Windmills in Sheffield

[Guest Gramps]

Returning to Abyssinia Bridge In Peter Harvey's Sheffield since 1900 he states " the first AB was built of wood in 1868, the year British troops invaded Abyssinia because the Emperor had imprisoned some British officials (hence the bridge's name). It was replace by this metal bridge which remained the FP link between Attercliffe and Bightside until Hawke St and Jansen Street ere joined by a road bridge in 1908."

Thank you. Peter Harvey must have seen a reference somewhere to the construction of the old wooden bridge. There should be a mention in the local papers of the time...but I'll need some new glasses before I tackle the microfilm readers in Local Studies :(

[Guest stooby]

OLD WINDMILLS

Does any windmill student have any information on a windmill that stood on the current site of Woodhouse cemetery in what is now Stradbroke Road?

[dunsbyowl1867]

I know of three, one in the Bellhouse road/Windmill lane area, another on Western Bank and one in Attercliffe.

Returning to Windmills. These shots are on Windmill Lane, Shiregreen and behind this ancient wall (now allotments) is where the Shiregree Windmill Stood - or so they say! It is a fine wall at least.

[Guest Gramps]

Reviving this topic because I have found another windmill that I've never seen mentioned anywhere, but hope someone has more info. This is a post type windmill that stood at the top of Millhouses lane. It is shown on the 1850 map but not on the OS survey of 1894. Neither is it shown on Fairbank's map of 1795 although he does show the windmill on Western bank.

What seems odd is that a new post type windmill should have been erected at this time (ie after 1795) when tower type mills had become the norm. Perhaps the mill on Western bank was relocated to Silver Hill ?

Silver Hill in 1850

Location - Google maps.

http://www.earthtools.org/index.php?x=-1.5...p;t=7&m=Map

skeets - I didn't see your post back in October. Royds Mill in Attercliffe was a water powered mill.

[Guest Gramps]

By Gum ! - another windmill

On the 1808 Fairbanks map uploaded by Richard http://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/i...ost&p=42913

'Park Wind Mill' on the SE edge of the map. The site looks to be about where is now the junction of Talbot street and Duke street.

http://www.earthtools.org/index.php?x=-1.4...=7&m=Hybrid

[Stuart Morgan]

I know of three, one in the Bellhouse road/Windmill lane area, another on Western Bank and one in Attercliffe.

Were there any others and are there pictures of them ? I've seen several pictures of the Attercliffe Mill but the others seem to have gone unrecorded.

Of the Attercliffe mill G.R. Vine had this to say...

About thirty years ago an old friend of mine whose ancestors had lived in Grimesthorpe and Brightside for generations told me that before the Abyssinia footbridge was built there was a pedestrian ferry service across the Don by Attercliffe Mill. It would certainly have been a long trek to Attercliffe village from Grimesthorpe via the Brightside or Washford bridge.

The Attercliffe Windmill, which was on the current Amberley Street, which as you state properly was owned by George Hill, existed until just before WWII. George was my g g g grandfather. He was elected to the first Sheffield Town Council in 1843 and he died at Attercliffe on March 27th 1858

leaving a considerable estate which was divided amongst a large family (eight). In another text book "A Walk Through Attercliffe" mention is made of George Hill being the miller and resident of the Windmill in 1806, although it seems according to Vine that the windmill was not built until 1811. The disparity in the accounts intrigues me.

Ernest H Hill, was the younger son of George, and founder of Ernest H Hill Ltd, which still trades today. I have recently deposited documents about Ernest H Hill with Sheffield Archives. I have pdf copies of these files is anyone wishes to receive copies. I also have pdf versions available of letters dated 1840 and 1841 between George Hill and his eldest son, James, my g g grandfather.

The Ernest H Hill prize is still awarded by Sheffield University to this day, as Ernest was a famous metallurgist and a patron of the University.

A rather fabulous stained glass window called "Truth" is to be found in the Norfolk Chapel on Norfolk Street. The window commemorates the life of Clement Hill, son of Ernest H Hill

Email me at stuartmorgan48 <at> gmail.com if you want to make contact

[Stuart Morgan]

I forgot to state, that in the Sheffield Archives there are records of claims for damage incurred in the Sheffield Flood. On 19 May 1865, James Hill, miller of Attercliffe Windmill, was granted £3-00 for damage to a boat (the ferry) that was used to ferry people "across the Don before the wooden bridge was put up". Claim for loss of property #3470 refers

[dunsbyowl1867]

Thanks for that Stuart - great to read of tangible evidence of the Don ferry! :)

[Archaeo]

I recently tried to identify the sites of windmills in South Yorkshire, and here are those I located within Sheffield:

1. Attercliffe - SK 3823 8950 - Attercliffe Windmill, a corn mill dating to the early 19th century
2. Western Park - SK 340 872 - The approximate site of a windmill depicted on Fairbank's 1795 map of the parish of Sheffield.
3. Shiregreen - SK 371 912 - Approximate location of a windmill based on pictorial (Picture Sheffield Website, Image ref: s07524) and place-name evidence.
4. Herdings - SK 374 830 - Approximate location of a windmill documented in c.1596 (Armitage, H. 1910, Chantrey Land., p.292; Picture Sheffield Website, Image ref: y00793)
5. Richmond - SK 396 853 - Approximate location of a windmill shown on Thomas Jefferys' map of 1767-70
6. Woodhouse - SK 418 844 - location of windmill shown on Thomas Jefferys' map of 1767-1770.

