Langsett Road Toll Bar
Situated at 328 Langsett Road at Hillsborough, this toll bar, which usually goes unnoticed, was used between 1840 and 1875. It originally had a canted bay window which gave the toll keeper an improved view of any approaching traffic. On the wall facing the main road can still be seen the jointing where the gate house was connected to the present building. The gatehouse was demolished when the road was widened at a later date.
Hillsborough Tabernacle Congregational Church
The Hillsborough Tabernacle Congregational Church is situated on Proctor Place, it started in 1899 as an independent church which met at a school on Beechwood Road. The following year a temporary “iron church” was built by the group on Crookes Place (now Proctor Place) and worship began there. In 1907 a permanent building was built on the site and became known as Hillsborough Gospel Tabernacle. In 1926 the church became part of the Congregational Union and changed its name to Hillsborough Tabernacle. It is known affectionately as "The Tabs". The church was completely destroyed in the Sheffeld Blitz of December 12th/13th 1940. The church became very close to disbanding but decided to continue after a vote in 1941 and the remaining members worshipped in the interim at St. Polycarp’s Mission Hall on Loxley Road. Worship returned to Proctor Place in February 1942 as a temporary wooden hut had been erected on the site of the bombed out church, the hut, known as “The Institute”, served for 13 years until the present day church was opened on May 7th 1955. In 1971 Hillsborough Tabernacle was faced with a decision whether to join the United Reform Church (URC) as nationally the Congregationalists and Presbyterians were merging to form this organisation. In the end it was decided not to join the URC. The Tabs became an Unaffiliated Congregational Church before joining the Congregational Federation some years later. In recent years The Tabs has undergone major refurbishment. On November 11th 2011 David Blunkett M.P. unveiled improvements to the church which cost £153,000, these include a new entrance lobby to the front of the church which houses a lift to improve access for wheelchairs and prams. The hardwood floor in the main community hall has also been refurbished.
The former Hillsborough Park Cinema
The Hillsborough Park Cinema building is located on Catch Bar Lane in the Hillsborough district to the north-west of Sheffield. It opened on Thursday 10th February 1921. It was built on filled-in land and although nothing serious has happened to the building, over the years cracks have appeared in the back wall which have had to be repointed from time to time. A handsome building built in red brick with white faience facade mainly above and around the entrance and front windows and parapet. Seating for 1,300 (900 in the stalls and 400 in the circle) was in rose velvet with the auditorium walls painted in rose and green with light fittings to match. A cafe was situated on the first floor at balcony level but was used in the evenings for regular whist drives and card games. In 1923, the cafe was converted into a ballroom, but within a year the card players were back with dances only held occasionaly. Sound arrived in April 1930 and the cinema was entirely redecorated in 1931. Matinees were held on Mondays and Thursdays but these were stopped in 1952. Saturday Childrens matinees were introduced in August 1955 but ended after two years. Sunday opening was given a trial in 1956 but only lasted a few weeks. The Star Cinema Group took over the Hillsborough Park Cinema in February 1960 and closed it briefly for complete modernisation, reinsating Sunday opening and the Saturday Star Juniors Club.The Hillsborough Park Cinema closed on Sunday 29th October 1967 with the double ‘X’ certificate programme “Dr Crippen” starring Donald Pleasance and “Buckets Of Blood” being shown. A week later it reopened as a Star Bingo Club which ran successfully for several years. In the late 1970s the building became a supermarket, firstly being a Supasave store then a Netto and in August 2011 it became an Asda supermarket.
The Watch House, St. Nicholas' Church, High Bradfield
The Watch House is situated at the graveyard entrance to St. Nicholas’ church in High Bradfield. The exact date of construction is not known but is believed to be late 18th century, it was built to
accomodate a guard who would watch over the graveyard of the church and apprehend grave robbers. Very few other buildings of this type now exist in Britain. In the 18th century newly buried bodies risked being exhumed and sold to medical schools for anatomical study. As stealing a corpse was only punishable by a fine or imprisonment rather than transportation or execution, body snatchers found it sufficiently profitable to take the risk. The Anatomy Act of 1832 ended the trade as it allowed donated
bodies to be dissected by doctors, anatomy teachers and medical students. The building itself is unusual as it is polygonal in shape, it is constructed from squared gritstone in the Gothic style. In February 1952 the house was designated as a Grade II listed building. Today it is a private dwelling.
