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Lady's Bridge and the buildings there


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Ladys Bridge Wicker Sheffield.jpg

Here's a photo of Lady's Bridge area taken from a video walk I shot there the other day.

Looking at the buildings on the left in the foreground - are these buildings relatively new or have they always been there?

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4 hours ago, Sheffield History said:

Ladys Bridge Wicker Sheffield.jpg

Here's a photo of Lady's Bridge area taken from a video walk I shot there the other day.

Looking at the buildings on the left in the foreground - are these buildings relatively new or have they always been there?

I've read somewhere that the flats that face Lady's bridge and Nursery Street were originally called Castle House, the windows just above the river was where the dogs were kept when it was a Dogs Home when it re-located there from the Pond Street area in c1900 I think , it wasn't used for long as it was always damp because of the river often flooding the place. The ornamental front door was the entrance and you can still make out the name. At the end of the walk on Blonk Street bridge you can see the initials of one of the men who ran the stables there plus possibly the vets initials too, the chap that owned and ran the stables also had stabling and shoeing available at 30-36 Burton Road now known as the Yellow Arch Recording Studios but the Horseshoe above the arch tells just what it was .

Blonk St Bridge.JPG

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Former_Works_of_Jonathan_Grayson_Wheelwright_Burton_Road_now_the_Yellow_Arch_Studios.jpg

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The main building fronting the Wicker was called the Royal Exchange building, or Royal Exchange Flats. Built sometime around 1900 I think.

 

Castle House was the headquarters of The Fellowship Of The Services for many years. If picturesheffield.com and it's search wasn't so useless these days I could post links to some interesting photos.

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23 minutes ago, Oldbloke said:

The main building fronting the Wicker was called the Royal Exchange building, or Royal Exchange Flats. Built sometime around 1900 I think.

 

Castle House was the headquarters of The Fellowship Of The Services for many years. If picturesheffield.com and it's search wasn't so useless these days I could post links to some interesting photos.

I think the Royal Exchange was a later name as Castle House is literally set in stone, the building was also used by Batchelors

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1 hour ago, Sheffield History said:

So where was the Alexandra Theatre then?

Surely not the same place?

The Alexandra Theatre was to the right of your picture at the end of Blonk Street over hanging the River Sheaf. Explained better on this post.        ----------     

 

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Quote from Picture Sheffield,  -------  " The development was built 1899-1900 for John Henry Bryars, an animal breeder & vet. Royal Exchange Buildings comprised 20 two bedroomed flats, houses for the veterinary surgeon & groom; shops;veterinary surgery and dogs home. Castle House belonged to the Veterinary Surgeon. Further along a multi-storey stables with iron frame and internal ramps for access. In 1931 the stables were converted to a pea-canning factory for Batchelors and later occupied by Hancock & Lant Ltd., furniture store. See: Pevsner Architectural Guides, Sheffield, Ruth Harman & John Minnis Ref: 720.94274 S "    

http://picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;C03394&pos=50&action=zoom&id=3636

and the buildings are on the British Listed Buildings site here    -------   https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101246501-royal-exchange-buildings-and-adjoining-castle-house-city-ward 

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For your information the letters on the bridge BB & JH refer to Benjamin Blonk and John Huntsman. Blonk Street was so called because when it was made the "tilt" shown on the map on the river side of Blonk St.was "The Wicker ***" belonging to the Blonk Family. On the other side of Blonk St. was "The Wicker Wheel" also belonging to the Blonk Family. You will also see a third grinding shop belonging to the Blonks at the end of the dam to the right of "Blonk Island". Later on John Huntsman had a Huntsman Melting Furnace at the end of the Wicker Tilt building. If you look through the large window nearest to Blonk Bridge you will see the chimney of the Huntsman furnace preserved as a monument. Remember the old Sheffield saying "Down T'Wicker were t'water goes o'er t'weir" the weir on the upstream side of Ladys Bridge diverted water to the Wicker Tilt and Wicker Wheel.

I learnt all about this by carrying out research for descendants of this branch of the Blonk family who live in Australia. My Blonk family come from a later branch of the Blonk family

Map 1838 mod.jpg

Wicker tilts3.jpg

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On ‎21‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 23:22, Sheffield History said:


Wow that last photo! I've never seen that or anything like it before!

Incredible

According to Picture Sheffield it is the Wicker Tilt building.

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There`s quite a few landmarks to pick out in this 1920s Ariel View from Picture Sheffield! looking towards Lady`s Bridge.

Ladys Bridge.jpg

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Not Lady's Bridge but a different angle on what was down the road in 1879,including the Alexandra Theatre in the centre behind the Smithfield Market. Also to the right of the Blonk Bridge, the Tower Grinding Wheel and the Dannemora Steelworks of Seebohm & Dieckstahl, the name of which was changed to Arthur Balfour at the onset of the First World War because of anti-German feeling.
Image (c) Picture Sheffield again --- http://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?action=printdetails&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s11478&prevUrl=

 

smithfield_market_tower_grinding_whee_blonk_bridge_right_is_dannemora__steelworks_1879.jpg

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On 21/04/2018 at 08:34, Sheffield History said:

Ladys Bridge Wicker Sheffield.jpg

Here's a photo of Lady's Bridge area taken from a video walk I shot there the other day.

Looking at the buildings on the left in the foreground - are these buildings relatively new or have they always been there?

I remember that second building on the left, I went for a interview there in 1965, it was a company called Hancock and Lant,it was a carpet warehouse, and it still is by the look of the Advert on the approach road.

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I seem to remember a load of really rickety old wooden constructions down there on the left that looked like they were going to fall down

I'm going to try and find a photo of it

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