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Free Membership!
19/06/11 : Following a decision at recent AGM, membership is now FREE, so hurry to our enrolment page and sign up!

Funding Bid
26/05/11 : We have made another bid to "you choose" to buy some suitable furniture for the house. This year, the "winners" will be chosen by a closed panel of councillors rather than the public events of the past.

Round Walk
18/05/11 : Can we remind the rambling public that BH is on the Sheffield Round Walk and participants in that are very welcome to drop in and see us.

Drawing competition results
20/04/11 : You can see some of the entries to the "draw bishops house" competition we ran during the Community Heritage Weekend. Congratulations to Rhianna, Lizzie and Frankie, as well as everyone else who entered

Heritage Weekend a huge success!
28/03/11 : Our Community Heritage Weekend, was a huge success, with well over 300 visitors attending and many new members signing up.

Records broken!
07/02/11 : the first open day of the New Year was a huge success, with a new record attendance. Over 50 people went on just one of the tours! Tthis adds further weight to the argument that access to the house must be maintained, even in the face of harsh cutbacks.

Members meeting
31/01/11 : We will be having a members meeting to update you all with our progress, especially regarding our Community Heritage Weekend on March 26/27. The meeting will be at St Pauls Church & Centre, 7.30-9.30 Friday February 11th. The meeting is for members only, but if you wish to join on the night, you are also welcome to attend.

You Choose video
30/12/10 : Sheffield Council have posted a video of the days events for the You Choose bid. Watch this on youtube here.

Join our Forum
20/12/10 : over Christmas you should have a little more free time - why not join our forum and let us have your thoughts? It's a very simple process - we only require registration to keep out spammers...

English heritage visit BH
26/10/10 : Megg Munn's website mentions a recent visit from EH to the House. The FOBH were not invited.

FOBH in Active 8
14/10/10 : There's a nice article on our sucessful recent bid for funding in the November issue of Active 8. Click the image to read the article. Please visit the news page to read other developments.

You Chose, We Won!
10/10/10 : The FOBH made a bid for funding to hold a Community Heritage Weekend, decided by public vote on October 9th. We came first! Read more!

Ghost Night
08/10/10 : you can now book tickets for our first Ghost Night on 17th December.

Newsletter # 1
06/10/10 : our first newsletter is now available in pdf format. Please feel free to distribute as widely as you can either electronically or in printed format. Printed copies are sent out to all paid-up members, so don't delay, join today!

FOBH on Radio Sheffield
17/09/10 : FOBH secretary Nick RObinson was on Radio Sheffield for a mid-afternoon slot to plug the group and explain about our forthcoming "You Choose" bid.

September Open Day
06/09/10 : the recent open day saw people snapping up the range of freshly picked organic vegetables courtesy of Konrad Zastawny, from the allotments adjacent to the house. Sales of runner beans, french beans, courgettes and cucumbers helped to raise funds for FOBH. As always, people raved about the House and expressed their support for its future. The photo shows Councillor Denise Reaney giving Museums Sheffield's Jan Ibberson

MS site updated
17/08/10 : the school learning pages for Bishops' House have recently been updated - have a look!

Another postcard unearthed
01/08/10 : another old postcard found on the internet, looks like it's from the 1930s. If you have any old cards to sell or date, please get in touch.

Buy a painting!
30/07/10 : You can pick up an acrylic painting of BH for a mere 50 quid. More info.

Work indoors
29/07/10 : MS have secured funding from the (soon to wind up!) MLA to improve the reception area at Bishops' House. MS say: "The idea is to create a more welcoming entrance and more flexible space, allowing a greater function of the building by multiple users - from school groups to family groups to guests at special events. A new desk and shop merchandising table are planned and a fitted donations box within the desk counter will promote our charity message. We are also sprucing up the paintwork by re-painting the walls and ceiling and making the floor safer by laying coir matting. A bespoke 'Welcome Board' will help with orientation and build on the external signage in the grounds. These improvements will start mid August"

fire engine attends the House
27/07/10 : in the evening, a fire engine was called to the house to check out a fire near the building. A disposable BBQ and some burnt plastic bottles were on the slope between Bishop's House and the main body of the park. The footage from security cameras is being checked.

