REMINISCENCES OF OLD SHEFFIELD

CHAPTER VII.
OLD SHEFFIELD GARDENS.

Present-Messrs. TWISS, LEIGHTON, EVERARD, WRAGG, LEONARD and JOHNSON.
Period-A.D. 1873.

WE were all sitting, one charming and warm evening, in the cosy
summer-house of our friend TWISS. It was not in the garden attached to
his residence, for he dwelt in the recesses of a dingy town, with a
melancholy grave-yard for his outlook. But he was oldfashioned enough
and wise enough to stick to the traditional Hallamshire custom of
keeping a small garden-plot out in the suburbs, to which he could retire
in the intervals from business, in which he could delight his
horticultural soul, and, above all, which gave him an object for a walk
after the toils of the day. It was a treat to see him in the fading
twilight of a summer night, wending his way back to his sooty brick
dwelling, laden with rural spoils, with which to enliven it-a huge "
posy" of lupines and sweetwilliams, and pinks, of cabbage-roses and
pansies, and other good old English flowers, now despised and rejected,
in obedience to the "bedding out" mania, for masses of scarlet geraniums
and yellow calceolarias. Nor was he above bearing through the crowded
streets products of even a humbler kind-big-headed cauliflowers or juicy
lettuces, 'Or largehearteel cabbages-or some other palatable form of the
much embracing genus "greens." Of course, being in the countryso to
speak, though we were by no means out of the reach or out of sight of
the smoke-our talk was of country things. One told how his grandfather,
a great garden-smith, used to delight to get away from his shop to his
little plot down Bramall lane way-a walk among the hedges and through
pleasant shady lanes; and another remembered being sent, in 1825, with a
message to Montgomery, who had retired from his sanctum upstairs in the
dingy Hartshead-over the coal place, and with depressing outlook on to
brick walls and dilapidated roofs-to refresh himself for a time among
the polyanthuses and daffodils of his garden, between Glossop road and
Leavygreave. That is where Hounsfield road is now, for most of the space
from Glossop road to Brook hill, belonging to the Water Company, was
divided into these little plots.

The town in those days was literally surrounded with groups of
neatly-partitioned gardens. The late `Mr. Edward Baines (M.P. for Leeds
from 1834 to 1841) was accustomed to remark that the multitude of small,
nicely-kept gardens in its suburbs was a characteristic of Sheffield, in
which it was in advance of any other large town he knew. Look which way
you would, or go in what direction you would, there they were. Besides
the celebrated gardens in the neighbourhood of* Hanover street, there
were similar gardens higher up Broomspring lane and Wilkinson street,
and on the site of the Baptist Church on Glossop road, and up to
Northumberland road and opposite Mushroom hall to Westbourne, Mr.
Cadman's house, near which are 'a few remaining. From Glossop road the
Water Company's land extended into B rook hill, and the gardens on this
piece were always considered some of the best in the town. Near to and
behind the late Ald. Saunders' house in Brook hill, were gardens, behind
which were others, reaching down by Brightmore street, Bellefield
street, Portmahon, Bedford street, and Waterloo houses (commenced
building by the father of James Levick, the dahlia grower, and finished
by his mother), to the river Don. Then on the opposite side of the
river, the site of Neepsend brewery, and right up to the wood and
Woodside lane; also on the opposite side of Woodside lane, under Pye
bank, to the mouth of the railway tunnel. Harvest lane, and Green lane
to Colson crofts were occupied in a similar way; and another plot of
small gardens is now the site of the old Midland Station in the Wicker.
These, as originally intended, were to have been the basin of the
Sheffield canal. On the opposite side of the road, between Twelve
o'Clock Wheel, or the Albion Ironworks, and the Norfolk bridge, was
another lot of gardens, destroyed about 25 years ago. There were small
gardens in the Park, part of which is St. John's churchyard. There were
some others at Skye edge, down to Duke street, or the Intake road. At
the end of Clough lane, down to the river Sheaf (Sheaf gardens), were
gardens considered second to none in the neighbourhood, some containing
good double houses, not like those in Club gardens, Sharrow lane. From
these were others extending across Suffolk road, down to Harmer lane.
There were also the gardens just destroyed at the end of Bramall lane,
opposite Sheaf House, on the path to Highfield; and about 25 years ago
was destroyed a plot of gardens that had extended from the top of Young
street to Broomhall street. There were some others that have
disappeared, to make room for buildings about the General Cemetery and
Broomhall Mill.

