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Drainspotting!


Calvin72

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Well, it's only taken a year, but the book 'Drainspotting: A Guide To The Pavement Features Of Sheffield' is finally out to buy!

Crokey, just looked at the back cover of the book, I worked with you several times when I was a trainee conductor at Crich, must be back in 1993!

Nigel L

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LEE John Master builder, of William Street 25 Jul 1931

Sheffield Telegraph obituaries 1850 - c. 1970

Lee John, builder, Reed Street, Broomhall Street & 122 William Street. 1901.

Lee John, builder, Travis Place, house, 122 William Street. 1905, 1911 & 1925.

The drain cover is in Chaucer Yard, by the way.

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Of any interest/significance ?

This type on the old Frecheville Estate which was in Derbyshire at the time of being developed.

M. Longson - Chapel En Le Frith

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

And these on the Birley and Hackenthorpe Estates (also in Derbyshire at the time of being developed) but bearing a Sheffield mark.

Sheffield - Blakes Foundry

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I think I've posted this picture elsewhere on the site but with foundries being talked about on this thread, I thought it may be better on here.

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I think you posted it on the 'Mystery Location' thread tozzin - it is an interesting remnant isn't it? And Sheffield 'imported' such objects during WW2 ...

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It is in a vertical position in a wall, the asphalt on the left is actually the pavement, I cant understand the locking procedure of the cover, surely it should be locked from the inside not the outside and who would lock someone in an Air Raid Shelter.

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Maybe it's an emergency exit in case the main entrance/exit was blocked?

I thought at first it could not be an entrance or exit because of the screw fasteners but then found these pages and it made me think again ;-

http://www.energylivenews.com/2014/08/21/secret-ww2-air-raid-shelter-found-near-sewers/

http://www.theurbanexplorer.co.uk/ww2-underground-shelter-poole-dorset/

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The link below is for an Archaeological Evaluation of a World War II Air Raid Shelter at the Old Rectory, Hills End, Eversholt, Bedfordshire. The investigation was completed in1997 and updated in 2010. I think it answers questions about the example in Sheffield.

It is in an area which the general population believed to be safe countryside and did not attract elaborate precautions against air attack. Even a small surface Anderson shelter in the garden was rare in rural Bedfordshire. This suggests that the Old Rectory had a special use to warrant a shelter of this quality.

The Old Rectory played an important part in the clandestine work carried out in Bedfordshire during the Second World War. In the early years it was the scene of many meetings to discuss and plan a psychological warfare campaign. One of the main organisers Reginald (Rex) Leeper who like Winston Churchill was an anti appeaser and spoke openly of his views as early as 1934; was moved from being Assistant Under Secretary at the Foreign Office where he headed up SO 1 (Propaganda Dept.) to Director of Country House H.Q. at Woburn, lived at the Old Rectory.

Air Raid Shelter in Bedfordshire

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Back to basics now - a small 'Sheffield Corporation' vent bearing the date '1896', previously I had only seen these date back to 1898. On Psalter Lane.

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These have caused some discussion before, small P.O and GPO markers that are usually found on the site of former Post Offices or Pillar boxes. This is a variation previously unknown, located in the road near the bottom of Sharrow Lane (London Road end).

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I know you have "Corporation of Sheffield" ones but they seem to be 12 slots (unless I've missed some)

Here's an 8 slot from 1890

Spring Hill, S6

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Spring Hill is odd because although it is now one of many similar parallel streets, back in the mid 1800's it was a rural road, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, linking Crookesmoor Road and School Road / Comminside at the place where they are closest together.

Yes, that's what made me think of getting out to have a look around. Glad I did then.

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It's also very interesting that it's on Spring Hill because that's also where a 10 slot design marked 'SHEFFIELD HIGHWAYS' can be found, which may well pre-date the Local Board of Health, meaning that particular casting could have been there since the 1830s.

Here's the Sheffield Highways one. I took this today as well but forgot I'd taken it. :wacko:

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Off darn' Cliffe for me then. :)

The Holy Grail of Drainspotting! We know that Attercliffe-cum-Darnall Local Board existed, but we don't know if it made drain covers. I only know of around eight definite Sheffield Local Board covers and it is true that less survives on the Attercliffe side of the City from the mid 19th century. It is possible that they existed and that therefore one may still be in place on a small cobbled back street somewhere. Frankly I think the excitement of finding one may be too much!

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I know you have "Corporation of Sheffield" ones but they seem to be 12 slots (unless I've missed some)

Here's an 8 slot from 1890

Spring Hill, S6

attachicon.gifCorp of Sheff-1890 - Spring Hill.jpg

There is one of these just off South Road, which I only noticed a few weeks ago. We have found a very small number of that older style with dates on (from between 1890 and 1912 I think). It is interesting for a lot of reasons! A lot of the chronology of 'Drainspotting' hinges on 1890 and I would like to call on people here who have access to online newspapers, Council papers and various archives to try to find something for me :) . Roughly speaking between the 1830's and around 1860 we have the Local Board of Health and the Highways Board installing covers. Then installations from c.1860 to c.1890 seem to have made by the Corporation and many survive, which are heavy set and in the Local Board style. They are embossed either 'Sheffield Corporation' or 'Corporation Sheffield' with one word at the top and one at the bottom. Now the mystery! In 1890 there suddenly appear at least four variations, some slight, but one or two very different styles indeed. It looks to me as if there was some sort of trial of different kinds of cover in that year. If so then that must figure in the press or official papers somewhere. One of the styles that started that year became the ten slot 'Sheffield Corporation' style which remained until the late 1920's (dating ranges from 1890 to 1929), whereas one very different style with vertical slots only lasted until 1892. At the same time as this experimentation began then so did dating of covers which never happened before 1890, but then continued until 1929.

So was there a trial between 1890 and 1892? And did the cover that became the standard Corporation design win out? It looks like it, but is there a record somewhere...?

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Drainspotting has been chosen by BBC Radio Sheffield as one of it's 'Stories of 2014' ! ^_^

I will be on Toby Foster's breakfast show on Friday around 8:30 during their review of the year.

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I just wondered today:

Back in my childhood, (1950's) these were called "Fever Grates" by all us kids

Would that be because playing near them, one may catch fever, or was it because they were associated with the sanitary reforms brought about after the Cholera Epidemic.(ie sort of "anti-fever grates") - Not a question that can be answered definitively I suppose.

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