Masons' Arms at Woodseats c.1907 [Author's Collection]. Map extract from Sheet 111, Buxton and Matlock - 1:63 360 Map [Surveyed 1949 to 1960, Published 1960] © Crown Copyright. Reproduced with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.

Masons' Arms at Woodseats c.1907

Things do not look quite so rural at this public-house in the 21st century. Fronting the Chesterfield Road, the building is surrounded by the development of Norton Woodseats, a few kilometres from the centre of Sheffield. This mid-Edwardian photograph shows the old hostelry that would later be rebuilt. Indeed, the former name also vanished in the mid-1930s when the Masons' Arms became the Big Tree. The name refers to the lovely old tree seen here. However, it is said that this was uprooted by an elephant belonging to a touring circus. The animal had apparently been tethered to the tree. The replacement tree was also lost after strong winds damaged what was a diseased specimen. Another tree now stands outside the Greene King-operated hostelry. This old tavern was recorded as the Freemasons' Arms in 1825 when James Frith was the licensee. The name was shortened by the 1840s. The faded name of Joseph Ibbotson can be seen on the sign above the door. This publican had kept the house in the late 1870s and 1880s. At the time of this photograph, taken around 1907, the Masons' Arms was kept by the Irish-born widow Mary Twivey.

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