" When all the above gardens were in existence," said

Mr. WRAGG, " I believe one out of every three working men had a garden,
which he cultivated more for pleasure than profit This was far better
than his present gambling propensities; but further, there were not a 
few instances in which the working man's garden assisted him to clothe 
his family, or to pay off debts, unavoidably contracted, by the sale of the
fruit from his pear or apple trees. Now, there are no such places for a
working man to resort to in his spare time, except for those who are
members of some Land Society outside the town. It is said he may resort
to the Library, or peruse his book at home; that he can amuse himself by
holding communication with the great men of past ages; but all such talk
is a delusion. Bodily toil and mental discipline will not go hand in
hand, or blend. The garden plots remaining are, alas, but few; they may
be almost counted on the fingers of one hand, some under the wood at
Hillfoot, and some in Neepsend lane to the river; the Water Company's
piece, Hanging bank, and in the flat below the site of the old dams,
commonly called Upper and Lower Canada; some around Younge's Silver
Rolling Mill; some, comparatively speaking recently made, between Hyde
Park and the Manor. There are a few left in Ecelesall road. In Sharrow
lane are the Club gardens, that have always been remarkable for the
number of houses occupied by the tenants. Fenton Ville gardens and South
View gardens, extending down into the Abbeydale road, are noted for the
number of their florists, the most successful of whom is William
Allsebrook, famous for rearing new kinds of polyanthuses. I am sorry to
say I believe all these gardens will soon be like the others
mentioned-demolished."

LEONARD: Yes, they are fast being engulphed by the omnivorous builders ;
and the robberies to which they are exposed are a great discouragement
to the enthusiastic amateurs who compete at pink shows, or dahlia
contests, or who strive to raise gigantic gooseberries, to be weighed at
Florists' Inns, and celebrated with a supper. Let us hope that this
annihilation of garden allotments does not indicate that the healthy
delight in floriculture that has always been a characteristic of
Hallamshire is dying out. You may still see the grinder returning from a
pop visit to his little country delight, laden with early spring
rhubarb, or with roots of celery, according to the season of the year ;
and freehold building societies have altered life so much as to give
working men an opportunity of having their homes standing in their own
gardens, which is not only healthier but handier.

