It Is Not Very Unusual

[RichardB]

It is not very unusual, after a frosty night, to see from the high grounds near Sheffield, about sunrise, the vapours from the water mixed with the smoke of the town, unable to rise, lying in a heavy, damp, dark, cold mass, hiding everything that is beneath it, while the sun is shining brilliatly on the hills above, in a clear sky, through a pure dry air. The going suddenly from the latter, into the former, is something like plunging into a cold bath. On the morning in question this was particularly the case.

The vapour lay very deep and dense, the church vanes were all hit. The vapoury fog running up the vallies of the Porter and Sheaf, lay level to the distint hills. The prospect was strikingly sublime.

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Sunrise, Cholera Mount, Sabbath Morning, January 27th 1839

[DaveH]

It is not very unusual,

Bloke goes to the doctors because he can't stop singing "Delilah" and "The Green Green Grass of Home"

Doctor diagnoses him and says "Well, you've got Tom Jones syndrome"

Bloke says "Tom Jones syndrome! Never heard of it, - is it rare?"

Doctor replies, "No", "It's Not Unusual"

lol

[Markbaby]

I remember as a youth driving home from a nightclub in the early hours of the morning. In Sheffield city centre it was a little misty. As I got higher and higher driving towards home at Herdings the mist started turning to fog. The higher I got, the thicker the fog became. I was traveling up Leighton Road and as I approached The Wyvern pub, to ad insult to injury the street lights were out! At least that's what I thought anyway. In fact the fog was so thick now that I couldn't see the next street light until I was virtually under it! Obviously by now i was driving at a crawl, just following the edge of the kerb. It was like this all the way home until I reached the last few yards of Morland Close where suddenly the air was perfectly clear. I parked at the top of the close, got out of my car and stood looking at the top of the fog before me. It was so strange! The fog was half way down the road "bubbling" away. :blink:

[Guest plain talker]

When I was a little girl, I used to visit my granny's on Park Hill flats.

Her flat overlooked the train station toward St Mary's Church on Bramall Lane.

I used to call St Mary's "the church that's fallen in the water", because of the fog that would gather in the valley bottom. along the line of the river.

The fog would come up to the roof-line of the church, and looked to my three or four-year-old's eyes that the church roof and tower were poking out of water.

Looking back, it tickles me that I interpreted the fog as being waters.

(the vantage point from my Gran's top-floor flat and the cholera monument are not so far apart... a matter of a few hundred yards!)

[RichardB]

January 15th 1839

(Date inferred - "twelve days gone ..." from the 27th January 1839).

There was a dreadful hurricane, the mischief that was sustained in the town and neighbourhood was greater than on any former occasion.

The Church of St. John, lately erected on Park-hill, was, on the morning alluded to, the only one which appeared above the surface of the fog. During the hurricane, about five yards of the spire fell upon the roof, which it broke through, and greatly damaged the interior of the church.

[AdrianM]

I wondered whether you could give us a source for the quote about the storm in January 1839. I have found a note of damage to the Cholera Monument supposedly on January 7th (Holland and Everett 1856) and and alternative date of October 6th (sheffielddiary.blogspot.com), and I found your quote while trying to resolve the correct date! Now I have another possibility!!

I would also be interested in the sourceof the Sunrise quote - I am currently co-authoring a book (a 'grand' description!) on The Weather in Sheffield and such quotes add 'colour'.

January 15th 1839

(Date inferred - "twelve days gone ..." from the 27th January 1839).

There was a dreadful hurricane, the mischief that was sustained in the town and neighbourhood was greater than on any former occasion.

The Church of St. John, lately erected on Park-hill, was, on the morning alluded to, the only one which appeared above the surface of the fog. During the hurricane, about five yards of the spire fell upon the roof, which it broke through, and greatly damaged the interior of the church.

[DaveH]

I wondered whether you could give us a source for the quote about the storm in January 1839. I have found a note of damage to the Cholera Monument supposedly on January 7th (Holland and Everett 1856) and and alternative date of October 6th (sheffielddiary.blogspot.com), and I found your quote while trying to resolve the correct date! Now I have another possibility!!

I would also be interested in the sourceof the Sunrise quote - I am currently co-authoring a book (a 'grand' description!) on The Weather in Sheffield and such quotes add 'colour'.

Welcome to Sheffield History AdrianM.

I am sure Richard will have access to the information you require.

A book on the weather in Sheffield, - now that sounds really interesting stuff, especially for many of the members on this site.

I look forward to hearing more about it as it progresses.

Also hope it will contain plenty of information on the weather conditions of 16 February 1962 (the Sheffield gale / hurricane), an event which had a big effect on my formative years.

[RichardB]

I would also be interested in the sourceof the Sunrise quote - I am currently co-authoring a book (a 'grand' description!) on The Weather in Sheffield and such quotes add 'colour'.

Welcome to the Site AdrianM; you are new here and have no reason to question my competence; Dave, however should know better !

Here is the source of the Sunrise quote, possibly, the source of all of it. Let me know - if its not, I'll have another root around.

