Upper Cut Mill - Rivelin

[Sheffield History]

UPPER CUT MILL - RIVELIN

Take a look at this picture

Does anyone know the location of this place and whether it's still there ?

[deejayone]

Don't recognise that particular one - but it does seem to have an undershot wheel - which were very uncommon (although there is an example of one that exists at Malin Bridge.

There was also one just off where Bradfield Road now stands (in fact, on the site of Regents Court flats) - it was known as 'Mr. Hawksleys' Mill' and still stood there in the late 1800's, even though it was on the path of the worst hit areas of the Sheffield Flood.

I understand the Hawksley Avenue was named after the mill and the man himself.

[Guest tsavo]

Well I can't tell you where it was, but can at least say where I think it wasn't!

Possibility 1.

If we accept that the river in our photo is flowing left to right (ish), we must have our backs to Sheffield and be facing roughly West. If the road we see at top right is Rivelin Valley Rd, the river will always be on our right coming towards Sheffield from the Rivelin Post Office.

Between the Devils elbow (or the 'S' bend below Den Bank) and Malin Bridge the river will always be on our left. So for that theory (that the road is Rivelin V Rd) the site must be between the 'S' bend and Rivelin Post Office.

The road we see has freshly planted or at least immature trees. As does R.V.Rd. - (now mature.)

To add to this I remember my father calling R.V.Rd the 'New Rd'. which this appears to be.

Possibility 2.

If the road was Manchester Rd, the river would be on our right coming out of sheffield, which out photo shows. However I don't remember Manchester Rd having vergeside trees after Crosspool or even after Rivelin Post office.

Well that's my thoughts so far, anyone any other thoughts?

Please check my logic, I've just emptied my logic box!

[Sheffield History]

What way does the river flow ?

Does it flow towards the city centre or away from it ?

[Guest tsavo]

Towards the city. I think it merges with the Don at some point.

[Sheffield History]

You've confused me now..

This is what i think about the pic at first glance:

The river is flowing right to left (towards the city) and the wheel on the right hand side is on the Stannington side

But I think this could be the place that is just over the road from the pub (name will come to me shortly) that the schoolkids from Myers Grove used to pass by ?

But in truth I have absolutely no idea..

[Guest tsavo]

Don't recognise that particular one - but it does seem to have an undershot wheel - which were very uncommon (although there is an example of one that exists at Malin Bridge.

There was also one just off where Bradfield Road now stands (in fact, on the site of Regents Court flats) - it was known as 'Mr. Hawksleys' Mill' and still stood there in the late 1800's, even though it was on the path of the worst hit areas of the Sheffield Flood.

I understand the Hawksley Avenue was named after the mill and the man himself.

Maybe I'm wrong but seems to me this is an overshot wheel. Looking at the image in Photoshop, the water seems to be cascading over and down the wheel.

[Sheffield History]

Think you might be right yeah

I'm going to google the place and see what comes up

[Sheffield History]

BINGO !

"This is just to the left of the S Bend driving towards the Rivelin Post Office."

[Sheffield History]

TASK TEAM NEWS

We have been concentrating our efforts on Upper Cut Wheel. This is just to the left of the S Bend driving towards the Rivelin Post Office. The Sheffield City Council have made a significant contribution to the footpath and goit retaining wall to make it safe for passers-by. The goit is the manmade waterway which fed the old water wheel and is currently an interesting little waterfall where the old wheel pit used to be. The RVCG have also made significant repairs to this wall further down towards Hind Wheel although our repairs used the original stone. The Council have used stone chippings in wire mesh cages. I’ll leave you to decide which looks best.

The RVCG have continued improvements at this site with the use of heavy machinery thanks to Frank Revitt, our resident farmer, which was used to dig out the old millpond.

The following Sunday, 28th Nov saw a lovely autumn morning welcome lots of volunteers and their young families. This involved cutting back lots of trees and shrubs and creating a huge bonfire. Others waded around in heavy mud to reconstruct parts of the old millpond wall so that it could once again hold water as a wildlife pond. This was a thoroughly enjoyable day although still an ongoing project. The area is to be grassed, planted with specimen trees and have benches installed all for the pleasure of local ramblers and passing public.

[Sheffield History]

Excerpt from ‘Walking The Rivelin’ by Keith Kendall

“Some of the best remains of a wheel housing can be found at this wheel. Not only the wheel housing but if you study the surrounding area closely you may get some idea as to the layout of the buildings. The Upper Cut wheel was only a small wheel working 8 trows (a trow is a set of three grindstones, fine, medium and course) and was rented by Bradshaw & Co for a rent of £7 per annum in 1818. The buildings for this dam stood between the the wheel arch and the river; just about where the path is now. Whilst only a narrow dam, it is said that the Upper Cut Dam was used for the hire of rowing boats. Having seen one post card with a rowing boat in front of the mill, I still remain sceptical but I am reliably informed it is true.