accomodate a guard who would watch over the graveyard of the church and apprehend grave robbers. Very few other buildings of this type now exist in Britain. In the 18th century newly buried bodies risked being exhumed and sold to medical schools for anatomical study. As stealing a corpse was only punishable by a fine or imprisonment rather than transportation or execution, body snatchers found it sufficiently profitable to take the risk. The Anatomy Act of 1832 ended the trade as it allowed donated
bodies to be dissected by doctors, anatomy teachers and medical students. The building itself is unusual as it is polygonal in shape, it is constructed from squared gritstone in the Gothic style. In February 1952 the house was designated as a Grade II listed building. Today it is a private dwelling.
Haychatter House, Bradfield Dale, Low Bradfield, near Sheffield
The earliest mention of Hechatten House, as it was then called, was on September 8th 1614 in the records of the Sheffield Small Court. In those days the building was used as a farmhouse, being owned by the Bromehead (Broomhead) family before passing to the Bramall’s and the Marriott’s. In the year of 1637 the Lord of the Manor of Sheffield levied a rent on Haychatter of just one and a half pennies. In the late 1850s it was announced by the Sheffield Water Committee that four reservoirs were to be built in Bradfield Dale and the influx of workmen prompted the then owner of Haychatter House to convert the premises into a public house to offer beer and food to the workmen. The public house was called the Reservoir Inn in the early days, in the 1870s construction of the reservoirs was complete and this resulted in an obvious reduction in trade for the pub. At an unknown date the name was changed to the Haychatter Inn and it continued as a pub until July 2003 when the last landlady Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Siddall passed away at the age of 77. Today the house is a private dwelling.
Owlerton War Memorial Hall, Forbes Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield
Situated on Forbes Road in the Sheffield, suburb of Hillsborough. This is a Grade II listed building which was built in 1925-6 by Henry Webster and includes some late 20th century alterations. It is built from red brick with terracotta dressings. The porch is greatly detailed and features a projecting door case with dentilled cornice and segmental pediment. To the right of the porch stands a square clock tower with three stages, with angle pilasters and quoins, corner shafts, plinth, and moulded coped parapet with corner pedestals and a segmental pediment and keystone on each side. The main window on the front of the building is subdivided into 12 panes and above the window in raised lettering is the inscription “Owlerton Church War Memorial”.
St. Leonard's Church, Longley, Sheffield
St Leonard’s stands at the junction of Herries Avenue and Everingham Road in the Longley area of Sheffield. The church was built to fulfil the needs of the Longley and Norwood estates which were built in the 1920s. It was constructed in two stages, either side of the Second World War. The original architect was E.W. Meredith who worked on St. Leonards until 1938 when he asked to be relieved of his duties and Leslie Moore took over the work. The first stage of building was the construction of a single storey large hall which served as temporary church. The hall was completed and dedicated in May 1933 with the church to be built on top as a second storey. The building of the second storey was delayed until 1939 because of financial constraints and work was suspended in May 1940 by order of the Ministry Of Works because of the War. Work resumed on the church in early 1949 when timber became available to finish the building. The church was consecrated on May 19th 1950.
Middlewood Tavern, Middlewood Road North, Sheffield
Middlewood Tavern is situated on Middlewood Road North just before the “S” bend on the way to Oughtibridge. The history of the pub goes back to a least the 1830s when on July 14th 1835, Joseph Bowden a farmer from Worrall submitted an application for a license “to sell exciseable liquors by retail, to be drunk or consumed in the house of premises thereunto belonging and situated at Middlewood in the parish of Ecclesfield”. On a map dating from 1851 the tavern is named as The Corporation Arms but it seems to have always been referred to as Middlewood Tavern both by the locals and in documents. In 1854 William Bailey took over the licence and in 1856 his father John was listed as the licensee. It is believed by local historians that in the 19th century two or three cottages stood where the present day pub car park is, remains of the walls can still be seen today. The pub stands in quite an isolated position and suffered a substantial loss of trade when Middlewood Road North was closed at the “S” bends because of subsidence after the 2007 floods. The pub closed down in July 2010 and its future is uncertain.
