it is found in the possession of the De Levetot family,
and the site of their baronial residence. They founded an hospital, called
St. Leonard's (suppressed in the reign of Henry VIII.), upon an eminence
still called Spital Hill, established a corn mill, and erected a bridge
there, still called the Lady's Bridge, from the chapel of the Blessed Lady of
the Bridge, which had previously stood near the spot; and their exertions and
protection fixed here the nucleus of a town. The male line of the Levetots
became extinct by the death of William de Levetot, leaving an infant
daughter, Maud, the ward of Henry II. His successor, Richard, gave her in
marriage to Gerard de Furnival, a young Norman knight, who by that alliance
acquired the lordship of Sheffield. There is a tradition that King John,
when in arms against his barons, visited Gerard de Furnival (who espoused his
cause), and remained for some time at his Castle of Sheffield.
"On the 12th of November, 1296, Edward I. granted to Lord Furnival a charter
to hold a market in Sheffield on Tuesday in every week, and a fair every year
about the period of Trinity Sunday. This fair is still held on Tuesday and
Wednesday after Trinity Sunday, and another on the 28th of November.
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