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The Wicker


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THE WICKER

LOCATION

Sheffield City Centre - S3 8HQ

INFORMATION

I guess the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of the Wicker is the huge Wicker arches at the bottom of it

Another thing that springs to mind is just how many pubs there were on one stretch of road (you can say the same thing about takeaways these days on the Wicker) and even though many were demolished or closed, there's stilll a large number of public houses still left here.

PICTURES

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A view of the brick built viaduct (bridge no. 134) over Wicker Road at the western end of Sheffield Victoria station. This view along the Wicker is described in S W A Newton's notes as the ' Viaduct over Wicker'.. Probably photographed in the early 1890's, the scene includes a row of horse-drawn cabs and, underneath the viaduct, a horse-drawn tram. Predominant advertising on the viaduct is promoting 'BERRY'S LION ALES'.

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tram02wicker1940.jpg

tram08wicker1950.jpg

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Take a look at the modern day Wicker Arches from close up

The black patch under the arch is where a nazi bomb scored a direct hit on the bridge. It caused little damage (it didn't explode, it just punched a hole through it) so was just filled in with concrete !

The Wicker Arches form a 660 yards long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare The Wicker, which passes through the main arch (72 feet wide) of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheffield Parkway, the main route eastwards from the city to the M1.

The viaduct was built in 1848 by Sir John Fowler (engineer; designer of the famous Forth Bridge) and Weightman & Hadfield (architects) to extend the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from its previous terminus at Bridgehouses. Later a part of the Great Central Railway, the viaduct supported Sheffield Victoria Station.

Main line rail passenger services crossing the Wicker Arches ceased in January 1970 with the closure of Sheffield Victoria and its service to Manchester, however the viaduct still carried the local services to Huddersfield via Penistone until they too were diverted, via Barnsley, in the 1980's. The only other passenger services to cross the bridge thereafter were football excursion trains to Wadsley Bridge for matches played at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground.

This traffic ceased in 1996. The Victoria station buildings and platforms were demolished in 1989, however freight services continue to use the, now single, line across the viaduct to reach the Stocksbridge Steel works. The arches were restored in 1990 and are a Grade II* listed building.

In 2002, the Cobweb Bridge was suspended underneath the viaduct to allow the construction of the Five Weirs Walk.

In Spring 2006, the two western-most arches and the bridge over Brunswick Street were removed and replaced by a single steel span in connection to the building of the final phase of Sheffield's Inner Ring Road.

The Sheffield University Rag Magazine Twikker is named after The Wicker and its 1991 cover featured the Wicker Arches.

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Guest howeyz

I was told that the length of the wicker is the distance a long bow archer could reach from the old castle that was situated on the grounds of the Castle market.

How true that is i don't know,but it's a good story.

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Guest tsavo

Don't know how far that is but this is Wikipeadia's info on longbow range.

The range of the medieval weapon is unknown, with estimates from 165 to 228 m (180 to 249 yds).

Love the story though, I think everyone as a child had a relative who had great strings of these facts. I know I did!

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More images of this famous street and it's arches circa 1900. The bottom left hand picture shows the "Big Gun" pubfrom that era, the one next to it shows how it looks today.

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Now this is the oldest image I have come across of the Wicker Arches. The poster is advertising the opening of the new Worksop Station in July 1849 as part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.

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I was told that the length of the wicker is the distance a long bow archer could reach from the old castle that was situated on the grounds of the Castle market.

How true that is i don't know,but it's a good story.

Seen on another site that the Wicker used to be a archery range in past times so could be true.

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Guest tsavo

That's a frightening distance to shoot. No wonder the French threatened to cut the archers fingers off if they were captured.

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Guest sheffsteel

I used to live on The Wicker from 1975 to 1980.

