Racker Way.

[Bayleaf]

The Following article first appeared in the Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society, Volume 1,(1914-1918) p63 and is reproduced here in full by kind permission of the Society.

( http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/hunter/index.html )

YE RACKER WAY

BY T. WALTER HALL.

WITHOUT in any way attempting to define or limit the work of The Hunter Archaeological Society, I think it is obvious that one of its chief duties will be to collect and permanently record any information, that will help to give a clear conception of the social and topographical conditions which have prevailed in Hallamshire from the earliest times to the present day.

With this object in view I propose to call attention to the class and condition of the roads leading out of Sheffield, and the traffic they carried prior to the introduction of stage wagons and coaches about the middle of the eighteenth century.

It is not easy, when picturing to ourselves the country round Sheffield, to entirely free our minds from the wide, smooth roads to which we are now accustomed, and which seem to us as much part of the landscape as the rivers and the trees; but if we are to see the country as it was, from the time of the early Georges back to the Middle Ages, we must get rid of all thought of wide roads, and realize that until comparatively recent times the whole inland transit of passengers and goods was done on foot or on horse along the open paths and badly constructed bridle-roads, which spread themselves over the country in every direction.

With the advent of wheeled traffic these bridle-roads began to disappear, especially in the neighbourhood of large towns; some being reduced to the status of footpaths and others being widened into cartroads and turnpikes.

Notwithstanding the loss to Hallamshire of these old landmarks, we still find some short lengths of bridle-roads around Sheffield, but more frequently only traces of them at the sides of both our country footpaths and modern roads. From these it is possible to follow the course of an old bridle-track across the country, until it is lost in the suburbs of some overgrown city, or suddenly disappears amongst the common allotments of an eighteenth century enclosure.

Frequent reference to these lost bridle-roads is to be found in our local records, and it is interesting to attempt their reconstruction on paper, and test the accuracy of our work by such evidence as can yet be found on their line of route. I propose to make such an attempt with an old bridle-road leading out of Sheffield called Ye Racker Way, which existed at least three hundred years ago, and probably dates back to the Middle Ages.

The name is twice mentioned in Harrison's Survey of the Manor of Sheffield, made for Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, in 1637, whose wife Alethea was one of the co-heirs of Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury.

First, let us see what documentary evidence we can find to help us to locate Ye Racker Way, and then we must try to trace it on the ground. Up to the present time, the only reference to it by name that I have been able to find is in the Survey, where it is described as the abuttal of fields known, at that time, as Little Hawe Parke and Fuaker or Quaker Meadow; and from other parts of the Survey we find that both Little Hawe Parke and Fuaker Meadow were in

"Sheffeild Soake, in ye Parish of Bradfeild,"

somewhere between Stannington and Rivelin Firth.

Both Hunter and Addy have fixed the position of Hawe Parke, which is still well known, in its immediate neighbourhood, as Hall Park. A glance at the ordnance map will show us Hall Park Cottages and Park Side, with a narrow lane called Hallfield or Oldfield Lane to the north, which leads to Nether Gate, Stannington, so that from the internal evidence of the Survey it may be deduced that Ye Racker Way, in 1637, was a road leading into Stannington at a point which was then, and still is, known as Nether Gate.

Having approximately fixed one end of Ye Racker Way, we now turn to other documents relating to the district in the hope of hitting off its line at some other point. We fortunately have not far to seek, for in a lease of

"a tenement at Wawkleye with a Croft called St. Marye Crofte and a close called Rakkar,"

granted by The Twelve Capital Burgesses to William Halle in 1555, we find ourselves once more in touch with Ye Racker Way.

This close called Rakkar was situate in Walkley, at a point more than a mile from Stannington, and it may be reasonably assumed that Ye Racker Way passed through or adjoined this close. If we are right, we may have some justification for thinking that Ye Racker Way led from Walkley to Stannington, and on this assumption we will push our enquiry further, to see how far it can be justified.

Let us again turn to the records of The Twelve Capital Burgesses, where we find that a cottage and two closes at Walkley, then lately in the tenure of William Halle, were included in their Charter of Incorporation, granted by Queen Mary in June, 1554; and in a much earlier charter of 1361, Agnes, widow of Adam de Nethergate, granted to the Burgesses of Sheffield (the predecessors of The Twelve Capital Burgesses) a plot of ground and a building thereon lying in Walkley, which charter appears to be the root of title of The Twelve Capital Burgesses to their original holding at Walkley, part of which they still retain.

