Longley, Sheffield

The recorded history of the Longley area goes back to the Late Middle Ages with the first mention being in 1366 when it was part of the parish of Ecclesfield.

At that time it was a hamlet called “Longeley”, meaning “Long Clearing”, subsequent spellings over the years were “Longlegh” and “Longlee”.

From the start of the 15th century the sparse population of Longley rented their land from the Earl of Shrewsbury who was Lord of the Manor.

In the early part of the 20th century Longley became within the boundary of the City of Sheffield and was earmarked as a site for a council housing estate and the rural life disappeared altogether.

Today the Hall is owned by a private landlord, and operated as a Supported living project providing a home for people with a range of disabilities.

It is surrounded by modern housing and well screened and is easily missed by the passer-by although there is a plaque on the wall on Longley Lane.

It was built in 1790, however Brushes Farm existed on the site in the 1640s, at the time of the English Civil War when its first resident Captain Burley was executed in 1646 for siding with the Royalists.

[2] In the early part of the 1920s Sheffield City Council started buying up land in the area from local land-owners.

On 10 June 1926 the Council’s plans for 2,000 new houses at Longley were endorsed and tenants started moving into the completed dwellings in 1927.

The Longley area does not have any public houses strictly within its boundaries, the nearest one being the Devonshire Arms on Herries Road which is in the adjacent district of Shirecliffe.

The foundation stone for a new church on Everingham Road was laid in July 1939, however because of World War II it was not completed and consecrated until May 1950.