Who we are
The Friends of Meersbrook Hall are a group of local residents, park users and people passionate about heritage, who have come together to try and reclaim Meersbrook Hall for community use. We come from a wide range of backgrounds and have members young and old.
We meet regularly as a group to discuss and agree the key decisions in the project – you can read our constitution here. Our management committee co-ordinates the work of the group and is made up of the following volunteers:
- Chair – Mark Cordle
- Joint Secretary – Amanda Hill & Andy Kershaw
- Treasurer: Jed Turner
- Committee Members
- Lynne Baxter
- Sam Wichelow
- Nick Wood
- Simon Day
- Chris Croome
- Jane Cobblewick
- Virginia Lowes
If you share our vision of redeveloping Meersbrook Hall as a thriving hub for the community and an asset to the park, please join us.
The hall is an 18th century Grade II listed building and covers 12,000 sq feet, with over 60 rooms, so there’s plenty of space for a variety of community activities and purposes like arts, education, and social enterprise. The hall is a significant heritage asset for Sheffield, not just for Meersbrook and surrounds.
We’d like to hear your ideas and suggestions for its use.
please sign up as a member; If you have time or skills that you think you could contribute to the project, then please let us know; everyone’s input is welcomed.
The management committee can be contacted via our Facebook page or by emailing [email protected].
The story so far
In July 2014, Meersbrook Park Users Trust (MPUT) called a meeting of local residents and park users following rumours that the Council planned to move their staff to another site. 60 people attended this meeting, as did two local councillors, who confirmed the rumours and said that the council would be vacating the Hall within two years.
People were concerned that the building and part of the park might be sold for private development, so a public meeting was organised to raise awareness of the issue and gather local opinion.
150 people attended this public meeting in September 2014, unanimously supporting a campaign to prevent the building’s sale and working together to return it to community use.
The Friends of Meersbrook Hall was formally constituted in April 2015, and continued positive discussions with the council and other local community organisations over the summer of 2015.
It has now grown to having over 750 members and following a meeting on 21st May 2026, a new committee with new energy and a new vision for the hall was elected.
The hall’s previous occupants, Heeley Trust produced a feasibility study in 2018 indicating that a plan to redevelop the building as mixed community and business use was entirely possible.
The trust entered into a temporary ‘licence to occupy’ agreement and the trust’s adult learning courses were located in the building to ensure that it was occupied throughout the week.
Heeley Trust’s attempt to secure a long-term lease to enable them to apply for significant funding required to restore the Hall, were ultimately frustrated for a variety of reasons and sadly, in 2023, they were forced hand back the keys to Sheffield City Council.
This is because major funders like the National Lottery and Major Trusts require applicants to have secured a reasonable period of tenure for the building via a long-term lease before they can release funds.
The Story in 2026
A number of local people, who were concerned at the deteriorating state of the hall and its closure for over three few years, called a series of public meetings in May 2026, resulting in a new elected committee on May 21st.
We aim to pick up and develop the Heeley Trust vision for the hall and to work with the council to secure a long-term agreement to bring it back to purposeful use for the community.
We are initially seeking a license to occupy the hall for meetings of our organisation and for public guided tours as part of the annual Heritage Open Days. A number of local people have also received training from local archaeologist Ken Dash, who has written a new book ‘The Story of Meersbrook Hall’ which we are aiming to publish in Autumn 2026.
In the short to medium term, we are gearing up our campaign to raise the funds required to pay for the running costs of the hall and this will then enable us to enter into a longer term lease agreement with the council to allow us to progress our ambition of turning it into a mixed-use community resource which meets the needs of everyone.
Once the lease is in place we will develop plans for subletting some of the offices and other spaces to makers, artists and social entrepreneurs in order to generate income to cover the running costs for the building. We anticipate that we can do this within three years of securing the lease.
Our Partners
We are being supported by our local Sheffield City councillors Marieanne Elliott, Paul Turpin and Alexi Dimond and by the Meersbrook Park Users Trust which acts as the ‘friends’ group for the park.
Our meetings
We meet regularly in the Walled Garden as a management committee to discuss and agree key decisions and actions.
We hope all future meetings will take place in Meersbrook Hall. Please sign up as a member or visit our Facebook page to hear about our next meeting.
