Burton Street

[tozzin]

Amey or Sheffield Council in all their wisdom have decided to Tarmac the length of Burton St and this will be covering up a beautiful cobbled street thus hiding over a hundred years of history, at the moment its splattered with tarmac after cobbles were removed and carted away. I cant see why new cobbles cant be put down, it must be cheaper and its preserving just a little bit of history. This street looks much longer than Mary St which is supposed to be the longest cobbled street in Sheffield. This work is due to start at the beginning of August.

[SteveHB]

Amey or Sheffield Council in all their wisdom have decided to Tarmac the length of Burton St and this will be covering up a beautiful cobbled street thus hiding over a hundred years of history, at the moment its splattered with tarmac after cobbles were removed and carted away. I cant see why new cobbles cant be put down, it must be cheaper and its preserving just a little bit of history. This street looks much longer than Mary St which is supposed to be the longest cobbled street in Sheffield. This work is due to start at the beginning of August.

What is the cost of setting cobblestones, and where would the cobbles come from ?

[History dude]

It would be more expensive and take longer to relay "setts" (not cobbles) than tarmac the road. What's required is a firm base to put the setts on. Then the setts would have to placed in place by hand. Then in-filled with cement. Great looking if you are doing something decorative, such as a fancy path to some new building. But for a street with cars going down it, a real waste of money.

Setts do provide a good base for laying tarmac, but the problem is when they get dug up by services such as gas, water etc, they are taken out and that tends to lead to areas that sink in the tarmac.

[vox]

Setts do provide a good base for laying tarmac, but the problem is when they get dug up by services such as gas, water etc, they are taken out and that tends to lead to areas that sink in the tarmac.

One would think that the service providers should be under some obligation to ensure that this doesn't happen by re-filling their holes properly. If it does, they should be obliged to make good the damage.

[dunsbyowl1867]

What is the cost of setting cobblestones, and where would the cobbles come from ?

I remember coming across this reclamation yard in Bland Street Grimesthorpe who had this amazing pile of cobbles - all I imagine dug up from Sheffield's roads. I bet they charge a tidy sum if you wanted to buy a few. I agree with Vox those that dig them up should be forced to repair !

[SteveHB]

Reclaimed 8" x 4" Random size Pink Cobbles
Length - 6" - 8"
Depth - 5"
Width - 4"
£192 per tonne.

www.ebay.co.uk -Pink-Cobbles-50-Tonne-available

[tozzin]

I know the proper name is "Sets" but they are always referred to as cobbles, and they don't get laid in cement as that would be bit to solid, the proper way is to set them in pitch to allow a bit of give. For the past year I've been hounding what was Streetforce / Streetsahead and now Amey about removed blocks from Surrey St, their first answer was they didn't know which contractor had dug up the road and dumped the block, this week they finally got hold of the contractor and in a meeting with Amey, the Council and the contractor, with the result new blocks are going to be imported and the road made good.

[SteveHB]

Amey or Sheffield Council in all their wisdom have decided to Tarmac the length of Burton St and this will be covering up a beautiful cobbled street thus hiding over a hundred years of history, at the moment its splattered with tarmac after cobbles were removed and carted away. I cant see why new cobbles cant be put down, it must be cheaper and its preserving just a little bit of history. This street looks much longer than Mary St which is supposed to be the longest cobbled street in Sheffield. This work is due to start at the beginning of August.

Total length, Mary Street; .1767 miles. Burton Street; .175 miles.

Length of which is cobbled, Mary Street; .1729 miles. Burton Street; .1638 miles.

[DaveH]

Total length, Mary Street; .1767 miles. Burton Street; .175 miles.

Length of which is cobbled, Mary Street; .1729 miles. Burton Street; .1638 miles.

WHAT!!!!!

This doesn't make sense.

Should that be metres and not miles? These streets appear to be longer than the country.

Also, for Burton Street, the cobbled length is greater than the length of the street.

Or have I missed the decimal point at the front? should it be 0.1767 miles, 0.175 miles, etc?

That would make the figures work OK, - but why use miles for such short distances?

[lysander]

I suppose when the old, dusty/muddy cart tracks were first paved over some people would have complained about a "loss of heritage". Cobbles/sets might look attractive but aren't so clever when walked on and are noisy when driven over....But they are perfect for being easily replaced after road works. The pity of it is that the utility people often just shove in a shovel or two of asphalt...which then makes the whole look a b****y mess!

[SteveHB]

I know the proper name is "Sets" but they are always referred to as cobbles, and they don't get laid in cement as that would be bit to solid, the proper way is to set them in pitch to allow a bit of give. For the past year I've been hounding what was Streetforce / Streetsahead and now Amey about removed blocks from Surrey St, their first answer was they didn't know which contractor had dug up the road and dumped the block, this week they finally got hold of the contractor and in a meeting with Amey, the Council and the contractor, with the result new blocks are going to be imported and the road made good.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/setts05.htm

[History dude]

One would think that the service providers should be under some obligation to ensure that this doesn't happen by re-filling their holes properly. If it does, they should be obliged to make good the damage.