My parents used to run the New White Lion pub (actually its official name was New White Lion Hotel). Although it had 5 bedrooms it was never a hotel whilst I was there. It looked quite small from the outside but was quite a large pub due to it being deep. It had 3 small rooms (one of them had a jukebox and dart board) and 1 large function/concert room (with a pool table, another dart board and at one point a pin ball machine)

The Wicker had a thriving pub scene in the 70's, it was very much part of the city centre. Its hard to believe there were about 10 pubs on one short street.

The pubs I remember are The Station, The Viaduct, New White Lion, Big Gun, The Lion, Brown Cow, Bull and Oak, Wicker Brewery (became The Hole in the Wall), Lady's Bridge (became The Brewer on the Bridge) and Bull and Mouth (became Boulogne then Tap & Spile),

Pubs just off The Wicker were the Hare and Hounds, Harlequin, Midland Hotel and Manchester Hotel.

Other landmarks:

Cafe Madrid Hotel (this was a really run down seedy small bed & breakfast), Sam's hairdresser (the famous afro-caribbean barbers), Woodcock Travel (a large travel agent famous in Sheffield), Hancock and Lant (settee/ furnishings company), Lloyds Bank (think there was a Barclays bank too), a building called Kam House (looked like a bank but never saw anyone go in or out), Fredricks butchers, Famous Army Stores, Bennetts Fishing Tackle shop (on the side road), the tiny sweet shop/kiosk on Lady’s bridge, newsagents on the corner in the middle of the Wicker and The Peacock restaurant (became Ye Olde Coach House).

The Peacock was a Chinese restaurant run by a Chinese family whom according to rumour mysteriously disappeared over night

(local gossips at the time said there had been Triad mafia involvement and they'd been forced to abandon their business and leave town). It later re-opened as a very posh Ye Olde Coach House restaurant.

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Guest pete_s

The Peacock was a Chinese restaurant run by a Chinese family whom according to rumour mysteriously disappeared over night

(local gossips at the time said there had been Triad mafia involvement and they'd been forced to abandon their business and leave town).

You may be right, but the family (who also ran The Canary in Charles Street, and The Bluebird at Hillsborough Corner) went on to run The Golden Dragon on Matilda Street. I'm good on faces and I remember seeing the same ones in all four restaurants.

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We are lucky to still have the Wicker Arches....

The story of the German bomb has another little part to it.

Allegedly the last locomotive to pass over the bridge was hauling petrol!!

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I

Other landmarks:

Cafe Madrid Hotel (this was a really run down seedy small bed & breakfast), Sam's hairdresser (the famous afro-caribbean barbers), Woodcock Travel (a large travel agent famous in Sheffield), Hancock and Lant (settee/ furnishings company), Lloyds Bank (think there was a Barclays bank too), a building called Kam House (looked like a bank but never saw anyone go in or out), Fredricks butchers, Famous Army Stores, Bennetts Fishing Tackle shop (on the side road), the tiny sweet shop/kiosk on Lady�s bridge, newsagents on the corner in the middle of the Wicker and The Peacock restaurant (became Ye Olde Coach House).

Also the 24hr chemist - very useful when you have a screaming toddler - doctor comes out late at night and gives you a prescription.

In a different vein - I used to work just off Corporation Street in the mid 70's and every Friday lunchtime would find us in the Big Gun sampling the amazing liver and onions they did there.

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Also the 24hr chemist - very useful when you have a screaming toddler - doctor comes out late at night and gives you a prescription.

I've had to go there a time or two for the same reason, as it happens.

Usually as I'm in a rush to get back with my Calpol or whatever I dont hang around but I have always thought it is a fantastic place to watch the world go by.

I have seen some amazing things down there which mostly I can't tell you about on here as they are usually disgusting but alawys very funny. Like the two drunks chatting like old friends, but totally Ratted with matching urine stains on the front of their trousers.

Or the lady with the big....oh never mind. lol

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I remember in the days of the electrified line over the Arches being on the top deck of a bus going down Spital Hill just as a train went over. There was a mother and small boy in the front seat, and the lad asked his Mum why there was no smoke coming from the engine. "Because it's electric" said his Mum. Slight pause, then "Naaa, where do they plug it in then?".

