| Code | NA5324 |
| Place Entry | Clifton House/Clifton/Rotherham/South Yorkshire |
| Notes | In the minutes of the Iron & Steel Company, Samuel Walker & Co. it is recorded that in 1783 "Mr Joshua Walker nearly compleated his new house, stables, &c at Clifton."
Joshua Walker (1750-1815) was the second eldest son of Samuel Walker (1715-1782), the founder of the Walker Company at Masbrough. He was a senior partner in the company, and, after the death of his elder brother Samuel (1742-1792), the title of the company was changed to Joshua Walker & Co.
The architect John Carr of York is traditionally regarded as the builder of Clifton House, although this has not been documented [see note below]. However, Carr was responsible for the design of Eastwood House, built for Joseph Walker (1752-1801), Joshua's brother, in 1786-7. The similarities in style of both houses, and the fact that John Platt mason & architect of Rotherham was responsible for the design of the floors and staircases at Clifton and Eastwood appear to confirm this.
Clifton House was built with local stone and brick, and consisted of an outer and inner hall, study, libary, drawing room, dining room, and a large kitchen with the housekeeper's room on one side and the pantry and butler's pantry on the other. The open courtyard wa surrounded on three sides by the bake-house, dairy, store-rooms, wash kitchen, coach house and servants hall. The bedrooms and the dressing-rooms occupied the first floor of the main house. Outside were more outbuildings, drives, fish-pond, the lake and the lodge on Doncaster Road. A number of wells on the estate provided water and an ice-house lay to the east of the house.
The floors in the inner & outer halls, in addition to the work-tops in the pantry and some of the fireplace surrounds, and the staircase, were laid with Derbyshire marble to the design of John Platt. His diary records the work "15 Jun.1784 Begun laying Staircase and hall floors Derbysh marble at Clifton Joshua Walker Esq."
Cast-iron was also used in the construction, probably manufactured at the Walker foundries. The casemates for the sash windows, the pillars and girders supporting the main staircase and the balustrade are all cast-iron. The fireplace surrounds were made by Wolstenholme's of York, a firm known to have worked with John Carr, although most of the fire-grates were added later and may be of local manufacture. The plasterwork in the ground-floor rooms is original, but the painted decoration on the ceilings which was restored in 1960, probably dates from c.1840.
Joshua lived at Clifton with his wife Susannah (1760-1831) and their three children, Henry, Joshua and Susanna until his death in 1815. Prior to this, he had purchased Blyth Hall near Worksop in Notts from a Lt. Colonel Mellish in 1806. At the time of his father's death, Henry Walker had been living at Eastwood House, but came to live at Clifton soon afterwards. However he maintained a strong interest in the local affairs of Nottinghamshire, becoming a JP, Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriff of the county. After the death of his wife Elizabeth in 1850, he moved back to Clifton where he died in January 1860.
In 1860 the 69 acre estate was put up for sale, divided into nine lots, the largest of which, over thirty acres in size, comprised the mansion house with its outbuildings, gardens, park, fish pond and lodge. Lot 1, as it was known, was the only part of the estate occupied by Henry Walker before his death, the other portions of land being in the occupation of various tenants. After the initial sale of June 1860, lots 1, 2 and 3 remained unsold, but were bought by William Owen, a local manufacturer, in 1865.
William Owen died in 1881, and following the death of his wife in 1882, the Trustees of the estate put it up for sale in June 1883. The estate was divided into a total of 17 lots, of which lots 10-16 were building plots. By comparison with the Estate Plan of 1860, buildin development had taken place with the creation of Clifton Mount, Clifton Crescent, Clifton Grove and other streets. Moreover, the plan shows a new road running from Clifton Lane to Middle Lane, called Clifton Park Road. The Trustees envisaged that the land between the new road and Doncaster Road would be developed as building plots. However the estate remained unsoled until 1891 when Rotherham Corporation bought the house and grounds for £25,000.
Clifton Park Estate auctioned 1883 - surviving plan.
Following the opening of Clifton Park in June 1891, Clifton House was opened as a Public Museum on 8th July 1893. See entry for Clifton Park Museum for the history of the museum.
Note:
John Carr generally accepted as the architect of Clifton House, however no primary sources confirm this and the secondary sources are not in agreement eg. Clifton House not listed with Carr in Colvin HM "Biographical dictionary of British architecture"; Ware D "Short dictionary of British architects"; DNB; Davies R "Memoirs of John Carr Esq" in Yorks Arch. Journal IV 1877 [Carr's "works" mentioned as being in possession of Messrs JB & W Atkinson of York were not traced - possible surviving Carr archives not found]. However is listed in Pevsner "West Riding of Yorkshire Riding"; Greene D "The Yews Doncaster Rd Rotherham" in Trans. Hunter Arch. Soc. Vol 7 p.37; Guest Historic Notices p.681 [NB see also p.500 and 489 where no mention, however]. |
| Place Name | Clifton House |
| Area2 | Clifton |
| Area3 | Rotherham |
| Area4 | South Yorkshire |
| Notes | In the minutes of the Iron & Steel Company, Samuel Walker & Co. it is recorded that in 1783 "Mr Joshua Walker nearly compleated his new house, stables, &c at Clifton."