Before examining the country between Walkley and Stannington in search of Ye Racker Way, let us endeavour to ascertain what the word racker meant. The name Rakkar, found in the earlier charter, suggests Dutch or Low German origin, and on turning to the Oxford Dictionary we find that racker, with variants including rakkar, means a racking horse, and racking is defined as the pace of a horse moving with a rack.

Skeat, in his Etymological Dictionary (1910), gives rack as a pace of a horse, and adds that the word is of uncertain origin, the Century Dictionary defines racker as a horse that moves with a racking gait, which it further describes as between a trot and a gallop, in which the forefeet move as in a slow gallop, while the hind feet move as in a trot.

If we are right in assuming that Racker means a horse that ambles or racks, its appropriateness as the name of a bridle-road is obvious; and we may, I think, now safely go a step further and assume that Ye Racker Way indicated a horse-way or bridle-road. With a growing conviction that Ye Racker Way will turn out to be a bridle-road leading from Walkley to Stannington, we leave our parchments and dictionaries to go in search of Ye Way, on both sides of the Rivelin Brook, which it must have crossed, as Walkley is on the south bank and Stannington on the north.

In order to save time I will ask my readers to join me at the Walkley tram terminus, and if, on alighting, we turn up Walkley Road we shall very soon see above us on our left a large stone gabled house, which at once arrests our attention; and to get a good view of it we must go a few yards out of our way, up Heavy Gate Road.

This is Walkley Hall, with its courtyard and extensive outbuildings, sometime the home of the Rawsons of Upperthorpe, one of our oldest Sheffield families, a name still familiar to us in connexion with the brewing trade. Walkley Hall is well worth the attention of The Hunter Archaeological Society; but we must leave it for the present and pass on, merely noting its position in relation to Ye Racker Way.

We now retrace our steps and turn westward down Bolehill Road, where we notice on our right, below the level of the road, a quaint old inn, bearing the sign of "The Old Cottage." This road-side inn, with extensive garden ground, stands on the land of The Twelve Capital Burgesses, the site having been held by them and their predecessors for over 500 years, and it is supposed in " the trade" to be one of the oldest licensed houses in Sheffield.

This is part of the Burgesses' original estate at Walkley, which included the Rakkar close; and "The Old Cottage Inn" cannot be far from Ye Racker Way. Possibly "the tenement" of 1555 was a house of call for man and beast passing along the old road, and the existing cottage probably stands on or near the site of the older "tenement."

Leaving this inn on our right we leave Bolehill Road and pass into Rivelin Street, which descends the hillside obliquely towards the Rivelin at an increasingly steep gradient, far too steep at the lower end for ordinary wheeled traffic; and on arriving at the bottom of Rivelin Street we find the conditions suddenly change - a cinder track about seven feet wide, with low walls on each side, crosses two or three undulating fields in a straight line between Walkley and Stannington.

It is too wide for a country footpath, too narrow for a cart road, and I think we can only conclude that it must have been at one time a bridle-road. For those who do not care to make the journey to Walkley, a photograph of the path is here reproduced, which shows the track as viewed from the bottom of Rivelin Street looking towards Stannington.

This short length of bridle-road I think we may claim as part of Ye Racker Way, in much the same condition as it was long years ago, though the low walls would probably be built when the land, which was formerly a common called Walkley Bank, was enclosed since the date of the Survey.

We now proceed with some confidence along this old track till it terminates in a partly made street, laid out many years ago as part of the building scheme of the Walkley Bank Land Society, and shown on the ordnance map as Rivelin Road; so that what still remains of the old bridle-road lies between and connects Rivelin Street and Rivelin Road, and there is every indication that this short connecting section will, at a very early date, be widened and lost in an extension of one or other of these streets.

On reaching the bottom of Rivelin Road we find ourselves at the gates of the Rivelin Roman Catholic Cemetery, on the broad road recently made by the Corporation called the Rivelin Valley Road, at the point where Hollins Bridge crosses the Rivelin, from whence Hollins Road leads up to Stannington.

