Where does the name "Blonk" Street come from?

[Andrew]

I can't really add to the title - Where does the name "Blonk" Street come from?

Thanks

 

[Heartshome]

Hi Andrew. Derived from the French word BLANC, originally meaning WHITE HORSE.

This is taken from the Middle English Poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 

                     .......   and bade him bring his byrnie and his BLONK saddle.

The SHEFFIELD HORSE FAIRS used to be held on BLONK STREET.

[Sadbrewer]

2 hours ago, Heartshome said:

Hi Andrew. Derived from the French word BLANC, originally meaning WHITE HORSE.

This is taken from the Middle English Poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 

                     .......   and bade him bring his byrnie and his BLONK saddle.

The SHEFFIELD HORSE FAIRS used to be held on BLONK STREET.

Are you absolutely sure about that?...as I understand it it's named after the Blonk family, notable Sheffield business people from the 1700's and owners of Whiteley Wood Hall. Benjamin Blonk was partly instrumental in getting the canal built in the 1790's. He also held a patent for improved Sheep Shears in 1785. His father was William Blonk, a Sheffield scissorsmith born around 1716.

   Having just had a look at the old newspaper archives the Blonk family are mentioned 40 years before Blonk Street gets a mention.

As to the Horse Fairs, although close to Blonk St, from the 1860's to the 1930's they took place on Furnival Street ( later Road)

[Heartshome]

28 minutes ago, Sadbrewer said:

Are you absolutely sure about that?...as I understand it it's named after the Blonk family, notable Sheffield business people from the 1700's and owners of Whiteley Wood Hall. Benjamin Blonk was partly instrumental in getting the canal built in the 1790's. He also held a patent for improved Sheep Shears in 1785. His father was William Blonk, a Sheffield scissorsmith born around 1716.

   Having just had a look at the old newspaper archives the Blonk family are mentioned 40 years before Blonk Street gets a mention.

Thanks for that Sadbrewer. The horsefairs held on that street were probably coincidental to the name.

Who knows? why/when/who decided to call it Blonk Street. Whether it was due to the Horse connection 

or after the Blonk family connection. At least we have 2 good solid candidates between us.

[Athy]

I remember those names, Furnival Street and Blonk Street, from my boyhood. Aren't they somewhere near the old Victoria Station.

   It's not unusual for famous people to give their names to places, be they nationally famous (Prince Of Wales Road, Victoria Station) or of local renown. I assume that the Furnivals were  a family, too?

 

   From memory, there is another street in the area called Paternoster Row. Now, a paternoster is best known as a type of lift used in buildings, but it's unlikely that this would give its name to a street. It's also Latin for the Lord's prayer; was there perhaps a church there? Or was it named after someone called Paternoster?

[Lysanderix]

The first time I used the paternoster in the University I ,like many others ,said a quiet prayer…so unsafe did it appear. Is that why the contraption is so named?🤨

[Athy]

49 minutes ago, Lysanderix said:

The first time I used the paternoster in the University I ,like many others ,said a quiet prayer…so unsafe did it appear. Is that why the contraption is so named?🤨

They seem to have been installed principally in universities, in this country at least. When I was at university in Brum we had one in the students' union building. The internet tells me that only two remain in service in England, an the universities of Esex and Leicester. But apparently they're more widespread in Germany.

[rover1949]

Many moons ago, I used to be a Lift surveyor, we were given special criteria for examining them.

They are built on an endless chain that goes round and round, reminiscent of a rosary or prayer beads, hence the name.

I thought we still had one in Sheffield Uni?

[rover1949]

Check out; -Paternoster Lift Challenge | University of Sheffield - YouTube

[Hopman]

I think there's a paternoster lift in one of the London Hospitals.

As regards the street name Paternoster Row, I wonder if this is  because people used to say a prayer there after a safe journey to the railway station?

[tozzin]

I read that Paternoster was named after a similar street in London where rosary beads were produced, I cannot see any link to anything, place or person that Paternoster would relate to in Sheffield.

[History dude]

Old rider member gave a very good explanation sometime ago:

The 1808 map on Picture Sheffield shows that Blonk Street has been created between the two factories leased to Blonk &Co. The Blonks bought the Wicker Tilt hammer Forge from The Norfolk Estate in 1811. At some time the Company became Silcock Blonk & Co. As well as partnership there was a marriage of a Blonk daughter to a Silcock. From 1861 Benjamin Blonk and then Francis Huntsman bought up the shares from the heirs of the Silcock Blonk partners. This is the reason for the initials on the Blonk street end of the bridge over the Don.