Joshua Walker (1750-1815) was the second eldest son of Samuel Walker (1715-1782), the founder of the Walker Company at Masbrough. He was a senior partner in the company, and, after the death of his elder brother Samuel (1742-1792), the title of the company was changed to Joshua Walker & Co.
The architect John Carr of York is traditionally regarded as the builder of Clifton House, although this has not been documented [see note below]. However, Carr was responsible for the design of Eastwood House, built for Joseph Walker (1752-1801), Joshua's brother, in 1786-7. The similarities in style of both houses, and the fact that John Platt mason & architect of Rotherham was responsible for the design of the floors and staircases at Clifton and Eastwood appear to confirm this.
Clifton House was built with local stone and brick, and consisted of an outer and inner hall, study, libary, drawing room, dining room, and a large kitchen with the housekeeper's room on one side and the pantry and butler's pantry on the other. The open courtyard wa surrounded on three sides by the bake-house, dairy, store-rooms, wash kitchen, coach house and servants hall. The bedrooms and the dressing-rooms occupied the first floor of the main house. Outside were more outbuildings, drives, fish-pond, the lake and the lodge on Doncaster Road. A number of wells on the estate provided water and an ice-house lay to the east of the house.
The floors in the inner & outer halls, in addition to the work-tops in the pantry and some of the fireplace surrounds, and the staircase, were laid with Derbyshire marble to the design of John Platt. His diary records the work "15 Jun.1784 Begun laying Staircase and hall floors Derbysh marble at Clifton Joshua Walker Esq."
Cast-iron was also used in the construction, probably manufactured at the Walker foundries. The casemates for the sash windows, the pillars and girders supporting the main staircase and the balustrade are all cast-iron. The fireplace surrounds were made by Wolstenholme's of York, a firm known to have worked with John Carr, although most of the fire-grates were added later and may be of local manufacture. The plasterwork in the ground-floor rooms is original, but the painted decoration on the ceilings which was restored in 1960, probably dates from c.1840.
Joshua lived at Clifton with his wife Susannah (1760-1831) and their three children, Henry, Joshua and Susanna until his death in 1815. Prior to this, he had purchased Blyth Hall near Worksop in Notts from a Lt. Colonel Mellish in 1806. At the time of his father's death, Henry Walker had been living at Eastwood House, but came to live at Clifton soon afterwards. However he maintained a strong interest in the local affairs of Nottinghamshire, becoming a JP, Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriff of the county. After the death of his wife Elizabeth in 1850, he moved back to Clifton where he died in January 1860.
In 1860 the 69 acre estate was put up for sale, divided into nine lots, the largest of which, over thirty acres in size, comprised the mansion house with its outbuildings, gardens, park, fish pond and lodge. Lot 1, as it was known, was the only part of the estate occupied by Henry Walker before his death, the other portions of land being in the occupation of various tenants. After the initial sale of June 1860, lots 1, 2 and 3 remained unsold, but were bought by William Owen, a local manufacturer, in 1865.
William Owen died in 1881, and following the death of his wife in 1882, the Trustees of the estate put it up for sale in June 1883. The estate was divided into a total of 17 lots, of which lots 10-16 were building plots. By comparison with the Estate Plan of 1860, buildin development had taken place with the creation of Clifton Mount, Clifton Crescent, Clifton Grove and other streets. Moreover, the plan shows a new road running from Clifton Lane to Middle Lane, called Clifton Park Road. The Trustees envisaged that the land between the new road and Doncaster Road would be developed as building plots. However the estate remained unsoled until 1891 when Rotherham Corporation bought the house and grounds for £25,000.
Clifton Park Estate auctioned 1883 - surviving plan.
Following the opening of Clifton Park in June 1891, Clifton House was opened as a Public Museum on 8th July 1893. See entry for Clifton Park Museum for the history of the museum.
Note:
John Carr generally accepted as the architect of Clifton House, however no primary sources confirm this and the secondary sources are not in agreement eg. Clifton House not listed with Carr in Colvin HM "Biographical dictionary of British architecture"; Ware D "Short dictionary of British architects"; DNB; Davies R "Memoirs of John Carr Esq" in Yorks Arch. Journal IV 1877 [Carr's "works" mentioned as being in possession of Messrs JB & W Atkinson of York were not traced - possible surviving Carr archives not found]. However is listed in Pevsner "West Riding of Yorkshire Riding"; Greene D "The Yews Doncaster Rd Rotherham" in Trans. Hunter Arch. Soc. Vol 7 p.37; Guest Historic Notices p.681 [NB see also p.500 and 489 where no mention, however]. |
| Source | Information sheet c.1975-85 |