Author Archives: Jane Bartholomew

Record of Fulwood History Group Meeting 18/4/24

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Record of FULWOOD HISTORY GROUP MEETING 18th April 2024

Present: D.A., J.B., A.C., M.L., C.M., D.M., J.P. & K. P.

  • Discussion around Fulwood Society documents over period 1970s-90s which are being looked through by group members: newsletters, letters, photos, press cuttings etc. E.g.
    1. Lost Dore – Fulwood Path 1977
    2. Wire Mill Dam boating (1975) & Hallam Ski Club Activities (1972 & 82) – useful for this year’s Heritage Open Days focus
    3. The 12” to a mile maps reproduced by society – AC shared one of these from c.1951; the number of sports grounds noted, even in the rural, farming outskirts of Fulwood; considered the possible reasons for this
    4. Fulwood Old Road coffee house and item relating to Hewlett 1895
    5. Richardson 1931 booklet History of Fullwood: page 5 recounts old route to Fulwood with suggestion that Birks Green was situated at Whiteley Lane; indicates fluidity of places and how they’re identified – a recurring theme
  • Stumperlowe Hall in the 1920s was divided in two; discussion about use of land here and elsewhere in Fulwood and how it was sold off
  • Historic England’s Missing Pieces project: see also link on FHG Facebook page; JP gave great example of a potential contribution to this,(house with listed railings on Taptonville Rd); each member of the group has much to offer to this and it’s a valuable way of recording valuable local information which can be used now and in the future – plug from JB!
  • Fulwood History website – there seem to be two: KP has since clarified this
  • Friends of Ecclesall Woods event on July 13th to be held at café/Discovery Centre area: ‘What have you Found?’ JB asked for volunteers if anyone interested in covering stall for a couple of hours
  • DA reflected on Ranmoor Society talk given by Catherine Warr on 16th April: A Yorkshire Year: Folklore, customs and traditions and how the creation of folklore, myths and legends is a continuous process – the Mi Amigo story is an example of this; see also Hallam University’s Centre for Contemporary Legend
  • DA reminded group about Fulwood Church archive: KP/DA to contact FL to arrange a meeting with group
  • Organising walks instead of/in addition to indoor meetings in coming months e.g. on the trails of the Oak Brook and the Griffin Sick
  • DM passed next batch of Fulwood Society documents on to JB and AC to look at over the coming month
  • Next meeting: 16th May 2024

Gilcrest Wood

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This area of local green space has had a number of names over the centuries: maps from the 1700s indicate it was known as Goulhirst or Gallhirst, (perhaps linking to Goole/Gold as in Goole Green). More recently, the area was named by local people as  Bluebell Wood, The Meadow and simply The Field. Its official name, according to the local authority, is Crimicar Lane Open Space. In 2013, a local group formed to take care of this precious area and, in keeping with historical records, have adopted the name Gilcrest Wood and Meadow. For more information, here’s a link to their website: https://www.fogwam.org/

 

Record of FHG Meeting 21/3/24

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Record of FULWOOD HISTORY GROUP MEETING 22nd March 2024

Present: D.A., J.B., A.C., M.L., C.M., D.M., J.P. & K. P.