If we stop for a moment on the bridge I think we shall see some signs of a ford on the north bank, which no doubt crossed the stream in the days before wheeled traffic demanded an easier crossing, and on rising the hill, leaving the bridge behind us, we find another inn an our right bearing the old-world sign of "The Holly Bush"; here, also on the right, above the level of the road is one of those rough flagged footpaths that are so often found in old bridle-roads; on the left, further up the hill, is an old roadside horse trough, which would be in great request after mounting the steep bank from the Rivelin ; for a short length beyond this all trace of the old road is lost at a point where it appears to have been widened to form a section of the cart road from Malin Bridge to Stannington ; but on reaching Stannington Town End the main road divides, and at the fork of the road stands the shaft of an old stone cross, referred to by Hunter in " Hallamshire," which again indicates the line of an ancient track.

It seems highly probable that at the stone cross, bridle-roads led on the right to Upper, Gate and on the left to Nether Gate; but for our purpose we must keep to the left, leaving what still remains of the old cross an our right, and proceed in a westerly direction towards Stannington, passing Park Head on the left with Hall Park Cottages still further to the south. We now reach the end of Hallfield Lane, which we have already marked on our map.

This old lane is in many places not wide enough for two carts to pass, and we again see traces of the old flagged footpath as we approach the village. There are a few trees on each side, and the walls and gate-posts show signs of great age; but the lane soon terminates at the Town Green, Nether Gate, and we realize that we are now at the point where Ye Racker -Way, ran into Stannington.

If we now glance back to Walkley we shall see that we have travelled in a straight line for over a mile, along a road which is in places too steep and too narrow for carts to travel, and we readily admit that Ye Racker Way was, as its name implies, a horse-way and nothing more.

But what kind of horses used this road? I daresay my readers have been picturing to themselves strings of ten or a dozen heavily-laden packhorses walking in line to the sound of a tinkling bell and the crack of the sumpter's whip. If so, I fear some disappointment is in store for them, for I claim no such distinction for Ye Racker Way, though pack-horses may have constantly travelled parts of the road on their way to Ughill and Nether Bradfield : but it was not the pack-horse that called forth the name of Racker; we have no reason to think the English pack-horse ambled, paced or racked; he travelled at a very sober walk, and was probably quite incapable of racking as defined in our lexicons; so that it still remains for us to find the racker, for which Ye Way was intended, or by which it was more or less appropriated, and I think we shall find him in the pack-mule, which was popular in Stannington up to a hundred years ago.

He carried the milk, butter, eggs, and farm produce into Sheffield and brought back stores for the Stannington people. A native of Stannington told me the other day that his father could recollect the time when every householder in Stannington kept a mule ; and not only farm produce, but also cutlery, ground at the "wheels" on the Rivelin and Loxley, came into Sheffield on the mule's back. When not otherwise employed these mules were sent into Derbyshire for lime, and perhaps even into Cheshire for salt. The demand for mule carriage seems to have been so great that they were kept in considerable numbers by men called mule-jaggers, who let them out on hire or carried goods for payment.

The word jagger must not be confused with racker; it is a north country word meaning a man who works draught horses for hire, and the mule-jaggers of Stannington evidently plied their trade along Ye Racker Way, between Stannington and Sheffield.

It is very probable that these mules were quicker of foot and less costly, both to buy and to keep, than horses, and were eminently suited for the short journey to Sheffield. When urged out of a walk they would amble or rack; and if the mule-jagger's profits depended on the number of journeys made by the mules, we may be sure they were kept moving at a pace something quicker than a walk.

That these mules were much used in Stannington and came daily to Sheffield is quite certain, and they, and they only, were the rackers that gave the name to the track they used. Of this we get some confirmation from the fact that Mulehouse Lane has existed from time out of mind and still exists in Crookes.

Mr. Addy, in "Waltheof," suggests that Mulehouse Lane means Mill House Lane, and that possibly there was a windmill at Crookes; but in the absence of any evidence of a wind or other mill at Crookes I see no reason why the name Mulehouse Lane should not be taken literally, and this very obvious reading is quite consistent with the daily use of mules in the district.

