I was interested to know more about the area where Drew Decor Store is located and thought I would share some of my findings with you, in particular I found Banner Cross Hall interesting which is steeped in history, and a place I imagine would've been decorated with some of the finest wallpapers back in the day. I wonder what it's interior decor is like now?.........
The name Ecclesall (either from Heeksel-Hallr meaning the witches' hill, or Eccles (church) halh(hollow)) is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086—at that time Ecclesall was a part of the manor of Hallam. The name is first found about 150 years later in the name of Sir Ralphus De Ecclesall a knight of the realm who had settled in the area. The De Ecclesall family gave land to the monks at Beauchief and established a corn mill on the river Sheaf, which they subsequently also gave to Beauchief Abbey.
Ecclesall Road was constructed in the early part of the 19th century, and was operated as a turnpike road by the Sheffield and Chapel en le Frith Trust—the first toll being paid at Hunters Bar. The tolls were abolished on 31 October 1884 and the toll house at Hunter's Bar was demolished, although the gate posts were preserved and are now situated in the centre of Hunters Bar roundabout.
Evidence of early occupation of the area can be found in Ecclesall Woods. A cup and ring-marked stone was discovered in 1981, and has been dated to the late Neolithic or Bronze Age periods. It, and the area a 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) diameter around it, is a scheduled ancient monument.
The present day Banner Cross Hall dates from 1821, however an Elizabethan mansion was located on the site prior to this. This was one of the seats of the Bright family of Whirlow, who owned much land and property in the Sheffield area at the time and had connections with Carbrook Hall and Whirlow Hall. The Bright family became extinct in 1748 upon the death of John Bright of Chesterfield in February of that year and the ensuing death of his grandson and heir Bright Dalton later that year.
Banner Cross Hall was then conveyed by John Bright’s granddaughter and heiress Mary Dalton to her husband Lord John Murray, Colonel of the 42nd Regiment of Foot and Aide-de-Camp to King George II.
The Murray family started off by landscaping the grounds, planting much woodland and creating a kitchen garden, when the Hall was inherited by Lt. General William Murray he employed Jeffry Whyitville to completely refashion the house between 1817 and 1821. The result of Wyattville’s work was an ingenious grouping of gables and turrets which gives the illusion of the hall being much larger than it actually is.
The city of Sheffield expanded and surrounded the hall and it lost its rural seclusion. Some of the roads in the area of the hall reflect the Murray’s ownership of the land, for example: Blair Atholl Road, Tullibardine Road, Huntingtower Road and Dunkeld Road.
In 1932 the house was purchased by Henry Boot PLC, a Sheffield-based construction company and has been used as their headquarters right up to the present day.
If Drew Decor Store were to decorate Banner Cross Hall today I would chose designs by Cole & Son, Zoffany & Arte as these designs are contemporary, classic and timeless. These are available from Drew Decor Store, 910 Ecclesall Road, Sheffield S11 8TR, Sheffield's finest wallpaper & paint shop
Drew Decor Store offers some of the finest wallpapers and paints that are on the market today, but what sets Drew Decor Store apart from other wallpaper shops other than selling some of the finest designs there is today, you will also be in a boutique setting which you immediately feel when you enter. You are then surprised when you enter into the backroom of the shop to find the carefully selected wallpaper books that I have chosen for my shop which include, Cole & Son, Sanderson, Zoffany, Harlequin, Anthology, Morris & Co, Scion, Arte, Hookedonwalls, Kandola, Anaglypta, Today Interiors & Grandecco.
Opening times;
Monday - 10:00 - 17:00
Tuesday - 10:00 - 17:00
Wednesday - Closed
Thursday - 10:00 - 17:00
Friday - 10:00 - 17:00
Saturday - 09:30 - 14:00
Contact: 0114 2169252 or email: sdrewdecor@gmail.com
www.drewdecorstore.co.uk