  1. General discussion around trails, tracks, holloways, desire paths with reference to recent talk given on Packhorse Routes of the Rivelin Area by Melanie Fitzgerald of Heritage Highways; also discussed current measures taken to manage water around Hallamshire, Chorley Roads and Slayleigh area; local brickworks and quarries – see Ranmoor Historical Society notes for August 2022
  2. AC shared Upper Hallam sections of Scurlfield’s 1986 reconstructed map of John Harrison’s 1637 An Exact and Perfect Survey of the Manor of Sheffield; many interesting features were pored over, e.g., Burnt Stones – theories around name relate to William the Conqueror and (more likely), that iron smelting took place in the area and Hell Hole – see page 54 of Hall’s More of the Mayfield Valley (1974); Link to Scurfield’s full article in the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vol 58, pp147-173
  3. AC shared Ronksley’s 1908 transcription of Harrison’s 1637 survey
  4. JB asked group to add to FHG website post about Stumperlowe Mansions visit on 10th March
  5. AC shared map from early 19th century(?) showing area around Ringinglow Road which fell into Derbyshire at that time
  6. Brooklands Tennis Club – formerly at numbers 45/47 Brooklands Avenue; KP exploring history of site; led to discussion of newspapers/journalism, focus of articles and how this evolved over turn of 19th/20th centuries
  7. CM shared article he’s written about Fulwood Skiing Club: he will send it to ML for publication on FHG website
  8. HoD – sport and recreation in Fulwood 
      1. Hallam Grange Tennis Club
      2. Fulwood Sports Club
      3. Brooklands Tennis Club
      4. Dixons’ and Rogers’ sports grounds opposite the Guild Hall
      5. Bowling Green House
      6. Old Fulwood Road – tennis courts and sports associated with Hammer & Pincers
      7. Forge Dam – skating, swimming and diving
      8. Wire Mill Dam – model boat racing; concrete blocks which were used to support staging for this are still in situ
      9. See Ranmoor Historical Society notes August 2022 for article on this subject

9. DM shared the collection of Fulwood Society documents he introduced in last month’s meeting; JB and AC borrowing them until next meeting

10. KP asked about stone markers he’d come across on a footbath leading between Cottage Lane and Ringinglow Road inscribed with letters SEO and EH; referred to as boundary markers on p. 99 of JB’s Dog Walks book – perhaps connected with nearby reservoirs; also curious markers embedded in field adjoining ‘Waggy’s Field’ on Whiteley Woods Road: https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/topic/17938-anyone-know-what-this-is/?do=findComment&comment=155394 Any info on the purposes of these would be great

Next meeting: 18th April 2024

A visit to Stumperlowe Mansions 10th March 2024

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On a Sunday morning in March, we enjoyed a tour of Stumperlowe Mansions on Stumperlowe Lane. This was organised by a member of the group and thanks to him and to his family member who did an excellent job of showing us round.

Stumperlowe Mansions was built in the late 1930s and its architecture, like that of several houses nearby, reflects the style of the period. The development was aimed at short-stay, middle-class tenants and seemed to function somewhere between a hotel and residential flats. MoD officials were known to have lived there in its early years, keeping an eye on manufacture of arms at Sheffield’s steelworks. The Mansions were built to the latest specification and as such, gas and electricity were installed, a feature which was just becoming standard in the 1930s. [1]

Interior

We were shown the entrance foyer first. On each side of the of the entrance, there is an office where the porter would have sat, rather like a university hall of residence.

Opposite this and now boarded over, there is a lift with high-quality fixtures and fittings. The building as whole was noted for the quality of its furnishings which were supplied by local prestigious companies such as Cole Brothers.

In its heyday, the residents enjoyed communal facilities such as a restaurant and bar, as well as room-service.

Exterior

The view from the garden area at the rear of the building highlights elements of  modernism , a movement which had an increasing influence on architecture from the 1930s: the symmetrical design of the building, the lack of ornament, the section of flat roof, the windows with their glass held in steel frames and the use of concrete and style of brick. Another notable feature was the garages, a block of which has become derelict. This indicates how even before WWII, private motor car usage was becoming widespread amongst the suburban middle class.

The old wall of the vicarage is still standing, marking a boundary between Stumperlowe Mansions and Newfield Court, although some of it is has collapsed.

Although there is little ornamentation, the four sets of balcony railings at the front of the building incorporate a figure ‘S’ detail. The design of Stumperlowe Mansions, with its south-facing balconies and sun terrace, might have been inspired by glamourous English riviera apartments overlooking the sea, but this does require a leap of imagination on a damp, grey Fulwood morning.