Mulehouse Lane is not far from Walkley Hall, and it is possible that the route into Sheffield from Walkley was along Heavy Gate Road, past Steel Bank, of which we have a record as early as 1550, to Barber Nook, and thence either across to Hallam Lane, Broad Lane and Town Head; or down to Upperthorpe, past Portmahon into West Bar.

It seems probable that these pack-mules not only made daily journeys into the town of Sheffield, but that they were highly popular with the townspeople there, for we find that they reproduced mule shoes in silver, and wore them as ornaments attached to silver chains, probably hung round the neck. One of these silver mule-shoes with its chain formed part of the treasure-trove, which was found in Sheffield last October during the excavations at the corner of High Street and York Street.

The inset photograph shows the peculiar shape of this silver mule-shoe, which is now in the British Museum. We have reason to think that in any case its date is prior to Charles II, but it was probably treasured as a family relic when hidden for safety during the Civil War. Its existence under such conditions goes far in support of our conclusion as to the antiquity and the popularity of the mules of Ye Racker Way.

[RichardB]

Enjoyed that muchly; Thank You to HAS and you as ever.

[SteveHB]

Thanks Bayleaf,

a photo on picturesheffield showing Racker Way, looking up towards Rivelin Street (1920)

[vox]

Enjoyable read - thanks.

I can't seem to place the route of "Ye Racker Way" on it's way up to Rivelin Street.

I'm assuming that what's left of Racker Way nowadays is part of the original. Is it?

Racker Way now, about 150 yds. Starting from Walkley Bank Road and looking down towards where Rivelin Bank (now the main road) bears off to the right.

Racker Way ends in a Cul-de-sac, just short of Rivelin Valley Rd

Google Street View

[Bayleaf]

Enjoyable read - thanks.

I can't seem to place the route of "Ye Racker Way" on it's way up to Rivelin Street.

I'm assuming that what's left of Racker Way nowadays is part of the original. Is it?

Racker Way now, about 150 yds. Starting from Walkley Bank Road and looking down towards where Rivelin Bank (now the main road) bears off to the right.

Racker Way ends in a Cul-de-sac, just short of Rivelin Valley Rd

Google Street View

That had me puzzled when I read the article too. As far as I can make out the present day Racker Way isn't the same as in the article. The one Hall describes I think came down what's now Rivelin Road and crossed the river around the bottom of Hollins lane, then up the Lane and so on. If so, perhaps the present day Racker Way was named to keep the name going? Or perhaps a mistake by someone at the Council?

Any other ideas?

[vox]

That had me puzzled when I read the article too. As far as I can make out the present day Racker Way isn't the same as in the article. The one Hall describes I think came down what's now Rivelin Road and crossed the river around the bottom of Hollins lane, then up the Lane and so on. If so, perhaps the present day Racker Way was named to keep the name going? Or perhaps a mistake by someone at the Council?

Any other ideas?

Seems doubtful.

Although the Cul-de-sac has relatively new buildings, the short section between where Walkley Bank Rd takes a sharp left, and the top of Rivelin Bank, is surely a very old route.

If it was named in more recent times out of "nostalgia", one would expect just the cul-de-sac to bear that name. (If you follow my reasoning)

[SteveHB]

Not a deal of help bit It's shown on OS map #193

[vox]

The pawson and brailsford 1881 stops tantalizingly at the top of Rivelin bank

[Guest Gramps]

The Racker Way shown on the 1950s map and also on the current Google map is little more than a footpath on the 1903 map (designated C.F.P.) which led into the back of Mousehole Forge. This footpath continues west along the Walkley side of the river before ending in a field next to the Wire Mill Dam. So probably a little romantising by a council employee keen to preserve the old name.

The 1850s OS map presents a clearer picture of the way things were....

The present Rivelin street, Robertson drive and Rivelin road are rougly aligned to the lane shown as Walkley road on this 1850s map and the 1903 map shows the remnant of the Racker Way between Rivelin street and Rivelin road as per the photograph in Bayleaf's post (with Hollins lane in the distance).

ETA - the 'Old Cottage PH' doesn't appear to be in the pubs listing.

[vox]

Looking at Gramps maps, that route does seem the most direct, almost a straight line in fact.

