Manor Lodge (1516) is the only substantial Tudor building left in the extensive area of Sheffield Manor, the deer park to Sheffield Castle.  Group visits are enlivened by an audience with Mary, Queen of Scots.  The “Hall i’ th’ Ponds” survives adjacent to Sheffield Transport Interchange on Pond Street:  it’s now the Old Queen’s Head pub and is consequently difficult for school groups to visit.

There are few other intact secular buildings dating from before the eighteenth century.  The Bishops’ House (c1500) at the top of Meersbrook Park is a small museum managed by a Friends’ group. Carbrook Hall, splendidly restored as a Starbucks coffee shop, has fine panelling and plasterwork dating from 1630. 

The Town Hall and the Cutlers’ Hall tell the story of how the little town became a major city.  Both have paintings and examples of Sheffield craftsmanship on display.

The Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Shepherd Wheel in Whiteley Woods, Kelham Island Museum and Magna at Templeborough provide vivid experiences of working life in the steel industry from the eighteenth century onwards – without visitors getting their hands dirty.