[AdrianM]

No questioning of competence was intended - the competence of the site's contributors is obvious (though the sense of humour can be questionable - a bit like mine) !!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info, I see it came through one of my favourite sources at Google Books, that and the Internet Archive have provided me with a wealth of historic bits on Sheffield's weather to supplement the more scientific data - number crunching is where I came into the subject. Once I surface from the writing I look forward to adding my two pen'orth to the site!

(And in reply to DaveH, the 'hurricane' gets a mention (or several) - 'twas a bit windy )

Welcome to the Site AdrianM; you are new here and have no reason to question my competence; Dave, however should know better !

Here is the source of the Sunrise quote, possibly, the source of all of it. Let me know - if its not, I'll have another root around.

[DaveH]

No questioning of competence was intended - the competence of the site's contributors is obvious (though the sense of humour can be questionable - a bit like mine) !!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info, I see it came through one of my favourite sources at Google Books, that and the Internet Archive have provided me with a wealth of historic bits on Sheffield's weather to supplement the more scientific data - number crunching is where I came into the subject. Once I surface from the writing I look forward to adding my two pen'orth to the site!

(And in reply to DaveH, the 'hurricane' gets a mention (or several) - 'twas a bit windy )

Thanks Adrian, I look forward to reading more posts about this project,

Good luck with it, - we will help all we can.

[AdrianM]

To sort out the date of the 'hurricane' suggested in your 1st October post, I just checked the Sheffield Local Register and it gives the 6th January 1839 ...

"6. Dreadful hurricane, commenced during Sunday night, and continued during Monday." (Sunday was the 6th)

Which fits with Holland & Everett (1856) (Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of James Montgomery, Vol 5.) Ch. 89, p350 ...

“The morning of the 7th of January was characterised by a violent storm of wind, which did immense damage in various parts of the kingdom. Among the mischiefs done in the neighbourhood of Sheffield, a portion of the spire of one of the churches, and the handsome cruciform termination of the ’Cholera Monument‘ … were blown down.”

I guess that 'twelve days gone' might have been poetic licence!! My alternative date of 6th October was less reliable! It was from a comment made in 1850 recalling (wrongly) the event in 1839 - it was from a lovely transcription of an anonymous Sheffeld diary ((See Link)).

Welcome to the Site AdrianM; you are new here and have no reason to question my competence; Dave, however should know better !

Here is the source of the Sunrise quote, possibly, the source of all of it. Let me know - if its not, I'll have another root around.

[RichardB]

No questioning of competence was intended - the competence of the site's contributors is obvious (though the sense of humour can be questionable - a bit like mine) !!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info, I see it came through one of my favourite sources at Google Books, that and the Internet Archive have provided me with a wealth of historic bits on Sheffield's weather to supplement the more scientific data - number crunching is where I came into the subject. Once I surface from the writing I look forward to adding my two pen'orth to the site!

(And in reply to DaveH, the 'hurricane' gets a mention (or several) - 'twas a bit windy )

I didn't mean to have a go at you, I meant I expeccted some comeback from Dave. His initial reply seemed over-respectful of my abilty and a few of the regulars do like to "wind each other up" (all in fun). I was impressed I managed to find the article again, I tend to post information up and move on to pastures anew - as a matter of fact, I normally can't find stuff I found 10 minutes previously.

Look forward to more questions and your input on whatever topics you know about (and more subtle ribbing from Dave, Steve, Stuart, Ukelele Lady and one and all).

[SteveHB]

I normally can't find stuff I found 10 minutes previously.

Look forward to more questions and your input on whatever topics you know about (and more subtle ribbing from Dave, Steve, Stuart, Ukelele Lady and one and all).

And I had always classed you as a friend Richard

So there is no doubt that you was wasting my time

when you requested a scan of the booklet then.

[RichardB]

And I had always classed you as a friend Richard

So there is no doubt that you was wasting my time

when you requested a scan of the booklet then.

My brain is further to the right than that shown in the image (not politically, I was never a Brownshirt), more like tripe or jelly from a pork-pie.

[DaveH]

I meant I expeccted some comeback from Dave.

Just like the Spanish Inquisition, no-one expects any come back from Dave.

My secret weapon is suprise,

People just wonder what the hell I am going to come out with next.

[Ellesse]

I remember having to walk home from Granville College to Nether Edge one night as the buses had been taken off because of the fog. It was really eerie as sounds were muffled and the only way you could tell where the pavement ended was when you fell off it, so crossing the road was pretty hazardous. That was sometime in the early 60's (1960) before you ask he he

[RichardB]

I remember having to walk home from Granville College to Nether Edge one night as the buses had been taken off because of the fog. It was really eerie as sounds were muffled and the only way you could tell where the pavement ended was when you fell off it, so crossing the road was pretty hazardous. That was sometime in the early 60's (1960) before you ask

Dangerous things pavement edges, my father stumbled off one outside Woolies on the un-named lane down the side (mentioned elsewhere on the site), broke his leg where the ball-and-socket joint is and spent months in pot. They re-broke and reset his leg five times and we moved house during that period - happy days (ish).