The "CLOB" stone at Dale Dike Reservoir, Bradfield Dale, Sheffield
This is one of four CLOB stones, CLOB standing for Centre Line of the Old Bank, at Dale Dike reservoir. The four stones which span the valley of the Dale Dike mark the line of the old embankment of the reservoir which burst on March 11th 1864 creating the Great Sheffield Flood. which released 500 million gallons of water down the valley killing 270 people and destroying 800 buildings. Today there are no visible signs of the old embankment, what remained of it after the breach was removed and used to build the current embankment. By the side of this CLOB stone is a small memorial which reads "In memory of those who lost their lives owing to the breaching of Dale Dyke reservoir on March 11th 1864. Erected by: Bradfield Historical Society from public donations". When the new embankment was rebuilt it was moved 300 metres up the valley and was built of stronger material than the original earth dam and is lined by stone blocks.
Hillsborough Baptist Church, Taplin Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield
Situated on the corner at the junction of Taplin Road and Hawthorn Road, Hillsborough Baptist Church dates from 1914 and the main door carries this date carved on the stone door frame. However, there was a Baptist church on the site from 1893 and before that one existed in Taplin Road on the site of the present Hollingworth’s Garage. In 1914 the old church was demolished and a new building was erected by Chapman and Jenkinson, the architects who had designed the Star Picture House on Ecclesall Road. The building is built of red brick in a minimal perpendicular style with a lighter stonework edging the door way and windows. The front of the building has “Baptist Church” carved high up onto a a layer of the lighter stone and highlighted in black. Behind the main church is the church hall, the attached Sunday school building on Hawthorn Road, also constructed of red brick pre-dates the church being opened in 1900.
The former King Edward VII Hospital, Rivelin Valley Rd. Sheffield
The King Edward VII Orthopaedic Hospital owed its existence to the fondness that the people of Sheffield had for King Edward VII who died in 1910. On his death a fund was set up and the population raised £18,000 in his memory with the organisers expressing a desire that the money should be used to build a hospital school for crippled children. Sheffield Council provided extra funds when it was found that £18,000 was not sufficient to build the hospital and the Duke Of Norfolk presented the land on which it was to be built free of charge. Building work began in 1913 with W.A. Kenyon as the architect, the hospital opened early in 1916 and had around 120 beds along with the associated treatment rooms and operating theatre. The hospital was known as the Kind Edward VII Hospital for Crippled Children until 1948 and it treated patients with tuberculosis, rickets, congenital deformities and poliomyelitis. In 1944 some of the children were moved out of the hospital to allow treatment of wounded soldiers, in the same year the hospital was recognised as a nurse training hospital. The hospital closed in September 1992 and has now been converted into apartments. The main hospital building along with the boiler house, entrance lodge and the octagonal outbuilding are all Grade II listed buildings.
Middlewood Church, Wadsley Park Estate, Middlewood, Sheffield
Middlewood church was built as part of the South Yorkshire Asylum (later known as Middlewood Psychiatric Hospital). It was completed in 1875 at a cost of £6,000, it was stone built in the Gothic style with an interior that could accommodate 700 worshippers. The first service was held on Sunday March 21st 1875 and was conducted by the Reverend C.E. Lamb, Vicar of St. Mary’s Church, Bramall Lane. 500 people attended the service including patients, staff and visitors and according to a report in the Rotherham Independent the patients behaved with decorum and took a deep interest in the service. The handsome Eagle Lectern was provided by Mr. Charles Atkinson of Crabtree Lodge, who was a member of the Committee of Justices. The church suffered a major fire in 1988 and Canon John Browning who was Chaplain of the church for over 20 years helped launch the fundraising for the renovation. In September 1996 efforts were made to sell the church due to the impending closure of Middlewood Hospital. These efforts came to nothing, on Wednesday 6th November 1996 a special service was held to mark the closing of the hospital after 124 years. Today the church stands derelict amongst the new housing development of Wadsley Park which was built on the old hospital grounds.