[Andrew]

Well that question stirred up some comments!

Thank you all for your answers.

 

[Heartshome]

7 hours ago, History dude said:

Old rider member gave a very good explanation sometime ago:

The 1808 map on Picture Sheffield shows that Blonk Street has been created between the two factories leased to Blonk &Co. The Blonks bought the Wicker Tilt hammer Forge from The Norfolk Estate in 1811. At some time the Company became Silcock Blonk & Co. As well as partnership there was a marriage of a Blonk daughter to a Silcock. From 1861 Benjamin Blonk and then Francis Huntsman bought up the shares from the heirs of the Silcock Blonk partners. This is the reason for the initials on the Blonk street end of the bridge over the Don.

Well that seems to be the reason for the name then! But as a point of interest, please read this article from the Guardian,

if nothing else! it's interesting.

guardian.co.uk   -   Wapping a dead BLONK   -   by David McKie Thur 8 May 2003 The Guardian

[tozzin]

These initial's are carved into the Blonk Street bridge, i think one set are a vets and the other maybe a stabler.

You can just about see the letter “ C “ on the right of the bottom block of stone.

[Sadbrewer]

On 20/03/2022 at 08:44, Athy said:

I remember those names, Furnival Street and Blonk Street, from my boyhood. Aren't they somewhere near the old Victoria Station.

   It's not unusual for famous people to give their names to places, be they nationally famous (Prince Of Wales Road, Victoria Station) or of local renown. I assume that the Furnivals were  a family, too?

 

   From memory, there is another street in the area called Paternoster Row. Now, a paternoster is best known as a type of lift used in buildings, but it's unlikely that this would give its name to a street. It's also Latin for the Lord's prayer; was there perhaps a church there? Or was it named after someone called Paternoster?

Having looked through Bmd records from the 1830's onwards, no one called Paternoster has ever been connected with Sheffield, so it probably writes that theory off.

Paternoster Row predates the Paternoster lift by half a century.

A possible connection is printing and publishing...a search of the newspaper archives using 'Paternoster Row' shows that from 1750 every reference for many years is around books and publications over a wide number of towns and cities, are supplied from Paternoster Row, London, although binding may be done in the provinces. 

By the 1800's Wolstenholme's academy of learning has sprung up on Paternoster Row, Sheffield, in the 1830's Baldwin & Cradock of Paternoster Row are advertising as suppliers of a large range of books.

Not definitive at this stage but possible that the street was named after the London street.

[History dude]

The Furnival's were lords of Sheffield around 1300. 

Many Sheffield street names are from the Dukes of Norfolk family. But I can't see a link with them and Paternoster Row.

It could be that if some printing and publishing company from Paternoster Row in London set up a new business on that street in Sheffield, the association might stick and the street gets named after the new venture. 

Another possibility is that the Sheffield Council named it. 

Does the street crop up in any early trade directories? And are there some publishing firms there?

[Edmund]

Paternoster Row is not on Baines map of 1822 but is on Whites map of 1823 but is listed in Baines 1822 directory.

There is a newspaper advert in 1822 for Alfred Wolstenhome's Commercial, Mathematical and Classical Academy in Paternoster Row.   In 1824  Gell's gives the Academy's address as at number 8 Paternoster Row. Baines 1822 directory says Wolsteholmes Academy is in Arundel street.

There are no booksellers or bookbinders on Paternoster Row in the 1820's.

Gells 1825 directory shows:
Richard Ashton at number 9 (Rose and Crown)
Creswick, Thomas, James and Nathaniel (silver and plated manufacturers)
Hattersley, John (mark maker)

Fairbanks map of 1808 shows Browne street continuing into Pond street, so Paternoster Row appears to be a renaming of part of Browne street, or possibly a row of buildings being put up and the section of road taking the name of the buildings.

[tozzin]

Peter Harvey in his book Street Names Of Sheffield does suggest as I did it maybe named after Paternoster Row in London which was given the name because of the Rosary Bead manufacturers there, no firms on or near our Row made religious items, it was a specialist trade. 

LONDON
As far back as the 12th century, the road was known as Paternoster Row, as it was the main place in London where Paternoster beads were made by skilled craftsmen. The beads were popular with illiterate monks and friars at the time, who prayed 30 Paternoster prayers (Latin for "Our Father") three times a day as a substitute for the 150 psalms recited a day by literate monks.