The Blythes come a-visiting!
04/07/10 : Direct decendants of the original owners (the Blythes) paid a visit to sample the guided tour today, The Orchard family. They have the family tree mapped back to 1500 - most impressive! Four more FOBH members were signed up - we hope you'll all visit our forum, sign up and leave some comments!

Membership
20/06/10 : People are signing up to become a FOBH - come along to any of the open days and join us! Online membership will be coming soon, menawhile, print and post the table here (with payment!)

Open day
06/06/10 : We had a stall by the house, as well as in the nearby Meersbrook Walled Garden and signed up nearly 20 members to the FOBH, as well as generally spreading the word. A strong membership is vital for getting new ideas and enthusiasm, as well as voting at the first AGM, which is due to take place in April 2011.

Now you can join FOBH!
05/06/10 : having finally approved our constitution, we're now in a position to offer membership to the FOBH. The exact benefits of membership are tenuous at the moment, but you will be expressing your support for the House, helping us proceed with some of our plans, be able to vote at our AGM and we hope to offer discounts for future events. The cost will be a minimum donation of £3.00 for adults, £1.50 students and concessions. Join at any of our public events (currently these tie in with open days at the House) or contact us for alternative methods.

More meetings with MS
04/06/10 : yesterday saw another meeting with representatives from Museums Sheffield (see pic right) where several issues were positively discussed. MS are willing to open the House up in the evening for us to hold meetings, an offer we may well be taking advantage of. They are still awaiting the results of recent negotiations with the council regarding future funding, but have assured us that the "open weekends" will certainly continue for the rest of the year, at the least.

Forum created
05/05/10 : In order to dicuss the house and all the issues surrounding it, we've set up an online forum. Anyone can read it, only members can post on it. It's free to join, you just have to complete a short registration form, then reply to an email confirming your membership. After that, you can post away merrily.

New policy on photographs!
28/04/10 : We're delighted to report that a new, more liberal, photography policy is about to be rolled out by MS. The basic deal is that they will only restrict photography where artworks are still in copyright, so as a result there is no need for a restriction at Bishops' House. Snap away & post your pics on facebook!

1976 leaflet found
27/04/10 : Our chair has unearthed a BH leaflet produced in 1976. It reveals the House was open 10-5 wed-sat and 11-5 on sun. Admission was a wacking 10p. It also says the gardens round the building are planted with herbs, shrubs and flowers typical of sixteenth and seventeenth century small domestic gardens - we wonder what happened to them? If you have any more old memorabila, photos, sotries etc., please get in touch.

Meeting with MS...
22/04/10 : FOBH had a very positive meeting with Museums Sheffield, where we found out more about each other and cleared up a few myths. They have no current intentions to further reduce opening times at BH, although there is a (seemingly endless) review under way about future financing. We intend to work together on a lottery fund bid and see how the relationship progresses!

Committee formed
20/04/10 : Following the first meeting of the steering group, a formal committee has been set up; John Brown (Chair), Nick Roscoe (treasurer), Nick Robinson (secretary) plus Joy Bullivant, Denise Reaney, Rachel Nicholas and Kaktus Leach. We have begun work on a constitution and will be opening a bank account in order to claim some funding for meetings. You can read our constitution.

Former residents speaks
06/04/10 : A woman who lived in Sheffield's historic Bishops' House as a child is backing our campaign. Read more

Get Wed in t'House!
02/04/10 : Did you know you can use BH for marriage ceremonies - if anyone has photos of such a happy event, please get in touch.

Ghosts and Goolies
26/03/10 : Ghost Night Events held a spooky session at BH recently - read the review. Good to see Musuems Sheffield raising revenue imaginatively!

