Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 21, ROT-Siam

S H E-~$ H E
Weston Park and Museum, occupying the grounds and
mansion house of Weston Hall, which the town council
purchased in 1873. The grounds are about 13 acres in
extent, and the museum includes—in addition to the
Mappin Art Gallery, now (1886) being erected from the
bequest of John Newton Mappin—a picture gallery a
natural history collection, and an extensive collection of
British antiquities. The Firth Park, on the north-east of
the town, 36 acres in extent, was purchased by Mark Firth,
and presented to the town, the opening ceremony by the
prince and princess of Wales taking place 16th Aumist
1875. The Norfolk Park, 60 acres in extent, is granted
by the duke of Norfolk for the use of the town, but remains
his pioperty. The botanical gardens, 18 acres in extent,
situated in the western suburbs, are the property of a com¬
pany, but on certain days they are open to the public at a
small charge. The Bramall Lane cricket ground is the
scene of most of the Yorkshire county cricket matches.
The prosperity of Sheffield is chiefly dependent on the manu-
racture of steel and the application of it to its various uses. The
smelting of iron in the district is supposed to date from Roman
times, and there is distinct proof carrying it back as far as the
-Norman Conquest. The town had become famed for its cutlery
by the 14th century, as is shown by allusions in Chaucer. There
was an important trade carried on in knives in the reign of Eliza¬
beth, and the Cutlers’ Company was incorporated in 1624. In early
times cutlery was made of blister or bar steel; afterwards shear
steel was introduced for the same purpose ; but in 1740 Beniamin
Huntsman of Handsworth introduced the manufacture of cast steel,
and up to the present time Sheffield retains its supremacy in steel
manufacture, notwithstanding foreign competition, especially that
of Germany and the United States, its trade in heavy steel .having
cSi rSC?,wlth. tl!at1 111 the otllcr branches. It was with the aid
of Sheffield capital that Henry Bessemer founded his pioneer works
to develop the manufacture of his invention, and a large quantity
of Bessemer steel is still made in Sheffield. The heavy branch of
the steel manufacture includes armour plates, rails, tyres, axles
huge castings for engines, steel shot, and steel for rifles. The
cutlery trade embraces almost every variety of instrument and
tool,—spring and table knives, razors, scissors, surgical instru¬
ments, mathematical instruments, edge tools, saws, scythes,
sickles, spades, shovels, engineering tools, hammers, vices, &c
Ilie manufacture of engines and machinery is also largely carried
on, as well as that of stoves and grates. The art of silver plathm
was introduced by Thomas Bolsover in 1742, and the manufacture
is still of importance. Among the minor industries of the town
are tanning confectionery, cabinetmaking, bicycle-making, iron
and brass founding, silver refining, and the manufacture of
brushes and combs and of optical instruments. On account of
various outrages perpetrated by artisans in workshops against per¬
sons obnoxious to them, a Government commission was in 1867
appointed to make inquiries, the result being the exposure and
suppression of confederacies in connexion with various workmen’s
unions.
The town trust for the administration of property belonging to
the town dates from the 14th century, and in 1681 the number
and manner of election of the “town trustees” was definitely
settled by a decree of the Court of Chancery. Additional powers
were conferred on the trustees by an Act passed in 1874. The
annua income of the trust property now amounts to about £5000.
Sheffield obtained municipal government in 1843, and is divided
into nine wards. The number of aldermen is sixteen. Since 1864
t ie town council have had control of the police, of the maintenance
of the streets, and of the drainage and sanitary arrangements, but
the supplies of water and gas are in the hands of private companies,
ihe markets belong to the duke of Norfolk, lord of the manor.
Ihe town first returned members to parliament in 1832. In 1885
the representation was increased from two to five members, the
parliamentary divisions being Attercliffe, Brightside, Central,
Ecclesall, and Hallam. The area of the municipal and parliament¬
ary borough is 19,651 acres. From 45,755 in 1801 the population
had increased by 1841 to 110,891, by 1871 to 239,947, and by 1881
to 284,508 (141,298 males, 143,210 females).