[Guest tsavo]

Think you might be right yeah

I'm going to google the place and see what comes up

Good luck, tried for an hour this pm but didn't find anything.

[Sheffield History]

28th March

Another great turnout by the group and it was nice to see all six new volunteers from the dry stonewalling turning out again. Down on the nature trail now and clearing up the small trees around the Upper Cut wheel pit. There is a lot of buried stonework here that we intend to reclaim and restore as much as we can. The wheel pit itself was cleaned of all the old trees that had self set over the years, overhanging trees on the footpath were removed and a general clear up ready for creating a small pond back at the top side of the wheel pit when it dries enough to get a machine in to dig it out. Eventually this will become another favourite area for people to sit on one of our benches and just wonder at the wildlife within our valley.

A small group also had another attempt at rebuilding the footpath edge. This is to complement the work we did on this last year and the work that the council has put in these last few weeks for which we are grateful.

On the downside, it has been noticed that a couple of trials bikes are starting to use the nature trail again. If you see anyone on the trail, please don’t get involved yourself, just try your best to get a good description of the bike and any clothing they may be wearing (helmets etc) and ring the police with the details when you get in. We are sure that it is just a couple of locals and with your help and enough of us ringing the police will be able to trace them back to their home.

(Hopefully soon)

The one that was reported to me came down from Long Lane at Stannington and down past the quarry onto Rivelin Valley Road, then took a right turn at the ‘S’ bend through the railings at the old toilet site and up the hill coming out on Hagg Lane.

[Sheffield History]

The Rivelin Valley lies approximately 5 miles West of Sheffield City Centre. The Valley is three and a half miles long and follows the course of the River Rivelin, which rises in the Hallam Moors on the edge of the Peak District National Park.

The River Rivelin is a very fast flowing River that is fed by many smaller tributaries that drain their water from the moorland peat. The fast flowing nature of this River has cut a steep Gorge through the hills leaving a deep Valley with very steep sides.

This River has been exploited over the centuries and the many dozens of different water wheels that once cluttered this Valley supported in their heyday, over twenty different kinds of Industry. These Industries included Forges, Metal-Workings and Flour Mills. Some of these water wheels and Mills were still working commercially right up to the 1950's. Several of these still exist today in various states of condition.

One of the most famous Mills in the Rivelin Valley was known as the Rivelin Corn Mill, which dates from around 1600. Another well known example was the Mousehole Forge at Malin Bridge. This produced Anvils that were exported all around the World. This Mill is the only one in the Valley that is still working today and has been carefully restored by its present owner.

Although the majority of the Mills have now disappeared and the Forges no longer exist, the Ponds that were created to feed them do still exist and there are literally dozens of these small Ponds throughout the Valley. Many of these Ponds have been cleaned and restored by the Ponds Conservation Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife and Yorkshire Water.

The typical habitat of the Rivelin Valley is mature Woodland in the Valley bottom consisting of Oak, Hazel, Beech and Sycamore. In areas where the Trees are less dense there are Birch and Larch. Close to the River there are small areas where the Trees have been cleared and these have been grazed by Sheep. In these areas the typical Vegetation is Heath, with Bilberry and Heather.

Close to the top of the Valley there are two other beautiful Valleys with their own bustling Streams that flow into the River Rivelin. These are the Wyming Brook and Blackbrook. Where these join the River Rivelin they form a much wider single River that flows into the Rivelin Dams. Further down the Valley, at Malin Bridge the River Rivelin is joined by the River Loxley before flowing into the River Don at Hillsborough.

At first glance you could be mistaken by thinking that this is a completely natural landscape but closer inspection reveals that there is plenty of evidence of man's past. There are two different Reservoirs in the Rivelin Valley known as the Rivelin Dams.

The lower Dam was completed in 1848 and is the largest of the two bodies of water with a capacity of 115 million gallons of water. The upper Dam was completed in 1852 and has a capacity of 48 million gallons of water. These Dams are owned and managed by Yorkshire Water and provide water for Sheffield and the surrounding area.

The Millstone Grit that is visible in the form of large boulders throughout the Valley has been extensively quarried in places for building material, and the stone from this has been used in many local buildings. There is also plenty of evidence of Coppicing. Coppicing was a common practice during Victorian times and involved the cutting back of young shoots from Trees to prevent them from growing too tall. During the 19th century these shoots were burnt in special incinerators and turned into Charcoal. This Charcoal was then used as a fuel to power the Forges.

The Rivelin Valley was a place that was loved by Ebenezer Elliot, who wrote the famous "Corn Law Rhymes" in the early 1800's. There is a large Rock by the side of Blackbrook with his name carved on it where he was known to sit and appreciate the beauty of this area.

