Mystery of stone carved head on Staveley Road, Highfield

[Rockchopper]

Thanks again everyone for all their input in reply to my initial query, it is so appreciated. Really helpful to have confirmation that the carved head was on the previous houses on Staveley Road before demolition. As is often the case with these things it has filled in a few details and left a few more to be solved 😉

[Yosser54]

Here are a couple of black and white pics I took back in 1979 with the houses having recently been finished and occupied and the sculpted head looking a lot better than he does 45 years later!

[m williamson]

I lived for a number of years in the early sixties on Staveley Road in a house that was one of the ones where the head was fitted. To get to the back door which was the one we ( and our neighbours ) used to enter the house you went up a passage below the head.

I remember asking who it was supposed to be but never got an answer.  I was pleased to see it was returned to position when the new hoses were built.

 

[Rockchopper]

Amazing to hear earlier of someone actually involved in the demolition of these houses on Staveley Road and now from someone who actually lived in the houses there. Makes sense for the head to have been above the passage. I know there is still one in a similar position just nearby on Abbeydale Road that I gather is of Wolseley. The mystery continues of who this particular carving is of 😊

[retep]

 I seem to remember two heads in the row of houses on Staveley, I could be wrong it was a long time ago, we were told that they would be put back into new builds.

[prince al]

Could it be this gentleman? Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk.

[Yosser54]

Hi retep, I only remember one head as being kept for building into the new houses so perhaps the second was damaged?  As m williamson has kindly confirmed that the head was there in the 1960's it follows that it could not have been the same head that was on the house in Clough Road as the picture of that one is dated 1978. Perhaps many such heads were cast or carved and used around the area? I think prince al is right about who it might be though. Uncanny resemblance and he donated 160 acres of parks and gardens to Sheffield as well as being the first Lord Mayor of Sheffield and having churches built here.