History of Scunthorpe Page 2
Normanby Hall
Nestled in the serene countryside of North Lincolnshire, miles away from the steelworks, is Normanby Hall Country Park.
This superb Regency mansion was built between 1812 and 1830 and designed by architect Sir Robert Smirke (1823 - 1847), who
also designed the British Museum in London. The building of the mansion was the final stage of the refurbishment of Sir
Berkeley Sheffield's (1876 - 1946) estate. Normanby Hall has been in the Sheffield's family seat since the 16th Century.
The family had once owned most of the Parish of Crosby (one of the five rural villages that originally made up Scunthorpe) and in
the early part of the 20th Century released land for the building of much needed housing in the area between Crosby village and Scunthorpe
High Street. Sir Berkeley Sheffield was actively involved in the urbanisation and industrialisation of Scunthorpe. He was a key figure in
the town's growth and became Scunthorpe's Charter Mayor in 1936. In 1906 the Hall was extended to include private family quarters, a new
dining room and servants quarters. Nowadays, the Hall is used for private functions such as weddings and conferences and the Sheffield
family now live at Sutton Park, near York.
Normanby Hall Country Park is now open to the public and has 300 acres of parkland surrounding it. Many of the original features can still
be seen, such a Victorian laundry, coach house and stables. To the rear of the hall is a vast deer park, home to herds of Red and Fallow
Deer that roam freely through the park. The Victorian Walled Garden was restored with Heritage Lottery and European Regional Development
Funds. Varieties of Victorian fruit, vegetables and flowers are grown organically, as if for use in 'the big house'. Peaches, grapes,
nectarines and melons are grown in rebuilt glasshouses. In total contrast to the Hall is the Farming Museum, which depicts rural life at
the time when heavy horses did the work on farms, giving an insight into life at the other end of the social scale to the hall.
Scunthorpe Co-operative Society
Co-operatives are owned and operated by the people, for the benefit of those who work in it or use the services provided by it. They are
thought to have begun in Britain in 1844 and developed in the latter part of the 19th Century, particularly in industrial areas, and among
the urban working classes. The Scunthorpe Co-operative Society was founded in 1874 by a group of ironworkers and lead by Enoch Markham,
providing its members and customers with high quality goods and services at reasonable prices. The profits were shared out in the form of
dividends or 'divi' based on the amounts purchased over a given time period. The Society was extremely successful and dominated Scunthorpe's
High Street. The Scunthorpe Co-operative Society became part of the Co-operative Retail Society in 1973, but by then national competition had
grown, and consumer habits started to change, and many outlets were forced to close.
