A Brief History of Sheffield

[Sheffield History]

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SHEFFIELD

By Tim Lambert

Dedicated to Denise Shepherd

SHEFFIELD IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Sheffield was founded in the early 12th century by the Lord of the manor, William de Lovetot. He built a castle on the site of Castle Market. It was on an easily defended site as it had a river on the north and east. The castle had a moat on the south and west. In 1266 rebels burned the castle but it was rebuilt in 1270. The Lord also built a church on the site of the cathedral.

A little town grew up between the castle and the church. That often happened in the Middle Ages. The garrison of the castle provided a market for the townspeople's goods. Sheffield only had a population of a few hundred. It would seem tiny to us but settlements were very small in those days. A typical village had only 100 or 150 inhabitants.

Sheffield would seem more like a village than a town to us. Many of the people in the town were at least part-time farmers. They tilled the fields around the town.

Wool was made in Sheffield. After it was woven the wool was fulled. That means it was pounded in a mixture of clay and water to clean and thicken it. Wooden hammers worked by watermills pounded the wool. Afterwards it was dyed. The first cutler in Sheffield was mentioned at the end of the 13th century.

In 1297 Sheffield was given a charter (a document granting the townspeople certain rights). Sheffield was given the right to have a weekly market and an annual fair. In the Middle Ages fairs were like markets but they were held only once a year. People would come from all over South Yorkshire to attend a Sheffield fair.

By the 14th century Sheffield was beginning to be known for cutlery. In 1340 the king made an inventory of his possessions in the tower of London. These included a knife from Sheffield. About 1380 Chaucer mentioned a Sheffield 'thwitel' (general purpose knife) in his Canterbury Tales.

However there were several other towns noted for cutlery. Sheffield was by no means the most important. Furthermore some of the cutlers in Sheffield may have been part time farmers. In a small market town like Sheffield there were many other trades apart from cutler such as butcher, baker, brewer, carpenter, blacksmith and shoemaker.

SHEFFIELD IN THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES

Bishop's House was built at the end of the 15th century or beginning of the 16th century. It got its name because it is supposed to have been the house where two brothers, John and Geoffrey Blythe lived. Both brothers became bishops. In the 16th century Sheffield became far more famous for its cutlery. Before 1500 watermills were adapted to grinding tools and the cutlery trade boomed. By 1600 Sheffield was the main town in England (apart from London) for cutlery.

Nevertheless there were several other trades in the town apart from cutler e.g. there were weavers of wool and horners (men who made things like spoons from cow horn). In 1617 a survey showed Sheffield had a population of 2,207. By the standards of the time it was a respectably sized town though it was by no means large.

Despite the booming cutlery trade there was a great deal of poverty in Sheffield. The survey showed 725 people, about a third of the population were 'not able to live without the charity of their neighbours. They are all begging poor'. There were also many people living just above the poverty line. The survey found 160 householders who 'though they beg not are not able to abide one fortnight's sickness but they would be thereby driven to beggary'. In 1628 a workhouse where the destitute could live and be put to work was built.

In 1624 the Company of Cutlers was formed with power to mark artefacts if they reached a certain quality. In 1638 the first Cutlers House was built. In 1603 Thomas Crowland left money in his will to build a grammar school.

In 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. In October that year parliamentary soldiers occupied the castle but they abandoned it when a royalist army approached. The royalists took the castle and town without a fight. However in August 1644 the parliamentarians counterattacked. The royalists made no attempt to defend the town but they tried to hold the castle. However it was forced to surrender after a short siege. In 1648 the castle was destroyed to prevent it ever falling into royalist hands again.

By the late 17th century the population of Sheffield had probably risen to about 5,000. There was increasing specialisation of trade. As well as cutlers there were file smiths, scythe smiths, sickle smiths, woolshears smiths and awl-blade smiths.

SHEFFIELD AND IN THE 18TH CENTURY

In 1707 a boy�s charity school was founded. Earl Gilbert's 'hospital' (almshouses) was built in 1721. In 1762 assembly rooms were built were card games and balls could be held. The first theatre in Sheffield was built in 1763.

Sheffield grew rapidly. A survey in 1763 showed it had a population of over 10,000. By the standards of the time Sheffield was a large town. In 1768 it was described as 'very large and populous but exceedingly dirty and ill paved'. Sheffield had a reputation as a grimy industrial town.

In the 18th century Sheffield's industries boomed. Sheffield was noted for its iron industry. In the early 1740s a man named Benjamin Huntsman invented a way of making better quality steel called crucible steel. Another inventor named Thomas Bolsover discovered a way of plating copper with silver. This silver plate was, of course, cheaper than silver and was very popular for things like candlesticks and teapots. In 1773 Sheffield was given its own silver assay office. In the 1750s a lead mill was built in Sheffield and about 1760 a silk mill was built. (It was later converted to a cotton mill).