A member of our company mentioned the splendid bed of ranunculuses which
a resident in one of the houses still standing opposite the top of
Broomhall street, used to show, and reminded us of the celebrated garden
which the Staniforths, father and son, the eminent surgeons in Castle
street, had in the Grimesthorpe road, the present Gardeners' Arms being
their garden ' house. Mr.,Wragg recalled that kind, genial old man,
Edward Middleton, baker, who kept the Barleycorn Tavern, in Coalpit
lane-the most obliging of neighbours among amateur gardeners. The
vicinity of Hanover street used to be marked out like a chess board by
these gardens, and Middleton had one, near the corner of Broomspring
lane and Hanover street. The top part of it forms now part of Hanover
street, and the bottom extended behind the houses of Mr. Owen, the
draper, which face to Broomspring lane. Afterwards, he showed his skill
in one of those previously spoken of, on Glossop road-where Charles
Thompson's cab premises are now, then belonging to the Water
Company-having gone there by reason of his neighbour, John Burton, the
Quaker, buying a garden for him. Mr. Wragg believed that the last
possessor of Middleton's garden, near Mr. Owen's houses, was the late
Mr. Bennett, grocer, Church street, elder brother of the present Mr.
Bennett, who succeeded him in his business. Joshua Wilkinson had the
next garden above, and he sold it to William Melluish , the last
survivor among the many South Devon Militiamen who settled in Sheffield
after the disbanding of the regiment. The garden above was Mr. Swift's,
the father of Mr. G. E. Swift, in the steel trade, in Blonk street. At
the front of Spring lane was Samuel Padley's (a Quaker), the father of
Mr. Padley, of the firm of Padley, Parkin, & Co., silversmiths, in
Watson's walk. The late Mr. Bramhall, one of the managers of Messrs.
Rodgers and Sons, and Mr. Staniforth, grocer, of Broad lane, had gardens
hereabouts. Mr. Roger Brown was the last who had Mr. Staniforth's. Just
below, and behind Josh. Ingle's house, an old woman of the name of
Savage had a garden, and did all the gardening herself. The late Mr. B.
Hincheliffe had a garden in this piece, and there is a tradition that
the late Mr. John Holland occupied a garden here, but his nearest
friends are incredulous about it. The story is that an old man, a
relative, did the gardening for him, in which case it may possibly have
been his uncle Amos. A file cutter, afterwards a silver stamper, named
William Hague, had the first garden opposite old Mrs. Savage's. Being a
frugal man he saved money, by means of which he built the houses at the
bottom of Broomspring lane, and opened a grocer's shop at the corner.
The last person who had Mr. Hague's garden was Mr. Worth, the joiner and
builder. Mr. Turner, the Sheriff's officer in Campo lane, had also a
garden; so had Mr. Taylor, of the Commercial Inn, Haymarket, now
desti.oyed by the making of the new street into Norfolk street; and Mr.
Theaker just by, for many years the only coffee-house keeper in the
town, had two up to the time of their destruction.

James Levick, the ivory merchant, of Pinstone street, was a well-known
dahlia grower. He raised from seed a dahlia which was named "Levick's
Incomparable," the beauty of which was that the petals were tipped with
white in so peculiar a manner that many persons supposed they were
subjected to some chemical process. But this peculiarity was not at all
of regular occurrence; and many growers, disappointed by obtaining
flowers without the white tips, poured out their woes in the "
Floricultural Cabinet," then published by Mr. Ridge, in King street, and
conducted by Mr. Harrison, Lord Wharncliffe's gardener. They besought
Mr. Levick to, give them details of cultivation, and in reply, he could
only say that the flowering was very eccentric, sometimes he produced
the flowers with tips and sometimes without ; and Mr. Paxton, having one
year obtained most beautifully tipped blooms, set a large quantity the
next year in most conspicuous places, and had not a single bloom tipped.
The secret seemed to be to cheek a too luxuriant growth of the plant.
Mr. Levick also produced a handsome crimson
dahlia-Commander-in-Chief-which was honoured with a coloured engraving
in the work named. Mr. Thomas Tyson, who kept the " Fountain,' in
Coalpit lane, was a distinguished florist, and a man evidently much
respected by his brethren, for " his funeral was attended by the
florists of the town, who strewed his coffin with a profusion of most
beautiful flowers."

Club Gardens, as has been said, were remarkable for the number of the
houses occupied by the tenants. In one house resided the late Mr. Paul
Smith, a well-to-do-man, said to have been worth six or eight thousand
pounds; but he was induced to enter into partnership with some firm
which shortly afterwards failed. The creditors seized all the property
of Mr. Smith to pay the debts of the firm, so he became a poor man, and
died a recipient of the Iron and Hardware Pensions. Another resident in
these gardens was the late Mr. Charles Unwin, of Westbar, the broker.
Previously he had a garden in Brook hill, in the piece behind Mr.
Brightmore's house. After the death of Mr. Thomas Nowill, Mr. Unwin
bought his garden, and there he resided at the time of his disasttrous
fire, in which some thousands of pounds worth of his property and
stock-in-trade was destroyed. It gave such a shock to his nervous system
that soon after he died, about 16 or 18 years ago. Mr. Unwin was a
native of Anston, and originally was a labouring man ; but he turned
sawyer, and was a very hard worker. Another native of Anston was the
late Mr. Henry Broomhead, the solicitor, whose father was a tanner.

