish and chip shop. Francis “Frank” Thorley (1846-1932), a native of Trowell in Nottinghamshire, relocated to Mosborough in 1879 with his wife, Elizabeth, and their four children. At that time, he worked as a night deputy at Messrs J. & G. Wells Holbrook Colliery while also managing a small grocery store on Back Street in Mosborough. It appears that he assumed the tenancy of 23 Chapel Street after it had been occupied by Fred Drabble, a building contractor, who had held it along with 24 Chapel Street—the opposite house—since 1901. The Census of 1911 identified Frank as a fish dealer operating at 23 Chapel Street.

After the death of his wife, Elizabeth, in 1915, Frank transferred the business to his daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Arthur Smith, before moving to Cossall in Nottinghamshire. The Smiths maintained operations at 23 Chapel Street until Arthur died in 1936.

Identifying subsequent owners of the establishment has proven challenging until the 1960s, when it was occupied by Ada Buxton, the mother of Tony Buxton, who is fondly remembered by local residents.