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Guest mega_monty

Other landmarks:

a building called Kam House (looked like a bank but never saw anyone go in or out)

The building that was Kam House is now the Wicker Pharmacy, but Kam House complete with its sign has now moved behind onto Stanley Street of which I think belongs to Kam Leisurewear Ltd, Kam House Stanley Street Sheffield S3 8HH, quality jeans and leisurewear for men and women.

Kam Leisurewear but their website not fully working as its been worked upon

Other landmarks:

Famous Army Stores

Had 1950ish style painted people on the front wearing the styles of that day until recently but in a bad way with paint flaking off.

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I used to live on The Wicker from 1975 to 1980.

My parents used to run the New White Lion pub (actually its official name was New White Lion Hotel). Although it had 5 bedrooms it was never a hotel whilst I was there. It looked quite small from the outside but was quite a large pub due to it being deep. It had 3 small rooms (one of them had a jukebox and dart board) and 1 large function/concert room (with a pool table, another dart board and at one point a pin ball machine)

The Wicker had a thriving pub scene in the 70's, it was very much part of the city centre. Its hard to believe there were about 10 pubs on one short street.

The pubs I remember are The Station, The Viaduct, New White Lion, Big Gun, The Lion, Brown Cow, Bull and Oak, Wicker Brewery (became The Hole in the Wall), Lady's Bridge (became The Brewer on the Bridge) and Bull and Mouth (became Boulogne then Tap & Spile),

Pubs just off The Wicker were the Hare and Hounds, Harlequin, Midland Hotel and Manchester Hotel.

Other landmarks:

Cafe Madrid Hotel (this was a really run down seedy small bed & breakfast), Sam's hairdresser (the famous afro-caribbean barbers), Woodcock Travel (a large travel agent famous in Sheffield), Hancock and Lant (settee/ furnishings company), Lloyds Bank (think there was a Barclays bank too), a building called Kam House (looked like a bank but never saw anyone go in or out), Fredricks butchers, Famous Army Stores, Bennetts Fishing Tackle shop (on the side road), the tiny sweet shop/kiosk on Lady?s bridge, newsagents on the corner in the middle of the Wicker and The Peacock restaurant (became Ye Olde Coach House).

The Peacock was a Chinese restaurant run by a Chinese family whom according to rumour mysteriously disappeared over night

(local gossips at the time said there had been Triad mafia involvement and they'd been forced to abandon their business and leave town). It later re-opened as a very posh Ye Olde Coach House restaurant.

anybody remember the little cobblers shop on Lady's bridge opposite the Brewer used to make wooden clogs for the factory workers.

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anybody remember the little cobblers shop on Lady's bridge opposite the Brewer used to make wooden clogs for the factory workers.

There was also some sort of gun shop. Arthur Turner.......?

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darra said:
anybody remember the little cobblers shop on Lady's bridge opposite the Brewer used to make wooden clogs for the factory workers.

I remember the little cobblers shop on Lady's Bridge opposite Blonk Street, it's behind the police box on the corner of Nursery Street in this photo ..

https://www.picturesheffield.com/s00182

JayneMu said:
There was also some sort of gun shop. Arthur Turner.......?

Arthur Turners gun/sports shop was on West Bar, I can't ever recall them being on Wicker?

But I could be wrong.

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Arthur Turners gun/sports shop was on West Bar, I can't ever recall them being on Wicker?

Arthur Turner, Gun maker, 5a West Bar (1919 and 1925; still there late 70's), at the bottom of New Street (which used to be an extension of Figtree Lane; picture somewhere on here of New Street from PictureSheffield. Arthur lived at 99 Carr Road.

It is possible to drive a Volvo estate up New Street and indeed half way up Figtree Lane, I've done it whilst being watched by a bemused policeman lol

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