Some of the best gardens in the neighbourhood were the Sheaf Gardens.
About thirty years ago the late Mr. William Stratford had a garden that
was remarkable for the neat manner in which it was kept by Mr. Stratford
himself; and his tulip bed was the admiration of all beholders.

Hanging Bank Gardens, when in existence, were notable for the number of
those tenants who exhibited gooseberries at shows (" berry showers",,
the chief of whom, and the most successful, was the late Robert Green.
He resided in one of the houses, probably built by himself or a former
tenant, since it is not the work of a mason. He had another garden lower
down, but one or two others intervened, and up a walk nearer where the
stream of water ran from the Water Company's dams. From his success as
an exhibitor of gooseberries, he obtained many copper kettles as prizes.
When the time of exhibiting was about to take place, his garden had to
be watched from the Saturday night to Monday morning to prevent his
trees being stripped. Green was a springknife cutler, and worked for the
late Mr. B. Micklethwaite, whose workmen were very respectable,
honourable, and upright. Amongst them there were none of the coarse
jokes, indecent conversation, or unmeaning, empty, and profane jests, so
common among workmen in the workshops of the present day. They talked
when they had something to say, and years after, when one would casually
meet another in the street it was always with kindness and respect,
something like one gentleman meeting another.

About 40 years ago, in one of the gardens near what is now the top of
Faweett street, just before Bellefield house, was a whitewashed house,
with sash windows, in which resided the late John Milner, who in his day
was said to have been one of the best, if not the best spring-knife
cutler in the trade, and notable for his great powers of debate. He was
born in Spring street or the immediate vicinity, and in his youth or
childhood was a companion of the late Mr. Wm. Stratford. He was the last
survivor of his early associates.

When John Milner left the house it was not afterwards occupied. It
dwindled away-lads first broke the windows, and next it gradually
disappeared.

In Watery lane was a very good house standing back in a garden. For some
time it was unoccupied, and from being untenanted it got into a
dilapidated condition. A few years ago, a portion of one of its walls
fell on some children, and one of them was killed. The last occupier was
a person of the name of Ross, who left the town and afterwards died.
Ross was a man who was going to get every one his fortune. People who
believed they or their ancestors had been deprived or dispossessed of
property flocked to him in crowds. Somewhere in the vicinity Ross had a
rival, a woman, who had two strings to her bow, for in addition to being
a fortune-hunter she was a fortune-teller.

The market gardeners' grounds ranged, for the most part, from Neepsend
and the Old Park Wood to Hall Carr.

There was George Stubbing, whose garden, kept before him by Mr.
Thornhill, who had a cook shop in the Hartshead, extended from Woodside
lane to Old Park Wood, being bounded on the north by Cook Wood. Part of
his garden in Harvest lane is now the depot of the Board of Health,
while the southern part, including the site of his original house, was
taken for the Manchester Railway. Before beginning a garden on his own
account, Mr. Stubbing had been in the service of Dr. Webb, of whose
garden in Harvest lane he had charge. There was James Andrews, who had
an orchard at Neepsend, where the Neepsend Nursery now is; and the
orchard in Harvest lane of William Burgin, now displaced by the various
works in Mowbray street, was one of the finest sights in the town in
spring time. Who does not remember, too, that other orchard on the slope
below Burn Greave, which everybody would stop and admire even so late as
1855-60 ? There were two other Burgins besides William, but he was not
related to them. They were brothers, George and Jonathan. The former was
the last inhabitant of the Clay's house, in Bridgehouses; the latter had
a fruit shop in Bower spring. From Pitsmoor Church to Burn Greave, and
to where the Railway crosses Tom Cross lane, market gardeners had their
grounds, and a pleasant walk it was through them, for the Burngreave
road and Rock street were not made then. The orchard and grounds between
these two roads, where Catherine street now is, were occupied long ago
by John Pearson. His family were table-knife cutlers at Neepsend, but he
was fonder of gardening than cutlering. Afterwards the land was in the
hands of Mr. John Garnett for many years. Then it got into Chancery and
was in a lost-looking state until it was built upon. Mr. Garnett removed
to the land between the Wicker Congregational Church and Carlisle
street, Gower street having been made across it near to where what was
his house still stands. Gardens of similar kind extended to Hall Carr
lane, where, not many years ago, gypsies might sometimes be seen. On the
other side of the town was Mr. Hatfield's nursery, on the Glossop road,
adjoining Wesley College, which often attracted passers by its beauty.