Sheffield was the capital of Hallamshire from the Norman Con-
an<^ ^ js supposed that the “aula” of the Saxon Lord
Waltheof mentioned in Domesday was on the Castle Hill. After
the execution of Waltheof for a conspiracy against the Conqueror
in 1075 the manor for some time remained in the hands of his
countess, but in 1080 was possessed by Roger de Busli. After¬
wards it passed to the De Lovetots, barons of Huntingdonshire, one
of whom had a castle at Sheffield. A number of people, workers
in iron, gathered round the castle and formed the nucleus of the
787
Through an heiress of the De Lovetots it passed in the
reign_ of Richard I to the De Furnivals, one of whom, Thomas de
f' i strengthened and completed the castle, and obtained
trom Edward I a charter under the great seal for a market and
« aAn After the extinction of the male line of the Furnivals
in 1406, the manor passed to the Talbots, of whom John, referred
lilo ST(akesPeare s Jfenry VI., was created earl of Shrewsbury in
irf qiAffi n 0lsIey’ <junrigh1s disgrace, wasfor some time placed
bmS] ffieli1 naStlC AA161’the charSe of George, fourth earl of Shrews-
mny , and Queen Mary remained a prisoner in it under the care of
TWS6’ the autumn of 1570 to the autumn of 1584.
During the Civil Wars the castle was seized in 1642 by the
Wl\° gai'nsoned it and threw up entrench-
AtAi icioithe toT’ but after the capture of Rotherham in
°+n aPPr?ach of the earl of Newcastle, left it
tbPP^ f n Derbyshire. It was, however, recaptured by
tbc following year, and was subsequently demolished.
Norfolk the eState PaSSed by marriaSe to the Howards, dukes of
s Ifallamshire, 1819, new ed bv A CJaHv iscq* r nn,1
Pr^enf 1873*-V"! Mary Queen of Scots, 1869^ Gatty, Sheffield Past and
I eider ’ rlli " ' d° Gia% Bil1'ch» Original Documents relating to Sheffield, 1874 •
Sw, f^ ences °f 0ld Sheffield, 1875 ; Taylor, Pictorial Guide to
SHEFFIELD, John. See Buckinghamshire, Duke
of.
SHEIL, Eichard Lalor (1791-1851), Irish political
orator, was the eldest son of Edward Sheil, an Irishman
who had acquired considerable wealth in Spain, and after
the passing of the Act permitting Catholics in Ireland to
purchase and transmit property in fee had returned to
Ireland, where he purchased the estate of Bellevue,
Tipperary. The _ son was born 17th August 1791, at
Drumdowney, Tipperary. He received instruction in
French and Latin from the Abbe de Grimeau, a French
refugee, and afterwards at Kensington House school,
London, presided over by a French nobleman, the Prince
de Broglie. In October 1804 he was removed to the
college at Stoneyhurst, Lancashire, and in November
1807 entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he specially
distinguished himself in the debates of the Historical
Society. He graduated B.A. in July 1811, and on
13th November of the same year entered Lincoln’s Inn,
preparatory to being called to the Irish bar. He was
admitted a member of the Irish bar at the Hilary term
1814, and meanwhile resolved to support himself by
writing plays. His play of Adelaide, or the Emigrants, was
played at the Crow Street theatre, Dublin, 19th February
1814, with complete success, and on the 23d May 1816
was performed at Covent Garden. The Apostate, produced
at the latter theatre on 3d May 1817, firmly established
his reputation, and encouraged him to continue his
dramatic efforts till his legal and political duties absorbed
the greater part of his leisure. His principal other plays
are Bellamira (written in 1818), Evadne (1819), Huguenot',
(1819), and Montini (1820). In 1822 he began, along with
W. H. Curran, to contribute to the New Monthly Magazine
a series of papers entitled Sketches of the Irish Bar, which
attracted considerable attention by their raciness and
graphic vigour. Those written by Sheil were published
in 1855 in two volumes, with a sketch of his life. Sheil
was one of the principal founders of the Catholic Associa¬
tion in 1823, and drew up the petition for inquiry into
the mode of administering the laws in Ireland, which was
presented in the same year to both Houses of Parliament.
After the defeat of the Catholic Eelief Bill in 1825 he
suggested the formation of the New Catholic Association,
and, along with O’Connell, was the principal leader of the
agitation persistently carried on till Catholic emancipation
was granted in 1829. In the same year he was returned
to parliament for Melbourne Port, and in 1831 for Louth.
He took a prominent part in all the debates relating to
Ireland, and his brilliant eloquence gradually captivated
the admiration of the House. In August 1839 he became
vice-president of the board of trade in Lord Melbourne’s