Interesting that the 3 pubs shown on the 1850's map above are all still there but have slightly different names. The Sportsman's Inn now The Sportsman, The Old Cottage, now the Walkley Cottage and then The Hollins Tavern on Hollins Lane, now The Holly Bush. Oddly re-named I think, the latter being similar but completely unrelated (unless someone knows different)

[SteveHB]

The Racker Way shown on the 1950s map and also on the current Google map is little more than a footpath on the 1903 map (designated C.F.P.) which led into the back of Mousehole Forge. This footpath continues west along the Walkley side of the river before ending in a field next to the Wire Mill Dam. So probably a little romantising by a council employee keen to preserve the old name.

The 1850s OS map presents a clearer picture of the way things were....

The present Rivelin street, Robertson drive and Rivelin road are rougly aligned to the lane shown as Walkley road on this 1850s map and the 1903 map shows the remnant of the Racker Way between Rivelin street and Rivelin road as per the photograph in Bayleaf's post (with Hollins lane in the distance).

ETA - the 'Old Cottage PH' doesn't appear to be in the pubs listing.

Hi Gramps,

you had a post that you named duplicate post above this one

(no other text or images were visible)

So I deleted it and the two maps added into

your next post have disappeared !!!

Sorry but I have no idea as to how or why this has happened?

Can you edit your post and re-install the images please.

Steve

[Bayleaf]

Looking at Gramps maps, that route does seem the most direct, almost a straight line in fact.

Interesting that the 3 pubs shown on the 1850's map above are all still there but have slightly different names. The Sportsman's Inn now The Sportsman, The Old Cottage, now the Walkley Cottage and then The Hollins Tavern on Hollins Lane, now The Holly Bush. Oddly re-named I think, the latter being similar but completely unrelated (unless someone knows different)

Someone trying to clarify an old name I think. Hollin, hollings and holly all refer to the same thing, hollin and hollings mean a place where holly grows. Farmers used to grow holly for winter fodder. It was a valuable commodity, and a farm with a good supply of holly was the more valuable for it.

In the accounts of the Duke of Norfolk's woodward, there's a note in 1710 that says he paid Henry Broomhead 'for him and horse going 2 days in ye great snow to see if anyone croped Holling'.

[vox]

Someone trying to clarify an old name I think. Hollin, hollings and holly all refer to the same thing, hollin and hollings mean a place where holly grows. Farmers used to grow holly for winter fodder. It was a valuable commodity, and a farm with a good supply of holly was the more valuable for it.

In the accounts of the Duke of Norfolk's woodward, there's a note in 1710 that says he paid Henry Broomhead 'for him and horse going 2 days in ye great snow to see if anyone croped Holling'.

Brilliant. :)

[Guest Gramps]

Hi Gramps,

you had a post that you named duplicate post above this one

(no other text or images were visible)

So I deleted it and the two maps added into

your next post have disappeared !!!

Sorry but I have no idea as to how or why this has happened?

Can you edit your post and re-install the images please.

Steve

That's looks better

====================================

"Thanks Gramps"

Steve :)

[Guest Gramps]

A little more info...

These are the two references in Harrison's survey mentioned by Hall.

Scurfield hasn't marked either of them on his reconstructed map, but Little Haw Parke seems not to have been enclosed and the piece 992 'intake called Quaker Meadow' was very small. Both seem to be on the south side of the Racker Way on the Stannington side of the river.

Neither has Scurfield attempted to show the line of the Racker Way across 'Peyham Banke' although it seems safe to assume it would follow a fairly direct line betwen the south west end of Walkley Banke Common and the crossing at Rivelin Bridge.

In Harrison's time there was a tenement of two houses etc. on the site of the Old Cottage PH (Plot 649 on the plan above).

[Guest Gramps]

@ Bayleaf & vox

There is a four page pdf file Holly as a Winter Feed available from the British Agricultural History Society here...

http://www.bahs.org.uk/09n2a3.pdf

I believe there is also an article in the HAS transactions dealing with the same topic.

[Bayleaf]

@ Bayleaf & vox

There is a four page pdf file Holly as a Winter Feed available from the British Agricultural History Society here...

http://www.bahs.org.uk/09n2a3.pdf

I believe there is also an article in the HAS transactions dealing with the same topic.

I just got round to following the link, fascinating! Thanks for posting it Gramps.

