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Oldest House In Sheffield... But What/where Is It ?


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A different picture of the same house now on Ebay, this one says Spring Hill, built 1758.  I think I see the same cat at the left hand doorway, 'bout time someone let it in!

---------      https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YORKSHIRE-SHEFFIELD-CROOKES-SPRING-HILL-OLDEST-HOUSE-BUILT-1758-CAT-PHOTO-CARD-/363043729037?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

crookes_spring_hill_oldest_house_built_1758_and_cat .jpg

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On 18/07/2020 at 23:08, boginspro said:

A different picture of the same house now on Ebay, this one says Spring Hill, built 1758.  I think I see the same cat at the left hand doorway, 'bout time someone let it in!

---------      https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YORKSHIRE-SHEFFIELD-CROOKES-SPRING-HILL-OLDEST-HOUSE-BUILT-1758-CAT-PHOTO-CARD-/363043729037?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

crookes_spring_hill_oldest_house_built_1758_and_cat .jpg

Hi boginspro, Possible location of the old house on Spring Hill.  There's a gap between houses No 26 & 38, and built into the wall is what could be the right hand Stanchion post from the door with the cat, seen here on this Google Earth screen shot.

Spring Hill.jpg

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This map which says 1855 shows very few buildings on Spring Hill at the time. The ebay link claims the postcard was posted 1908, so I'm assuming that the cottages were still in existence when the map was drawn, so they should be on there somewhere. [Sadly southside's suggestion is all fields].

The best candidate would be the marked "Spring Cottages" [coincidentally just opposite southside's suggested location]. There are buildings there today in the same alignment, but they're hard to see from Streetview. I've attached a google 3d image of them, and the white building I've marked looks intriguingly similar to the old cottages - with the narrow building on the left (where the cat was) and a bigger one to the right.

It could alternatively be the cluster marked "No 8" on the map, although they're on School Lane.

Untitled.png

Untitled 2.png

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The alignment of those buildings in the 3d looks identical to their layout on the 1855 map. But they don't look that old from streetview. Could these be the old cottages after a refurb? If they were rebuilt I doubt they would have copied exactly the footprint of the old cottages - but they're a perfect fit to the map - chunky square building next to road, then a longer building which would be the one in the old photo.

Here's the best I can get from streetview - this is looking from the back (can't get to the front at all) so if my theory is correct, the cat building is still there and its the one with the window on the far right of the white block.

That pebble dash job is pretty ugly - refurb, rebuild? Or am I totally wrong? If I'm right it looks like bay windows have been added to the centre building.

I used to live not far from here, I want to get out and investigate! Anyone nearby?

 

Untitled.png

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It was a nice theory, I had myself convinced. But one thing doesn't match:

The layout of the buildings looks indentical to the 1855 map. So we can assume my buildings (including the pebble dashed gable end) were there in 1855 and are on the map.

But: in the original posts, the far right is a building set back a little bit.

In my buildings, and on the 1855 map, the equivalent building (pebble dash) is set forward, by a lot.

Bah.

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Ok, ignore my ramblings. It's on picture sheffield with a perfectly clear description:

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;t02374&pos=2&action=zoom

No.'s 128-132, Common Side, Upperthorpe, built 1758, referred to as 'the oldest houses in Sheffield'

This is why I should never be a detective. Fitting the evidence around the facts!

ceegee in the linked post was bang on the money.

Still, it was interesting to discover why those 3 strange houses are stuck in the middle of Spring Hill, not fitting in why any of the surroundings.

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Some very interesting comments here, thanks, but I am now more confused than I was before.  It's a long time since I have seen Commonside but to me the hill looks too steep for that part of Commonside, though they do look like the houses on the right in ceegee's  picture in the other post.  Anyway here is another oldest house in Sheffield with Commonside written on the back.   ---------   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143538256793

Oldest House Commonside.jpg

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Nice picture!

It's not that steep on this part of commonside. Downhill sure but not steep. This (according to ceegee) is roughly the same angle as your picture and it compares well I think.

 

Untitled.png

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RichK,  I'm still going with my side of Spring Hill for the location of the old house albeit lower down the Hill, looking at this 1853 map it shows only one house on Spring Hill and its named on the 1851 census Spring Cottage, the map location puts it on or just below the later constructed Spring Hill Road.

Spring Hill cottage 1853.jpg

Spring Hill Cottage 1851.jpg

Spring Hill Cottage( bing).jpg

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If the block on the map is to be trusted, I think it looks too square to match the picture.

Of course the description given on picturesheffield could be wrong, but the location given there, and by @ceegee on the other thread, this one is too good a match. The building on the right set back slightly matches perfectly.

 

Untitled.png

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