We're Famous, At Last!

On Birley Spa being listed in the Top Ten Most Endangered Victorian Buildings in England and Wales, Griff Rhys Jones OBE, Victorian Society President said: ‘It doesn’t take much imagination to see that Birley could so easily be a fascinating attraction and a destination again. I love it. After years of dithering, it has recently been pointed out that the structure is still sound. Does Sheffield have the will to see this one through? Time and time again, it has been shown that good, committed, strong local support and lots of friends can really make a difference and revive the fortunes of a place like this. I hope this can be the case here.’
Who would have thought it? 

Victorian Society

Well, that was May this year, and fair to say things are slowly moving forward.
There has been a new condition survey carried out, which unsurprisingly shows that the state of the building is somewhat worse than the survey produced in 2021, but still the structure is considered sound!
We have a letter from the council which will be accepted by NLHF, (Yes, we've already checked!), for the purpose of funding applications.
We are now working on an application for resilience funding to cover the costs of a business plan and feasibility studies etc to be carried out. These reports and studies would lead us on to the next stage of securing a lease and applying for funds for the actual restoration. 
As we move forward, something we need, even more than lots of money, is for people to join us. We are a small group with heaps of passion but a limited skill set when it comes to funding applications. We need a treasurer, we will be starting a fundraiser soon and need someone who can focus on the financial side of things. We need more volunteers to get involved, particularly with events, but also on our Volunteer Work Days in the garden and grounds. If you want to be part of the transformation of Birley Spa, please get in touch. [email protected]

Meanwhile, we have carried on with our events and activities. We had our Dinosaur event in April. An Easter Egg Hunt with a twist. It was tremendous fun having 2 T-Rex, a Velociraptor and a Pterodactyl running around the grounds as our visitors were hunting for dinosaur eggs. 

The Birley Spa Giant had his first birthday at the beginning of August so of course he had a party! We did some crafts and told the story of how 'Gruggle' came to be at the Spa. We sang happy Birthday to him and ate lots of cake!

Also in August we had our Family Fun Day at the Lodge. We had some lovely stall holders and visitors. A first, but definitely not last for us, South Yorkshire Terrapin and Tortoise Rescue, came to our event with some of their wonderful rescued animals. Hollie Rose was our singer for the day. Oh, and there was a pesky Velociraptor running around giving out hugs!

In September we held our Heritage Open Days events for the 7th year, even though I spent the first weekend telling people that it was our 6th! As always we met some really great people who totally understood the importance of this very special place. The feedback from our visitors has been amazing and validates everything we do, which is why it's one of our favourite events of the year.

In October we had our Halloween event, always tremendous fun. Lots of scares and laughter. The Spa environment lends itself to any occasion. Special thanks to those who helped make it happen, and to those who came, you were simply spooktastic!

We also held our first Carboot/Table Top Sale at the Lodge in August and hope it will become a regular feature in 2026.

Throughout the year our Volunteers have worked hard to maintain the garden and grounds. It's tough going, especially with such a small team, but they continue to work miracles. The sessions are on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Why not come and join us sometime?

Earlier this year we were lucky to have the Community Payback Team come and do some work at the Spa. They laid a path from the gate to the steps up to the building. It has made a such a difference, to a part of the garden that has always been problematic during the winter months. The guys working on site were a credit to the scheme. Thanks to Glyn Staves, Placement Co-ordinator, Community Payback, we hope the team will be back soon!

---

We haven't done a blog post for ages as it seemed like we hadn't got much to say.
It turns out we have been quite busy really!

If you would like to get involved, in any way at all, please get in touch.

Thank you for reading, and for all your support this far.

Best wishes

Birley Spa Preservation Trust - Fiona, Victoria, Dale, Emma and Janet