[HughW]

I just got round to following the link, fascinating! Thanks for posting it Gramps.

Yes, I also found it very interesting. Thanks!

I also went looking for the full reference and date:

Agricultural History Review

Volume 9 part 2 (1961) 89-92

Hugh

[vox]

Yes - and thanks from me too Gramps. - Learning all the time.

[Guest OLD No.12]

A little more info...

These are the two references in Harrison's survey mentioned by Hall.

Scurfield hasn't marked either of them on his reconstructed map, but Little Haw Parke seems not to have been enclosed and the piece 992 'intake called Quaker Meadow' was very small. Both seem to be on the south side of the Racker Way on the Stannington side of the river.

Neither has Scurfield attempted to show the line of the Racker Way across 'Peyham Banke' although it seems safe to assume it would follow a fairly direct line betwen the south west end of Walkley Banke Common and the crossing at Rivelin Bridge.

In Harrison's time there was a tenement of two houses etc. on the site of the Old Cottage PH (Plot 649 on the plan above).

hi gramps, the map regarding the named fields which caught my eye. is there many more like this around sheffield, and where would i be able to look at these.

[Guest Gramps]

hi gramps, the map regarding the named fields which caught my eye. is there many more like this around sheffield, and where would i be able to look at these.

That is just a small section of the maps that accompany an article about Harrison's 1637 survey of Sheffield Manor. Seventeenth-Century Sheffield And Its Environs, by G. Scurfield

The article can be found in the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol. 58 (1986) which you can see in the Reference section of Sheffield City Library.

NB - it can take an hour or more sometimes to retrieve stuff from the basement at the library if it's busy. I usually phone them the day before with the details of any journals etc. I wish to see.

[dunsbyowl1867]

I noticed that in 'A-Z of Sheffield Public Houses' by Michael Liverside he claims that the Old Heavygate Inn, supposedly opened in 1676/7 as a toll house, to collect tolls from travelling trademen, chapmen on their way out of Sheffield along Racker Way to Stannington'. Does that fit in or sound plausible ?

[vox]

I noticed that in 'A-Z of Sheffield Public Houses' by Michael Liverside he claims that the Old Heavygate Inn, supposedly opened in 1676/7 as a toll house, to collect tolls from travelling trademen, chapmen on their way out of Sheffield along Racker Way to Stannington'. Does that fit in or sound plausible ?

Not if this bit is correct.

In order to save time I will ask my readers to join me at the Walkley tram terminus, and if, on alighting, we turn up Walkley Road we shall very soon see above us on our left a large stone gabled house, which at once arrests our attention; and to get a good view of it we must go a few yards out of our way, up Heavy Gate Road.

It clearly says that going up Heavygate Rd is "Out of our way"

He later indicates that Walkley Hall is not far above where BoleHill Road joins.

The Heavygate pub is much further up hill than this.

[dunsbyowl1867]

Mention here of Racker Way from Eric Youle's site.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN OF SHEFFIELD

in my remembrance wrote in the year 1832 at the time the

Cholera was raging in Sheffield.

BY JOSEPH WOOLHOUSE.

FORE WORD

BY

MR. HENRY RICHARDSON.

12 The old Barracks at Philadelphia. When the Langsett Road was widened it

went through these. The present Barrack Lane indicates approximately their

position. The last part of this sentence is rather obscure, but it probably means

that the writer having followed the turnpike to Morton Wheel, returns to

Cleckham Inn (Cornish Place), and decribes a footpath leading thence on his

left in the direction of the present Infirmary Road once rural Whitehouse

Lane; whence Causey Lane led to Upperthorpe and Daniel Hill. Now it is

interesting to find Mr. Woolhouse speaking of Pack Horse Lane hereabouts,

because it suggests (and additionally in conjunction with "Causey Lane"),

a connection with that Racker Way which Mr. T. Walter Hall traced from

Walkley Hall to Stannington. H.A.S. Transections, i. p. 63. Nor is the

interest removed if this interpretation be wrong, and the writer meant that

Pack Horse Lane led to the old Barracks. Because there is thence also an

approach to Daniel Hill, but from the other side, by what is now called

Woollen Lane. Further, what has become Infirmary Road is marked, on early

nineteenth century maps "Walkley Road."