Norton Hall

About the year 1666, the manor of Norton was purchased by Cornelius Clarke, Esq., of Ashgate, who dying in 1696 bequeathed it to his nephew, Mr. Robert Offley, of Norwich. In the year 1751 Stephen Offley, Esq., of Norton, died, and left issue, a son and two daughters. The son dying without issue, the manor of Norton became the property of Samuel Shore, Esq., who married one of his sisters; by her he had two sons. Samuel, the elder son, married Miss Harriet Foye, of Castle Hill, in the county of Dorset, whose son, Offley Shore, Esq., succeeded to the manor, but whose misfortunes, from the family having been bankers at Sheffield, placed the manor in the hands of assignees for the term of his life. Near the east end of the village a small Unitarian chapel was erected by the late S. Shore, Esq., previous to which a room in Norton Hall was used for that purpose; but the building is now closed. The Wesleysn Reformers have a neat stone chapel here, erected by T. B. Holy, Esq., in 1854. It will hold abt 100. In 1855, Miss Lydia Shore erected a school at Bole Hill, for boys and girls, with a residence for the teacher. It is neatly fitted up with every convenience, and will hold abt 70, the average attendance being abt thirty. Norton HaIl is a large handsome stone mansion, in the village of Norton, the seat of Charles Cammell, Esq. Norton House is a large and ancient mansion, the seat of Thomas Beard Holy, Esq. At Maugerhay is a free school, situated a little to the S.E. of Norton, where abt 60 children are now educated. Here is a bowling green, much frequented by pleasure parties from Sheffield. Near this to the S.E. is The Oaks, a handsome mansion situated in a fine park, the seat and property of F. W. Bagshawe, Esq. Norton Lees and Woodseats division forms the north side of the parish, and includes Bole Hill, Heeley Mill, Little London, Norton Hammer, and Smithy Wood. Meersbrook, 1½ mile S. of Sheffield, a handsome modern brick mansion, delightfully situated on a bold eminence above the Meersbrook, commanding a fine view of the Sheaf vale, is the seat and property of the Misses Shore.  REF: http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~claycross/758-769.htm 

"When the Bullocks fell into difficulties they mortgaged Norton to Cornelius Clarke, who had no children and so passed Norton onto his sister Ursula, who married Stephen Offley. The Norton Estate remained with several generations of Offleys, until the heir, Urith, married Samuel Shore. It was Samuel Shore who rebuilt Norton Hall and is credited as being responsible for greatly extending and opening out the grounds around the house, forming the estate into a landscape of beautiful parkland.

The Norton Estate remained with the Shores until 1843, when the then Lord of the Manor, Offley Shore, was forced to dispose of the Estate, owing to the failure of his bank. The next resident at Norton Hall was James Yates who came, not as Lord of the Manor, but as a tenant. The sale by auction of the Shore Estate in 1850, received no bid, but was eventually secured by Charles Cammell." From History of Graves Park 

180 OLD HALLS OF DERBYSHIRE. that Hall's opinion of this letter being evidence of Edmund Offley never being married makes out a case to the contrary. Those students, anxious to be posted in the ghost story, must read " Human illustrations," by the author of "Tremaine." Young Offley had two sisters, Urith, married to Samuel Shore, of Meersbrook; and Hannah, the wife of Francis Edmunds, of Worsborough. In the dowry of Urith was the manor of Norton, and hence the Shores had the lordship for more than a century, which is the longest period since the days of the Chaworths. Dr. Gatty, in his edition of Hunter's " Hallamshire, " says, "that the pedigree of the Shores was duly entered by the first Mr. Samuel Shore, and has since been brought down to the present time, yet no. grant of arnis has appeared on the books of the College; that, on application of Mr. Offl-,y Shore, a grant was made to him and the 'descendants of his grandfather, Mr. Samuel Shore,' by Sir William Woods, Garter; J. Hawker, Clarencieux, and Francis 'Martin, Norrey King at Arms, dated July, 1839." Very good I If so, how could Lysons have shown their shield (which he does) in his " Derbyshire," and if no grant of arms " appeared on the books," where did hee get them from ? How comes it that Barke shews the arnis as shewn by lLysons, and not as given by Dr. Gatty ? Any student strolling by way of Norton, should turn aside to look at those vestiges of HazelbaroNv Hall, which recall those days when the length of a gentleman's shoes had to be curtailed by Act of Parliament. PEDIGREE OF SHORE. John Shore, living in the time of Charles II. (originally of Dronfield), married Sarah Sims; whose son, Samuel, married Sarah Sykes ; whose son, Samuel, was of Meersbrook. This gentleman married Mary Diggles, of Liverpool, an heiress, by whom he had Samuel (Sheriff in 1761); whose wife was Urith Offley, the co-heiress, in -whose dowry was the Lordship of Norton. Samuel died in 1828, and was succeeded by his son, Samuel, whose wife was Harriet Fitz-Walter Foye, of Castle Hill, Dorset, an heiress, by whom he had a numerous family. He was Sheriff in 1832, and died in 1836, beirio. succeeded n by his son, Offley, whose wife was Elizabeth Brewin, of North D--ioton, County York. By this lady he had four sons and three Datioliters, among whom were Harrington, of Cheadle, and 0,11--y, of Sheffield. Among the brothers of Samuel, who married the co-heiress of the Offleys, was John, of Scarborough, whose son, William Edward, assumed the name of Nightingale, and was father of Florence, of iniperisliable memory. http://www.usigs.org/library/books/uk/dby/DbyOldHallsTilly1892/dbyh3Scarsdale/dbyh4192.txt 

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