From gardens and gardening we got to talk generally of the changes that
have taken place in what may be called the nearer suburban surroundings
of the town. The youngest member of our friendly group could, we found,
call to mind surprising changes; as for the eldest, the wondrous
transmutations to which he could bear witness were endless. Within a
very small radius of the Parish Church-say Carver street Chapelhe had
walked in green fields, or traversed woods whose sites are now occupied
by whole colonies of houses, and it was told how tradition affirmed that
a resident at the. top of Coalpit lane had shown his children Judge

Wilkinson's stacks burning at Broomhall from the field on which Carver
street Chapel now stands, then called " Cadman's-in-the-fields." That
was in 1791 ; a more recent story was that in 1817, two ears of wheat
were plucked in a field at Roscoe place, each seven inches long. One of 
them contained 69 and the other 70 corns. Our old friend's description of
 Broomhall Spring, which he remembered when he was about 10 years old-in 
1791-was very interesting. I "yery well remember,- " said he, I' coming 
with my father through the wood called Broomhall Spring. It extended from about
Wilkinson street to Broomhall Park. It was full of very fine oak trees,
with very little underwood, and the turf was soft like that of a park. I
remember very well seeing the trees and the grass, and the sunlight
gleaming among them. Not long afterwards the wood was cut down. The
Government was then wanting a great deal of oak timber for
ship-building, and the trees in Broomhall Spring were sold for that
purpose. The roots were dug up, and the land turned into the gardensof
which we have been speaking." The inscription on the stone over the
trough was still there up to 1836. It ran :" Spring Garden Well. To the
public use, by the Rev. James Wilkinson and Philip Gell, Esq. Freely
take-freely communicate-thank God ;" its site is now enclosed in the
garden of the house at the corner of Gell street and Conway street.   "
Sheffield Moor," continued our nonagenarian friend, ~~ was a shocking
road for coaches. There was quite a steep hill from the Horse Dyke to
the Moor head, and the heavy coaches had something to do to get up it.
Very often two extra horses were sent as far as Heeley bridge to bring
the coach up Goose green to Highfield, and then up Sheffield moor.