Latest Meeting
19/03/10 : A meeting convened by Meg Munn was attended by Kim from MS, Kaktus, Nick, John & Dave from FOBH, plus Meg and secretary Laura. The atmosphere was very positive and we all have much to think about. Our next step will be to put together a steering group in order to agree exactly what we are fighting for(!), to draft a constitution, set up a bank account and the other essentials of running a voluntary pressure group. Our plan is to gather key volunteers for a further meeting in a few weeks. MS are still deciding how the future looks for them and will keep us informed of anything that affects BH.

Minutes from meeting
07/03/10 : Minutes are now available from our meeting on 25th Feb, courtesy of Laura Osman.

MS staff take pay cut
05/03/10 : Despite criticism from some quarters about an apparent lack of commitment, staff at Museums Sheffield have volunteered to take a pay cut so services do not have to be hit after the organisation received a reduced budget for the coming year. We hope this will remove the last doubt about a complete closure of BH, although it seems likely the "10 weekends a year" scenario is still the most likely outcome. The best way to maintain access is to use the building, something we're working hard to achieve. Read more

More Press
Another article on the Morning Telegraph site

Publicity
01/03/10 : Anyone visiting the Council website will see at least part of the reason for low visitor numbers at BH - it's not even listed there! Further down the page you see a photo of the house, under the heading "Derbyshire", with no link attached. We despair!
PS. since raising this issue, the site has been updated.

Hmmmm
27/02/10 : The "word on the street" is that despite the lack of official announcement, the house will just be open for about 10 occasions a year for 'big events'. The justification is that visitor numbers have fallen to around 70 per weekend. We feel that a lack of promotion, publicity, imagination and visible public commitment is directly responsible for the low foot-fall and that no decision should be made until these points have been addressed.

Public Meeting
26/02/10 : There was a public meeting to discuss the future of Bishops House, organised by Meg Munn, on Thursday 25th February. It turned out to be quite a remarkable show of strength for BH, with many diverse opinions and backgrounds, the fifty plus who attended have sent a sizeable warning shot across the bows of museums Sheffield. More to follow. See photo (right)

Facebook page launched
24/02/10 : We've set up a Facebook page for the house, to help spread the word. Nothing too exciting, but does allow people to show support & leave comments. A quick and easy way to show your support for Bishops' House is to become a fan. 48 people became fans in the first four days - why not join them?

Recent Tour
20/02/10 : There was a tour of Bishops' House on 13 February, organised by the Museums Trust and attended by around 40 people (pictured below right). These kind of numbers clearly show how popular Bishop's House can be at weekends! A fascinating talk was given and enjoyed by all. See our item in the Sheffield Star

Partial Closure?
10/02/10 : The council has announced plans to cut back on access to the house in order to save money. Nick Dodd, Chief Executive of Museums Sheffield, says;

"Our position at the moment is that the recent recession will inevitably make itself felt over the next few years in a period of restrained public spending across the UK, with Sheffield being no exception. In response to impending public sector funding cuts, Sheffield City Council has asked each of the cultural trusts across the city to make a 2.5% reduction in their annual operating costs for the 2010/11 financial year. With the added pressure of rising utility costs and inflation, Museums Sheffield is currently working towards a saving equal to 5% (£172,000) of its annual grant.

We are currently in the process of consulting with staff across the organisation as to how best to implement this saving whilst maintaining an inspiring and cost effective museum and gallery service for Sheffield. All Museums Sheffield staff have been asked for their feedback on a range of possible options, including reduced hours, voluntary redundancy and early retirement, which are all being considered in a concerted effort to avoid compulsory redundancies. No decisions have been made yet as to the impact the 5% saving will have on museum and gallery opening hours, however there is no question of any museum or gallery in our care closing as part of this review."

Experience, however, shows that when closures begin in a small way, they can accelerate rapidly. We feel that much more public consultation should be undertaken to find out how this amazing resource can best be managed, perhaps a user group could be set up for interested parties to help safeguard the future.

If you have any thoughts or wish to get involved, please get in touch using the contact button above!

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