Sheffield Manor Lodge — Attraction in Sheffield

What a find! - can't believe I've lived in Sheffield 27 years & never visited. Top tips - 1.Check the website for opening times / activities etc. 2. Start at the Discovery Centre & the small exhibition & find out about the history of the site etc. Clue: Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for about 12 years! There's a wonderful 50p coin-operated model of Mary getting her head chopped off - the boys that had gathered round thought it was great (if a bit gross!)

The Discovery Centre it was buzzing with kids enjoying craft activities (3 different types to do!), mums chatting & feeding babies drinking coffee. I had a great time looking at the exhibition, while my daughter did the rag rug making.

Entry to the ruins is through the Centre - loved the restored lavender court garden & the contemporary apothecary area. Tour of the Turret House (£3) at the weekend so will visit again for that.

The site has picnic tables and plenty of benches around the site. Superb views of Sheffield esp. from the main viewpoint (I'll take binoculars next time). Numerous wildflower areas (poppies, cornflowers, cow parsley) dotted around the site and modern sculptures (loved the cows!). Great to see kids enjoying the fresh air.

5 minutes walk away is the Rhubarb Shed cafe - also busy - v friendly staff & great food (inc. burger / chips if that's what your kids like - but specials too) Indoor & outdoor space - lots of info on wildlife in the cafe too. Still full from my Bacon & Brie butty 5 hours later.

Wandered around the little farm area and saw the animals (rabbits, pigs, chickens etc.)

Back to the Discovery Centre & little shop for a drink (I bought the guide for £2) - exhausted but a great time - we were there 4.5 hours.

Parts of the site are only open at the weekend so bear in mind when you plan a visit - probably best to visit when dry but the showers didn't spoil our time - just got damp feet - no harm.

So glad I didn't let the negative reviews put me off (the family do love all things historical though). Staff & volunteers friendly & chatty. There are plans for developing the site as and when funds allow.

A theme park it isn't - but IMO, kids need to be taught the value of the simpler things in life like fresh air & exercise - and need to learn to use their minds. Gets them away from the rectangular screens!

Thanks to everyone...

I recently got married and held the wedding and wedding breakfast at the Turret House which is in the grounds of the Sheffield Manor ruins. When myself and my husband first visited to take a look around, we were really impressed, the site is bigger than we expected and has some wonderful areas such as the Rhubarb Café, Wild Flower sections, Discovery Centre and the ruins. The people who work there are knowledgeable and friendly, and the staff who helped to organise the wedding were organised and flexible, which helped a lot as there were last minute changes etc. Our wedding was an informal occasion (but I can see a more formal celebration working too). It was a very relaxed atmosphere, we had a busker playing in the background during the wedding breakfast which everyone enjoyed and this wasn't an issue for the Manor Lodge Staff, in fact, I can't think of one idea that we had that they didn't agree to and they offered us some lovely ideas too, this enabled us to arrange the perfect day. The Manor Lodge staff ensured we had nothing to worry about during the organisation and the actual day. We used the Rhubarb Shed as the caterers, and were expecting a buffet but got a banquet placed over two floors of the beautiful historic Turret House. The site is fantastic for wedding pictures, the ruins and the house make a beautiful background, no need for wedding decorations because the house and grounds are perfect without them, but the Manor Lodge do have some little Turret Tents that they put up which looked lovely. The day, the friendly helpful staff, and the food exceeded our expectations and we would recommend the Manor Lodge and the Rhubarb Shed if anyone is currently planning a wedding or any other celebration, we couldn't have asked for more. Friends and family have visited the Manor Lodge since the wedding, and have always enjoyed their day. The site hold all sorts of events/activities for all ages and do tours which I am sure we will go on one day soon. We have met some wonderful people at the Manor Lodge, but would like to give special thanks to the people who helped with our wedding plans and day. Thank you Kate, Andy, Jon and Tony for making our day special...

We had our wedding reception at Manor Lodge in April 2022 after having the ceremony elsewhere. It's a lovely venue with excellent facilities, the perfect size for what we wanted and a good mix of indoor and outdoor space. We loved having the patio doors open on the day, and making use of the fire pit.

We loved being able to put our own stamp on the venue with decorations but it was challenging not being able to decorate the venue the day before so do bear this in mind if you're decorating the venue yourselves. We felt communication could've been better in the run up to the wedding, an FAQ was given to us eventually but it was too late by that point as we'd already had to ask most of our questions. Our main contact changed twice, without acknowledgment of this on the 2nd time and we certainly never felt we had built a good relationship.

There was some confusion on the morning about how many tables we were allowed to put where which I wish had been communicated to us beforehand so we could have planned around it better, we didn't know there would be any restrictions on that. We felt they could offer better deals on buying alcohol for your guests in advance, especially if buying in bulk, with a bottle of basic house wine for the tables costing £14.50 per bottle. We were also annoyed that we'd been told different things by different staff about the fire pit, with one staff telling us it was included in the venue hire price then another saying it wasn't and we needed to pay an extra £. At the end of the night they gave us a miniature bottle of prosecco as a gift - given how much venue hire and alcohol for guests costs this felt cheap, either give a full sized bottle or don't bother!

Catering from Rhubarb Shed Cafe was excellent and we cannot recommend their catering highly enough. Overall it's a lovely...