The footpaths were a great deal higher than the road, which did not run
straight as it does now, but turned rather towards the right. There were
few houses about. One, I remember, in Button lane, was occupied by Mr.
Kirkby, a retired butcher, a very nice man, who wore a wig. He was the
father of James Kirkby, the silver plater, and Samuel Kirkby, the
penknife manufacturer. Samuel had a large business, and was fond of
horses. One day he was riding a spirited horse when he was thrown at the
bottom of Waingate and killed. Near Sheffield Moor, William Jessop,
father of Thomas Jessop, had a steel furnace. Porter street was a
pleasant field-road called Ladies' Walk. There were trees on one side of
it, and you crossed the Porter by a foot bridge. That led into Bramall
lane and forward across fields to Heeley. The London road those days, 
after passing Heeley, ran close to Meersbrook house, and up Derbyshire lane 
to Bolehill, then through what. is now Norton Park to Little Norton, forward to
 Greenhill Moor. All goods leaving Sheffield southwards went that way. 
The only road westwards was up Sharrow lane and so to Ecelesall, Bent's green,
 and Ringinglowe. There was no Chesterfield turnpike, nor Abbeydale road, nor
 Ecclesall new road, nor Glossop road." Mr. TWISS reminded us of the fact that
 it was in 1821 that the new road to Glossop was opened for carriages; and
 LEONARD read a description which had been written in connection with the house
 of old Seth Cadman, the comb maker, in Young street. " From it there was a
really charming outlook. Between Young street and the Moor head on the
one side, up far beyond Broomhall street in front, and towards Sharrow
lane in the other direction, there was little to be seen but well-kept
gardens and equally well-tilled fields. Close to Fitzwilliam street I
have seen growing as fine a crop of wheat as ever gladdened the heart of
a Yorkshire farmer ; and at that time Broomhall street, or 'Black Lamb's
lane,' as it was called, was considered rather a dangerous place to go
along at night. Seth's garden was opposite to his house, and over the
footpath hung two splendid pear trees. At that time, as now, the
neighbourhood of Young street Was called 'Little Sheffield,' and gardens
and fields divided it from 'Big Sheffield.' " Mr. EVERARD told us how he
remembered a clear space between the bottom of Red hill and West street,
including what was then Mr. Carr's house, now the Hospital and
Dispensary. Said he, " The intervening space was occupied by the
brickyard, and by 'Marsh's field' (in which Mr. Marsh's cows pastured,
the cottage and cow-house being situate in one corner), together with
the site on which Messrs. Sanderson Brothers' works now stand. Mr. Marsh
did not bear at all a good name amongst us youngsters, for he very
strictly maintained his 'manorial rights,' and hotly pursued and
inflicted summary punishment on any of the youthful trespassers who had
the ill-luck to fall into his hands. And so it was that whether engaged
in playing at football, cricket, or kite-flying, as soon as 'Old Marsh'
made his appearance, we knew it was high time to be off. At that period
there were no houses on either side of 'Portobello' (with one exception)
from the 'Britannia' public-house, opposite Messrs. Newton Bros.,
Portobello Works, up to Victoria street ; but all was open space,
including gardens, the brick-field, and the 'Burial Ground,' now St.
George's Church and churchyard. The exception referred to was the two
houses, yet standing, about half-way between Charlotte street and Regent
street, with a flight of stone steps out of 'Portobello lane.' In one of
these houses lived a venerable man named Dr. Cheney, one of the 'old
school' as to dress and wig, and who was totally blind. In the other
house resided Mr. Mellor, the ropemaker. The gardens at the back reached
down to a cross walk, now Glossop road, near the Bee Hive. Between these
gardens there was a broad walk to their full extent, which Mr. Mellor
used as a rope walk, where he spun his twine and ropes. Subsequently, in
the lower of these two houses, not the uppermost as I once thought,
resided for several years the late Mr. Leader, proprietor of the
Sheffield Independent. In the upper one (now Mr. Joseph Kirk's) Dr.
Cheney spent the last years of his life. From a house just above Sir
John Brown made his start in the successful career he has run, his
father building a number of houses on Dr. Cheney's land and occupying
one of them.

" I well remember the time when the house, now enlarged and occupied as
the Bee Hive public-house, was built in the cross garden walk just
mentioned, which terminated at the top of Broomhall street. It was
erected by a shoemaker, named Thomas Rose. He was a little man, wore top
boots, and kept a hive of bees in the garden beside the house. He got a
license for the house and called it the Bee Hive. His pear tree on the
front yet retains enough vitality to show yearly a few leaves. With the
exception of the old houses with gardens and palisades at the top of
West street, and the large house in Broomhall street, beside which until
lately the rooks have built, there were, I believe, no houses (except
some garden cottages) from Portobello down to Holy Green, and the top of
Bright, Gaol, and Young streets. All the intervening space was occupied
with fields and gardens. Hanover street was then a narrow country lane,
with fields on each side; and I have myself pursued and tried to kill a
weasel very near the spot where Hanover Chapel now stands. The 'burial
ground,' so called years before it was enclosed and used, is now St.
George's churchyard. This was a general play and cricket ground; and on
a summer's evening many groups of men and boys might be seen engaged in
the game and enjoying the fresh air and the healthful exercise."