[1] https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/images-by-theme/1930s-40s-buildings

 

Record of FHG meeting 15/2/24

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Record of FULWOOD HISTORY GROUP MEETING 15th February 2024

Present: D.A., J.B., M.L., C.M., D.M., J.P. & K. P.

  • KP shared George Cunningham painting depicting Brookhouse Hill1920; discussion of its houses, shops and cottages
  • DM shared selection of documents from the Fulwood Society which have come into his possession; included minutes of meetings, map, writing of Muriel Hall; decision made that after FHG members have had opportunity to look through the papers, they will be passed on to Sheffield City Archives as a revokable loan
  • KP shared 1908 map of Nether Green shops area; sparked DM memory of Woodward’s Electrical shop from 1940s/50s
  • Forge Dam boating lake rescue: photo shared by DA and people involved remembered by DM
  • Stumperlowe Mansions – see December meeting notes – ML organising visit for 10th March
  • Heritage Open Days September 2024: theme is Routes, Networks, Connections e.g. transport routes, communication networks, trade unions and social clubs; agreed FHG theme of Fulwood’s sports clubs, beginning at Hallam Grange Sports Club, and finishing at Old Fulwood Road
  • Mi Amigo Flypast 22nd February; discussion of the memorial
  • ML told us about U3A archaeology group he is organising; led to JP telling us about Broomhill Library’s Percy Caine garden and Uni of Sheffield’s Roots and Futures project
  • KP suggested coffee mornings which could be way of reaching out to community
  • Next meeting: 21st February 2024

Record of FHG meeting 18/1/24

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 FULWOOD HISTORY GROUP MEETING 19th January 2024

Present: D. A., J.B., A. C., M.L., J.P. & K. P.

  1. Website payment settled with thanks to AC
  2. Sheffield Heritage Fair 2025: KP suggested combined stall with Ranmoor Society
  3. Heritage Open Days September 2024: theme is Routes, Networks, Connections e.g. transport routes, communication networks, trade unions and social clubs; initial ideas shared e.g.
    • guided walk with suitability for groups of people
    • based around shops
    • Forge Dam
    • Woofindin area
    • A walk round the block with FHG
    • Where roads/lanes meet (e.g. Fulwood Road, Brookhouse Hill area)
    • Fulwood’s lost greens
    • Fulwood’s sports clubs

4.  A.C. shared c1935 map of area which sparked discussion around:

  • development of northern suburbs of Fulwood
  • Lodge Moor Hall
  • the Black Brook and Elliot stone
  • the Oak Brook
  • Crimicar Lane Hospital
  • sewage/waterworks across the area

5. KP. shared information about Gilcrest wood – building on last month’s discussion:

  • plans relating to land purchases around 1900s with view to building development which wasn’t realised
  • Castlewood Drive area development in 1930s
  • variations in naming for this area – 1700s Goulhirst, Gallhirst and Gilcrest and links to Goole/Gold
  • air raid shelter built into the slope of the land which was lost beneath 1980s housing on Canterbury Crescent

6. Involvement of Rotherham-based solicitors in land transactions noted

7. JB. shared extract from Reminiscences of Henry Coward (1919) which recalls performance for Plimsoll at Whiteley Woods Hall, probably around 1866

8. A.C. shared photos showing Fulwood area in past times

9. Everyone agreed wording to accompany AC’s article in Fulwood Messenger; led to discussion of Fulwood Chapel and when it was a boarding school run by the Misses Rhodes around 1880s

10. Website development

11. Everyone encouraged to contribute articles etc. to website

12. Reviewing chapters of KP’s book

13. Next meeting: 15th February 2024

Record of FHG Meeting 21/12/23

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Record of FULWOOD HISTORY GROUP MEETING 21/12/23

Present: D. A., J.B., A. C., M.L., C. M., J.P. & K. P.

