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The Hole In The Road Sheffield


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Guest Tigeratplay

Remember it well!!! But towards the end of HITR's life, I for one changed my meet up point to Barker's Pool, rather than the fish tank - especially after dark! Think the last time I used HITR was to get from the Wap' to Rebel's - trotting along High St, slightly sozzled, then down the knackered escillators (in stop mode) before landing on my backside after slipping on a discarded bag of chips at the bottom of the steel stairway... Then had to climb what felt like ninety flights of stairs just to get another lager! Kept one fit!!

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Guest Tigeratplay

Dig it out, fill it in, dig it out, fill it in... You never know, the mighty HITR may return someday... Was unique and even these days, when I walk along Arundel Gate, past the rows of takeaways, one of them used to be The Golden Grill, im sure - still think I am going to see the ramped entrance down into the underworld of subways and shops...

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A decent enough snippet pages 77-86

An interesting piece and I agree Sheffielders are nostalgic about the HITR - we have a right to be because for all its good and bad points it was something pretty unique and always a talking/meeting point.

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Guest transit

...still think it could , and should have been saved and revamped with a large glass dome over the central "hole" - something on a par with the Oasis area in Meadowhall !?

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...still think it could , and should have been saved and revamped with a large glass dome over the central "hole" - something on a par with the Oasis area in Meadowhall !?

Now that would have looked impressive.

Unfortunately it would still be right bang in the middle of the Supertram route.

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Guest transit

Now that would have looked impressive.

Unfortunately it would still be right bang in the middle of the Supertram route.

...the HITR was there long before Supertram , so slight diversions would have had to be made !

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...the HITR was there long before Supertram , so slight diversions would have had to be made !

They could have made the "slight diversions" and kept the hole in the road as it was then

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Which "Tara" "blew his mind out in a car ?" and what actually happened please ?

4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.

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Guest Tigeratplay

I wonder if one day, maybe not during my lifetime, HITR will be partly dug up by Time Team..? Interesting to see if that GeoFizz thingy could pick out the tunnels and window displays that were once down there. Might even find some old fish bones!

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I came across this item in The Times for 1972.

The Times Friday, Jun 30, 1972; pg. I; Issue 58518; col A

Steel city learns a basic lesson for survival by Ronald Kershaw Northern Industrial Correspondent.

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Guest spashley

I'm new here & have a pretty dumb question I'm hoping someone will be able to answer. I was only 10 when HITR got filled in I was gutted (still am to be honest) anyway my dumb question is the shops that had display windows & entrances down there are they still there or did the tunnels get entirely filled in? Like if you go to basement in Primark would there be a door that used to lead into the hole in other buildings that had entrances down there? I obviously realise that if there are they would not be functional (I'm not that crazy) its just on pictures I've seen of it getting filled it looks like the tunnels were bricked up not filled in. I realise these sound like the ramblings of a lunatic buts its bugged for ages :)

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It's the ramblings of lunatics that makes this forum so interesting.

I don't know the answer to your Q but some lunatic will.

Meanwhile, welcome to Sheffield History.

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Guest plain talker

Hi, Spashley, and welcome. Another historical loon, here! lol (or should that be Hysterical? ;-) )

Amongst other businesses, the C&A (now Primark, and Walshes (the now-empty TJ Hughes) that had entrances to the HITR, underground... They were sealed off and bricked up when the HITR was demolished. The underground/ basement-y bits are still there, but, obviously, there's no HITR any more. (In TJ's you can still see the fire-escape stairs at the side of the corner entrance, which led down to the subway.) there were escalators inside Walshes from the HITR up to the street level, which were removed many years ago. The doors to the subway were immediately below the doors that face onto the Castle Square Tram Stop.

When I was a teenager, the subway entrance to C&A led into their "Youth" fashion section, called "Clockhouse".

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Guest spashley
It's the ramblings of lunatics that makes this forum so interesting.

I don't know the answer to your Q but some lunatic will.

Meanwhile, welcome to Sheffield History.

Thank you for the welcome :) glad i'm not alone in lunacy

Hi, Spashley, and welcome. Another historical loon, here! lol (or should that be Hysterical? ;-) )

Amongst other businesses, the C&A (now Primark, and Walshes (the now-empty TJ Hughes) that had entrances to the HITR, underground... They were sealed off and bricked up when the HITR was demolished. The underground/ basement-y bits are still there, but, obviously, there's no HITR any more. (In TJ's you can still see the fire-escape stairs at the side of the corner entrance, which led down to the subway.) there were escalators inside Walshes from the HITR up to the street level, which were removed many years ago. The doors to the subway were immediately below the doors that face onto the Castle Square Tram Stop.

When I was a teenager, the subway entrance to C&A led into their "Youth" fashion section, called "Clockhouse".

Thank you for the welcome & reply :)

I'm glad to have an answer cos I was very close to calling into Primark & asking the staff (& seeing as most are younger than me would be like 'there was a HOLE in the ROAD?!' which is exactly what a 15year old said when I mentioned it in conversation about trams) if I could have a wander in the basement to see for myself. I never knew thats where the door led in TJs if i had i'd probably have got arrested trying to get through it :unsure:

So glad I found this site cos I have loads of questions about Sheffield from when I was young & I now know I won't be judged by asking them lol

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Guest busy lizzy

It is such a shame it was filled in,it did make Sheffield unique and it was a fascinating place to visit

I am a Rotherham girl and it used to be my highlight on a visit to Sheffield to see the fish and we always ran to them first every time

Why did sheffield actually get rid of them?

It was a big mistake

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