Mr. WRAGG added to these remembrances by a reference to Black Lamb's
lane, now Broomhall street. If, said he, a person stood at the corner of
Fitzwilliam. street, with the hotel behind him, he could see the back of
South street chapel on Sheffield Moor. The only shop in the
neighbourhood, was kept by Mr. Hardeastle in Holly street-he who died
sexton of St. George's Church. Mr. Sidebottom opened the next at the
corner of Convent walk-now the Post Office. The oldest house on Glossop
road is that above Mr. Sharman's, at the corner of Gell street, now
occupied by Mr. Ward. For many years, indeed until his death, it was the
residence of an old gentleman, Mr. Thomas Broadhurst. In the old days,
Black Lamb's lane was quite a country walk.

LEIGHTON reminded us that the house at the corner, where Broomhall
street and Devonshire street intersect, noted for the solitary ash tree
in which the rooks persisted in building for so many years, was the
residence of William Fairbank, one of the surveyors who planned Glossop
road. His brother, Josiah Fairbank, lived in what is now the West End
Hotel, at the bottom of Northumberland road-a house in those days with a
charming garden both before and behind.

With such reminiscences as these the quiet evening slipped on, and we
sat in silence for some time, lazily watching the smoke as it curled
upwards from our pipes in the still air, as mentally we dwelt in the
past. LEONARD broke upon our reverie with one of his abrupt speeches.
The worst of it is, said he, that with all this much boasted extension
and growth, the town is losing so much of its old beauty. Ten minutes'
walk or so in any direction from the Old Church would have brought us,
thirty or forty years ago, into charming country lanes. What a distance
we have to go now before we get rid of the smoky blackness! Even
Wincobank is losing its freshness, and is invaded by dull rows of
houses. Heeley is repulsive, and as for Attercliffe, or Brightside, or
Grimesthorpe, ugh! And how our woods have gone. Without going so far
back as Clay Wood (so called from the Bridgehouses family) or Bamforth
Wood, there were Cook Wood, and the Old Park Wood, and Hallcarr Wood,
where such delightful rambles were to be had-" how fallen, how changed."
Bamforth Wood reached from Hillfoot almost to Owlerton. It belonged to
Madame Baniforth, and there was a well in it, the water of which it was
pretended would cure every disease. People used to fetch the water from
miles and miles.

LEIGHTON: Attercliffe has long been on the road to (pictorial) ruin, yet
within the time you mention, though degenerating from country into town,
it was not without its rural features. So late as 1836 it was still
matter for remark that " Sheffield and Attercliffe appeared not unlikely
soon to shake hands." Within a few years of that time two or three
otters had been caught in the Don there-one of them in that very year;
and it was then written by one who has but lately departed from amongst
us, " From Brightside lane we have a pleasing view of the village; the
houses appearing as if intermingled with the intervening trees.

There is a bridge over the Don, from the wall of which we look upon a
short reach of the river, as it flows along the tree-fringed lawn in
front of Newhall, which is not perhaps surpassed for its quiet, simple
character. Here was formerly a pleasant walk along the river side-not
yet quite obliterated -on this path the villager was once accustomed to
meet a local poetess-Barbara Hoole, at the period referred to an
interesting young widow, but subsequently much better known in the
literary world as Mrs. Hofland, having become the wife of the painter of
that name. While a resident at Attercliffe she published, in 1804, a
volume of poems of a pleasing character, containing allusions to various
persons, circumstances, and scenes well-known in the neighbourhood."

LEONARD: I see Mr. Holland, in the same book, speaks of the Attercliffe
Parsonage, then occupied by the Rev. J. Blackburn, as " snug as a
finch's nest in the adjoining trees." The trees are a melancholy
spectacle now, all smoke-begrimed and a caution to finches.

TWISS: . Catching otters in the Don at Attercliffe is almost as curious
a notion as baptising converts at Neepsend, opposite Cornish place, yet
that was done about the same time. "On these occasions the boats have
been filled with spectators, while others crowded the banks-the singing
of hymns, a sermon, and immersing the neophytes in the water in such a
spot, forming, in connection with the scenery about Neepsend, a
spectacle of a striking character."