Several are in what was Derbyshire, but included as they are in the extent of Sheffield's present-day boundary

In way of contrast, I documented 4 in Barnsley, 8 in Rotherham and 27 in Doncaster: a clear pattern reflecting the availability of water power and presumably the transition from pastoral to agrarian land use from west to east.

[Ponytail]

On 04/12/2011 at 15:11, Stuart Morgan said:

I forgot to state, that in the Sheffield Archives there are records of claims for damage incurred in the Sheffield Flood. On 19 May 1865, James Hill, miller of Attercliffe Windmill, was granted £3-00 for damage to a boat (the ferry) that was used to ferry people "across the Don before the wooden bridge was put up". Claim for loss of property #3470 refers

Sheffield Flood Claim Link for James Hill. 

https://sheffieldfloodclaimsarchive.shu.ac.uk/claimSummary.cfm?claim=4-3470

 

[Edmund]

Clay Wood (or Park) windmill was taken down in 1797/8 at about the same time as the one at Western Bank. The site of the moved Shrewsbury Hospital was close to the old windmill location. George Hill of the Attercliffe windmill assisted the demolition and took some of the recovered machinery back to Attercliffe.

But if the above is correct, it was presumably rebuilt very soon afterwards. In 1840 James Crossland, gentleman and corn factor, lived at Talbot Cottage, which was the house with the windmill at the bottom of its garden:

Fairbanks 1808 plan:

Whites 1838 map:

In Sheffield Archives there is an Arundel Castle document (ACM/15/274) titled "Counterpart lease of Pit Hill and Wind Mill closes late Messrs. Booth, Binks and Co." which is a lease dated 30 September 1802 for 21 years to Robert Burnand, broker, the rent being  £12 12s, one boon work day. Booth, Binks and Co. were operating the Park Furnace in 1790. Document (ACM/15/262) is dated 4th October 1806 and titled "Counterpart lease of a parcel of land containing 2 roods adjoining Pit Hill field in the Park, with messuage and wind mill, newly erected" which is a lease for 99 years to Robert Burnand of Sheffield, broker, at rent of £4 4s. There was a further lease (ACM/15/315 dated 23 Nov 1814 for 9 years to Thomas Hague of Sheffield Park, builder, the rent was £20 10s one boon work day. By now the area was named as Pit Hill field or Wind Mill Close. The Fairbanks collection has a plan of 1814 (FC/P/SheS/826S) titled "South Street, Park. Wind Mill House in the Park with the ground now proposed to be demised to - Hague by the Duke of Norfolk" which presumably relates to this lease.

 

[Edmund]

58 minutes ago, Ponytail said:

Sheffield Flood Claim Link for James Hill. 

https://www2.shu.ac.uk/sfca/claimSummary.cfm?claim=4-3470

James Hill (born 14th January 1817) was the son of George Hill the Attercliffe (wind) miller.

[tozzin]

1 hour ago, Edmund said:

James Hill (born 14th January 1817) was the son of George Hill the Attercliffe (wind) miller.

In the early fifties my sister and I used to go to Hills feed shop down Darnall, just past the railway bridge on the right hand side, good chance the owner was a relative of George and James Hill.

[Lysanderix]

I know it was a part of Derbyshire until ‘67 but Halfway has a “ Windmill Greenway”. I wonder ,does anyone know if this current part of Sheffield had a windmill?

[Archaeo]

4 hours ago, Lysanderix said:

I know it was a part of Derbyshire until ‘67 but Halfway has a “ Windmill Greenway”. I wonder ,does anyone know if this current part of Sheffield had a windmill?

I took a look at that one - there is a “Windmill Hill” marked to the south near “Dane Balk” on the c.1841 ed. OS - a place name which survives today slightly further to the north, just inside Derbyshire. The 1790s Eckington Inclosure shows this area was an open field named as “Church Field”. None of the maps show a mill, but in my experience placenames like the one here usually have a historic precedent.

 

[RLongden]

3 hours ago, Archaeo said:

I took a look at that one - there is a “Windmill Hill” marked to the south near “Dane Balk” on the c.1841 ed. OS - a place name which survives today slightly further to the north, just inside Derbyshire. The 1790s Eckington Inclosure shows this area was an open field named as “Church Field”. None of the maps show a mill, but in my experience placenames like the one here usually have a historic precedent.

 

The 1886 map still shows Windmill Hill and Church Field is Churchfield House, which is still there today and was comprehensively refurbished around 10 years or so ago. Windmill Greenway runs across the field boundary. Will have a look to see if any reference to windmills in that area, as the only other mill in the area would be the Knollhill Mill at Halfway, but I believe that was water powered, rather than wind?

[History dude]

You will note on the the map Pipworth Lane.  It's from that that Pipworth Road and School on the Manor Estate get the name.  Thanks to T. W. Hall.