The Rivelin Valley can be reached quite easily by Public Transport. I often catch the number 51 bus from Sheffield City Centre to its terminus on Redmires Road. The number 51 bus runs every 10 minutes at peak times and every 20 minutes off peak.

From Redmires Road the walk to the Rivelin Valley is via Wyimg Brook and eventually brings you out on Manchester Road. From here it is possible to catch several buses back into Sheffield.

If you are visiting by car then there is a large car park at the top of Wyming Brook. There is also a car park at the Dams, and parking is possible in several places along Manchester Road. The lower part of this Road is lined with over 700 Lime Trees, making it the second longest Lime Avenue in Britain.

The Rivelin Valley is a place that I visit several times every year. For me there is something very magical about the walk through this Valley no matter what time of the year it may be. The Valley is full of Wildlife and there are many uncommon Birds that breed here including Dipper, Green and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Crossbill, Goshawk and Hawfinch. It is also one of the last remaining places in this region where the Red Squirrel can still be found.

One of my childhood memories from here involved an early morning walk through this Valley with my Parents when Red Squirrels seemed to be everywhere but the highlight came when we reached the bridge onto Manchester Road. As we peered over the edge to see if we could spot any Dipper or an elusive Kingfisher directly below us and only a few metres away was an Otter with three tiny babies.

Manchester Road follows the route of an Roman Road and there is plenty of this old Road that is still visible. There is however another old Roman Road that connects Manchester Road with Redmires Road and it is this that forms the main footpath through the Valley. Since the Romans carefully laid large Stones along this route the path is of very good quality and can be easily walked on even after bad weather. This footpath does however get quite messy higher up at the top of the Valley.

I think that the Rivelin Valley is a fantastic place and I feel privileged to have it on my doorstep. Two centuries later I know why Ebenezer Elliot was so inspired by this place.

[Sheffield History]

Is this it ?

I think it might be and if it is then I have been there loads ! (although it's basically a path, with a stagnant pond,)

The place in the picture has a car park just off the main road coming out of sheffield that you pull into.

You can park your car and either take a very very steep path down to the river, or walk forward from the carpark into a clearing that's really nice in the summer.

If you choose to go down to the river you can walk on and there is a stagnant brown pond - and I guess the wheel would have been on the other side..

Really nice place - particularly in summer

[Guest tsavo]

Well done, think my googling finger must have been having an off day. Glad you found it.

[Sheffield History]

Bat Watch

On 20th Sep we met at the Rivelin Hotel car park for our annual bat walk. A group of 15 or so of us attended including a couple of new families. We started off at Hind Wheel Dam. It was a warm dry evening; almost perfect conditions for feeding bats.

With enough battery power to light the Blackpool illuminations (talk about wasting energy!), we surveyed the surrounding area with torches and newly purchased bat detectors. We weren’t disappointed. A couple of Pipistrelles were demonstrating their incredible flying skills right over our heads. The insects never stood a chance. We also detected a couple of Daubenton. These two types of bat are probably our most popular in the valley.

We then walked down to Uppercut Wheel on the ‘S’ bend or Glen Bridge where we stopped to admire the recent RVCG task team’s hard work . We continued our walk up to the top at Long Lane and then back down the horse track to Hind wheel.

[deejayone]

Maybe I'm wrong but seems to me this is an overshot wheel. Looking at the image in Photoshop, the water seems to be cascading over and down the wheel.

Actually, yeah - you could be very right.

I think my first brief look got the relation of the river to the wheel very wrong, the wheel is quite low compared to the river, I was getting the feed to the wheel wrong.

So - only undershots I can refer to are Hawksley's and Malin Bridge.

[Sheffield History]

You bugger - it was your first post that confused me as to the direction of the river..

[Guest tsavo]

You bugger - it was your first post that confused me as to the direction of the river..

You can't win em all.........but once or twice is nice!

[Guest J R Wrigley]

The Upper Cut Mill was in the Rivelin Valley just past the cut-throat bridge where so many car crashes occur.

This photo might give you a better idea of its location. It is part of the City Library Archives (ref y01884) on picturesheffield
It was called Upper Cut because there was another water mill across the road called as you would expect the Nether Cut (or New Wheel).
The Upper Cut Wheel is believed to date from 1749.

For more info see "Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers" edited by David Crossley.

[Sheffield History]

Aha..

I think that's before the place I had pictured in my mind..

Might nip up there with my camera this week and see what's there now...

[Sheffield History]

[Guest bangtidy]

The Rivelin Valley was a place that was loved by Ebenezer Elliot, who wrote the famous "Corn Law Rhymes" in the early 1800's. There is a large Rock by the side of Blackbrook with his name carved on it where he was known to sit and appreciate the beauty of this area.

I found the rock have u anymore details of who did the inscription and what date it was done?

cheers

[Guest tsavo]

Any pictures, Bangtidy?