Communications improved in the 18th century. By 1751 the River Don was made navigable all the way to Sheffield. In 1756 the road to Chesterfield and Derby was turnpiked. In other words it was made into a privately owned and maintained road. You had to pay to use it. The road to Barnsley and Leeds was turnpiked in 1758. The road to Halifax followed in 1777.

Furthermore an infirmary was built in Sheffield in 1797.

SHEFFIELD IN THE 19TH CENTURY

In 1801, at the time of the first census Sheffield had a population of over 31,000. By the standards of the time it was a large town. By 1851 it had grown to over 135,000. Like all Victorian towns Sheffield was dirty and unsanitary. However even for the time Sheffield had a reputation as a grimy and dirty town (not surprising considering its heavy industries). In 1832 there was an outbreak of cholera which killed 402 people.

However not all the houses were slums. In the early 19th century a middle class suburb was built west of the town around Glossop Road.

In the working class areas the worst houses were back-to-backs. These houses were literally joined back to back without even an alley between them. In 1864 the authorities forbade the building of many more such houses. However those that had already been built remained.

There were, nevertheless some improvements during the 19th century. In 1818 an Act of Parliament formed a body of men called the Improvement Commissioners with powers to pave and clean the streets. They also formed a police force. From 1818 the street of Sheffield were lit by gas.

The Botanical Gardens were laid out in 1833. The first cemetery opened in 1836. In 1830 a corn exchange where grain could be bought and sold was opened (it was later rebuilt).

In 1832 a dispensary opened where the poor could obtain free medicines. The present Cutlers Hall was built in 1832. In 1836 the botanical gardens opened. At first they were privately owned but the council purchased them in 1898.

In 1843 Sheffield was given a charter (a document giving the townspeople certain rights). From then on Sheffield had an elected town council, which gradually took over the powers of the old Improvement Commissioners. Sheffield was made a city in 1893. The Town Hall was built in 1897.

Ruskin Gallery was founded in 1875. Mappin Art Gallery opened in 1887.

In the early 19th century a private company provided piped water. In 1859 they built a dam across Dale Dike. On March 11 1864 this dam burst. As a result 240 people drowned. The council took over the water supply in 1887. In the 1870s the council built sewers and drains. At first raw sewage was pumped into rivers but in 1886 a sewage treatment plant was built.

The first public library was built in 1856. From 1873 horse drawn trams ran in the streets. In 1899 the first electric trams ran in the streets of Sheffield. Mappin Art Gallery was built in 1887.

During the 19th century the old industries like iron continued to boom. In 1856 Thomas Bessemer invented a way of producing better quality steel. In 1858 he began producing steel in Sheffield. Button making flourished. However in 1840 a way was found to make silver plate by electroplating replacing the old Sheffield plate. Cutlery continued to be the dominant industry in Sheffield.

SHEFFIELD IN THE 20th CENTURY

By 1900 the population of Sheffield was over 400,000. This was partly due to boundary changes. In 1921 the boundaries were extended to include Handsworth and Wadsley. In 1935 they were altered to include Totley, Dore, Beauchief and Greenhill.

Sheffield University was founded in 1905.

The first cinema in Sheffield was built in 1910.

In 1916 Sheffield was bombed by zeppelins leaving 28 people dead.

After World War I the heavy industries of Sheffield entered a recession. There was severe unemployment in the city in the 1920s and 1930s. However that era also marked the beginning of large-scale slum clearance. The first council houses were built in Sheffield at that time.

Graves Art Gallery opened in 1934.

During World War II 589 people were killed in Sheffield by German bombing. Nearly 3,000 houses were destroyed.

In the 1950s and 1960s slum clearance continued. Many new council houses were built in estates like Gleadless Valley. Council flats were built at Park Hill and Hyde Park. In the 1950s and 1960s many Asian and West Indian immigrants came to Sheffield. Towards the end of the 20th century the 'satellite' communities of Dronfield, Mosborough, Chapeltown and Stocksbridge grew rapidly.

Castle Market shopping centre was built in 1959. Meadow Hall shopping centre was built in 1990.

In 1985 the Fire/Police museum opened in Sheffield.

The traditional industries such as iron, steel and cutlery declined in the 20th century. (Although there is still an important industry making surgical instruments). As in other cities there was a shift away from employment in manufacturing industries to jobs in service industries.

The Sheffield Supertram began operating in 1994.

Sheffield Museum of Popular Music opened in 1991.

Sheffield City Airport opened in 1997.

[RichardB]

An early post brought back to the top.