The street is supposed to have received its name from the fact that, when the monks and clergy of St Paul's Cathedral would go in procession chanting the great litany, they would recite the Lord's Prayer (Pater Noster being its opening line in Latin) in the litany along this part of the route. The prayers said at these processions may have also given the names to nearby Ave Maria Lane and Amen Corner.

An alternative etymology is the early traders, who sold a type of prayer bead known as a "pater noster"

 

[Sadbrewer]

On 22/03/2022 at 16:59, History dude said:

The Furnival's were lords of Sheffield around 1300. 

Many Sheffield street names are from the Dukes of Norfolk family. But I can't see a link with them and Paternoster Row.

It could be that if some printing and publishing company from Paternoster Row in London set up a new business on that street in Sheffield, the association might stick and the street gets named after the new venture. 

Another possibility is that the Sheffield Council named it. 

Does the street crop up in any early trade directories? And are there some publishing firms there?

Don't know if this report sheds any light

 

[Bikeman]

On 21/03/2022 at 19:16, tozzin said:

These initial's are carved into the Blonk Street bridge, i think one set are a vets and the other maybe a stabler.

You can just about see the letter “ C “ on the right of the bottom block of stone.

I've been doing some research preparing a talk I'm going to give and regarding your mention of the veterinary or stabler, this could be correct as the building at Lady's Bridge (the fancy brick building that used to be Hancock & Lants) was originally built in 1900 by a wealthy vet, property developer, horse breeder and stabler John Henry Bryars and was called the Royal Exchange building. He supplied horses for the drayage of steel for the Sheffield railway contract. He also had a 'lost dogs' home, in the basement! The horses were commandeered in 1914 for the war effort and he brought in and elephant and 2 camels to haul loads of coal! In 1931 the place was taken over by Batchelors, who had discovered how to can fresh peas (previously they were sold dried or freshly picked).

[Bikeman]

On 19/03/2022 at 21:39, Heartshome said:

Hi Andrew. Derived from the French word BLANC, originally meaning WHITE HORSE.

This is taken from the Middle English Poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 

                     .......   and bade him bring his byrnie and his BLONK saddle.

The SHEFFIELD HORSE FAIRS used to be held on BLONK STREET.

As opposed to the French un cheval au crin blanc which refers to a white (haired) horse and is also a French book which I read whilst doing A level. A book with a very sad ending. The name Blonk is an English spelling of Blanc, as you say a french name, and possibly a descendant from the Huguenot refugees who settled in Sheffield after the 1681 persecution of Protestants in France.

[tozzin]

10 hours ago, Bikeman said:

I've been doing some research preparing a talk I'm going to give and regarding your mention of the veterinary or stabler, this could be correct as the building at Lady's Bridge (the fancy brick building that used to be Hancock & Lants) was originally built in 1900 by a wealthy vet, property developer, horse breeder and stabler John Henry Bryars and was called the Royal Exchange building. He supplied horses for the drayage of steel for the Sheffield railway contract. He also had a 'lost dogs' home, in the basement! The horses were commandeered in 1914 for the war effort and he brought in and elephant and 2 camels to haul loads of coal! In 1931 the place was taken over by Batchelors, who had discovered how to can fresh peas (previously they were sold dried or freshly picked).

The dogs were kept in an area  can still be seen, the dogs home relocated here from Pond Street but sadly it wasn’t a success as the dog area was prone to flooding so it was closed down, I’m not sure but it could have moved to Spring Street where it remained until it was closed in recent memory. The original name was Castle House before the Royal Exchange Building. Heres a few photos of the Dogs Home and the Vets Practice sign over the entrance.

[Bildeborg]

Regards Blonk Street, all I can offer is that 'blonk' is an obsolete poetical term for a horse.

Regards,

Jay

[Edmund]

Where does Blonk come from?  - Nottinghamshire - plenty of Blon(c)ks there in the 1500s and 1600s.  The first entry for a Blonk as a cutlers apprentice was Brian Blonck, son of William of Cromwell, Notts who was apprenticed to Gervase Pointon of Walk Mill, a cutler, in 1627. This was possibly the Walk Mill at Beauchief, as a Jervis Poynten was a witness to a land transfer by one of the Strelleys in 1603.  Brian Blonck was buried at Sheffield in September 1667.