I believe there are rules about that, however when have you seen a footpath for example put back they way it was after one of these has done a repair? And of course all that anyone can see after they have gone is a patch of tarmac, so nobody can tell what went into the hole they made.

[vox]

I could have a rant about the hoops I had to jump through to have my "dropped pavement widened by a few feet. Being inspected to ensure the correct hardcore was used, sufficiently compacted, correct depth of asphalt, you name it. All for about a dozen pedestrians a day, and 2 vehicles 3 or 4 times a day if that. And told I would be held responsible if it wasn't "up to standard".

Yet I've seen the utilities, working on main roads, simply chuck a few shovels full of rubble back in their holes, 30 seconds with the compacter, same with the asphalt, and on to the next one.

Doesn't seem right somehow.

================

Personally I find driving at 15 or 20 mph on a well maintained stretch of cobbles (if you can find any) , no worse than trying to negotiate the varying array of so called "speed bumps" that have messed up our roads for the last decade (or is it 2). At least, on cobbles, people seem to keep a constant slow speed rather than speeding between the speed humps and then braking just enough to get over them, then speeding up again. Some of them (the pyramid type) are no use at all. They are virtually none existent if you get your wheels astride them. All they seem to accomplish is to put vehicles on a head on collision course as they both aim for the comfortable position at the same time.

Ah well, I suppose I've had a bit of a rant anyway. Common sense and the common man don't seem to count for much these days.

[Waterside Echo]

I suppose when the old, dusty/muddy cart tracks were first paved over some people would have complained about a "loss of heritage". Cobbles/sets might look attractive but aren't so clever when walked on and are noisy when driven over.

Does anyone remember the wooden sets? These were mainly to be found on roads outside Schools, they helped to keep the noise down from horse drawn traffic. The only thing I remember about those outside our school on Waterford Road was how slippery they were when wet. W/E.

[Bayleaf]

They were used on the roads around the Royal Hospital as well. You can sometimes see them when they dog up Devonshire Street, they just laid the new surface over them rather than dig them out and start again.

[History dude]

What type of wood were these wooden setts made of? Where they made of a wood that was better resistant to rote? Or just standard oak or from a verity of different timbers?

With UK weather being the way it is hot - wet - cold, they would have need a wood that could adapt to these conditions, otherwise it would have needed to be replaced a lot. Just a thought wouldn't they have been a fire risk?

[vox]

What type of wood were these wooden setts made of? Where they made of a wood that was better resistant to rote? Or just standard oak or from a verity of different timbers?

With UK weather being the way it is hot - wet - cold, they would have need a wood that could adapt to these conditions, otherwise it would have needed to be replaced a lot. Just a thought wouldn't they have been a fire risk?

On the contrary I believe. They used them not only to reduce noise but also to reduce the risk of fires caused by horses hooves sparking on the stone setts.

Some recently unearthed in Dundee were made from pine with a hardwood facing.

As far as rot is concerned, one would surmise that they would have been treated with bitumen, in the same way as railway sleepers were.

[SteveHB]

Published 1835

[SteveHB]

Proposed wood paving for London, 1837.

[vox]

They could be a thing of the future as well.

Welsh Timber

[ukelele lady]

Does anyone remember the wooden sets? These were mainly to be found on roads outside Schools, they helped to keep the noise down from horse drawn traffic. The only thing I remember about those outside our school on Waterford Road was how slippery they were when wet. W/E.

Yes, they had wooden sets on Dover street between Netherthorpe school and St Annes church , you are right about them being slippery when wet.

One foreign new neighbour who moved in in the early 60s started digging them up for fire wood.

[Waterside Echo]

Yes, they had wooden sets on Dover street between Netherthorpe school and St Annes church , you are right about them being slippery when wet.

One foreign new neighbour who moved in in the early 60s started digging them up for fire wood.

Ours outside Hillfoot School would have made ideal fire wood. We shared Waterford Road with Woodhead's machine shop and what a busy place that was, as the turnings were taken away they would drip oil all over the road. Do you remember playing on and around the old sluice gate just over the wall at the bottom there. any idea if its still there ? W/E.

[neddy]

Ours outside Hillfoot School would have made ideal fire wood. We shared Waterford Road with Woodhead's machine shop and what a busy place that was, as the turnings were taken away they would drip oil all over the road. Do you remember playing on and around the old sluice gate just over the wall at the bottom there. any idea if its still there ? W/E.

Partly but keeps getting filled with fly tipped rubbish,

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Waterford+Road,+Sheffield&hl=en&ll=53.397255,-1.486455&spn=0.000204,0.000431&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=6.730542,14.128418&oq=waterford+road+sheffield&t=h&hnear=Waterford+Rd,+Sheffield+S3+8AB,+United+Kingdom&z=21&layer=c&cbll=53.397255,-1.486583&panoid=b4wORZQYcjh1ZXttNfbWEA&cbp=12,194.62,,0,18.54

[Waterside Echo]

Thanks for that "neddy". Hard to imagine just how busy it was down there in the 50s. When the power station was running low on coal due to the rail strike, that road was nose to tail with transport of every description 24 hours a day. Do you remember Bonsalls old Chevy's? W/E.