  1. K.P. shared selected Minutes of Council Meetings 1915-18, (kept at Local Studies Library); these relate to widening and lighting of Fulwood Road. Dr. Inkster is mentiond: Samuel Macaulay Inkster was born in 1848 in Shetland and was one of Sheffield’s Certifying Factory Inspectors in the early days of health and safety
  2. A.C. shared research into Ringinglow, including Roundhouse
  3. A.C. shared research into Whiteley Woods Hall and Phoebe Silcock’s brother which led to discussion around the ways in which medical conditions were understood and labelled
  4. Paths and roads: recent publication of Fullwood Hall – the First 600 Years (Hostombe & Crutch) sparked discussion of siting and construction of Harrison Lane, rights of way, comparisons with Longshaw estate, causeways, cart tracks and footpaths, (recommended book on this topic by archaeologist Jim Leary: Footmarks – A Journey into our Restless Past (2023))
  5. K.P. shared copy of brochure for newly built Stumperlowe Mansions c.1938; notable in its promotion of gas as form of power, quality of its architectural style, its fittings and furnishings (supplied by Cockaynes), as well as social aspect; ML’s connection with the site and waterway running through it
  6. D.A. shared late 18th century field maps relating to Fulwood Spring – could this be the spa? Fieldnames with ‘spring’ and ‘well’, probably located in woodland between Woodcliffe and Hangram Lane: needs further investigation
  7. D.A. shared maps relating to Crimicar Lane’s Goulhirst woodland area; discussion around naming/misnaming/evolution of names – Goole, Goul, Gilchrest
  8. Bower Hill Farm and its last residents c.1950s
  9. Goole Green hamlet dating from the 18th century at least until the late 1960s: buildings included Goole Green Farm with its surviving barn, (Guild Hall), Goole Green House and Goole Green Cottage; members of that community remembered by D.A. as well as members of local FB groups
  10. M.L. demonstrated a test website he’s developing and its search facility/database; feedback given about the usability of the online web search for Fulwood addresses and Census data; group encouraged to visit the website and give further feedback on search facilities
  11. More discussion of memories of Fullwood Hall
  12. Sports grounds: large number of sports fields in area; often belonged to works sports clubs such as Dixon’s Cornish Works; indicates philanthropic/paternalistic attitudes of factory owners towards workers
  13. Next meeting: 18th January 2024; no February open meeting; writing/posting on FHG site encouraged in meantime

Notes of FHG Meeting 16/11/23

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Present: JB, ML, CM, J&KP

1 Remembrance Day ceremony which took place at Fulwood War Memorial on 12th.

  • People involved
  • Land around the war memorial – ownership and use

2            FHG website update

  • Connected to importance of keeping record of our meetings
  • Way to keep relatively large number of people connected
  • Design, accessibility, structure and functionality: Matthew took notes
  • Posting and adding longer articles
  • Current contributions to the site
  • Looked at C. Jenkins’ Stumperlowe article on site and wondered about source of this and the ‘Stump’ burial story

3   Archaeological connections: Matthew shared pictures of neolithic (?) quern-         stone sites on Ringinglow moors from his work with Dr. Tim Cockrell and team from Sheffield Uni; led to discussion of rock art in Ecclesall woods and elsewhere in our area

4 Discussion around nature of our memories and our histories

5 House numbering: included ‘Stand’ area and racecourses in Broomhill & Redmires

6  Rights of way and local developments included

  • Field behind Scout Hut
  • Artic Monkeys

7  Looked through Histories ‘n’ Oddities ‘r’ Old Fulwood (HOOF) – booklets 1, 6 & 7.  These were written, (probably over the last decade), by Susan Hedges who used to live at Beech Dene cottages

8  Future plans

  • Next meeting – Thursday December 21st – mince pies?
  • Set out rough plan for future meetings, including large ones
  • To develop knowledge for collecting oral histories
  • Possibility of having a ‘booth’ at events to collect people’s recollections