EVERARD: This was rendered still more " striking" on one such occasion
by an incident that occurred. The Minister and the intended subjects of
baptism had the accommodation of the sheds of the public baths, partly
open to the stream, for the purpose of making suitable preparations.
Besides the banks being well lined several boats were filled with
spectators. Just when the officiating Minister and the persons to be
baptised were gone down into the water, and he was in the very act of
pronouncing the sacred formula,- " I baptise thee, &c.," the occupants
of one of the boats were so eager to witness that part of the ceremony
that they pressed to one side, and lo ! the boat was instantly capsized,
and they were plunged over-head into the river. They were, however, soon
rescued without any particular harm beyond a great fright and a thorough
soaking. An old friend of mine who witnessed the transaction, and
possessed a vein of dry humour, used to delight in puzzling his Baptist
acquaintances with the following query:-" That as the persons in the
boat were voluntarily attending a religious service, the nature of which
they understood, and that just at the moment and in the hearing of the
Minister's scriptural words of consecration, they were certainly
immersed; the question was,-whether they did not as really receive '
Christian Baptism' on that occasion as the others ?"

LEONARD : It was at an earlier period that Mr. Wesley used to bathe in
the Don at Walk Mill.

JOHNSON : William White, in his "Directory of Sheffield, 1833," has the
following:-" Though the rivers of Sheffield afford ample means for the
establishment of a large and commodious suite of cold baths, we have not
yet such a desirable institution ; those who wish to enjoy the
salubrious exercise of bathing being obliged either to immerse
themselves in the open river near Green lane (where there are a number
of dressing booths), or in the small and inconvenient baths in Bridge
street, Younge street, Ball street, Pond street Gardens, and
Upperthorpe." Can any one imagine for himself " a large and commodious
suite of cold baths" in our Sheffield rivers as we know them 2

JOHNSON :   The Upperthorpe baths were in what is now

Addy street, and were kept by one Couldwell. The water that supplied
them and adjacent troughs was splendidly clear and cold. It was used
also by the Infirmary. The baths in Colson crofts were known as
Brocksopp's. That was before the " Goit" was arched over, and I remember
the sign informing the inhabitants that here were " baths in the running
stream."

LEONARD: The extract I quoted just now shows what an immense
deterioration our rivers have undergone. Forty years ago they were not
the semi-sewers they are now. And the change is not only in the matter
of cleanliness and purity, but in beauty also. In a small poem,
published in 1838, by Frederick Horsfield, brother of the Rev. T. W.
Horsfield, the historian of Lewes, entitled " A Rural Walk in June, in
the neighbourhood of Sheffield," Mr. Horsfield having tracked the Don to
Sheffield, my birth-place and pride," says

Here oft I've caught thy finny brood, 
And sail'd thy weir-bound waters o'er."

The " finny brood" is, I am afraid, not now oft caught here. One can
scarcely imagine fish in connection with the foul stream, once a
beautiful river. In a note, Mr. Horsfield says :" The river Don in its
course through Sheffield is, in many parts, adorned with gardens along
its banks." We, who see the rivers of Sheffield in their present sad
plight, are in danger of forgetting what they once were.

EVERARD: Yes; it was then, too, that Mr. Bailey's residence at Burn
Greave, now so completely smothered by surrounding houses that it is
absolutely invisible from the road, was spoken of as " a pleasant villa,
standing on a gentle rise north of Sheffield, and about a mile from the
town." There was no house between it and Mr. Sorby's on Spital hill.

TWISS: " The Hills" beyond Burn Greave, once the residence of old Thomas
Scantlebury, the Quaker of Campo lane, was, in those days, a charming
place. It has also been the residence of Mr. George Hawksworth, of High
street, who was distinguished for his successful gardening. One of Mr.
Scantlebury's sons once wrote:-" A. and E. Gales and James Montgomery
used to call on us there. The poet generally preferred to sit on the
rustic seat on the ' Common,' as it used to be called, to enjoy the
beautiful view. And well he might. I once heard an enthusiastic
Frenchman, who had travelled extensively in England, say it was the most
beautiful prospect he had seen in the country."

LEIGHTON: It used to be said that there was no street in the town from
which the country could not be seen. It was not, perhaps, strictly true,
but it very closely approximated to the truth-and very pretty country
peeps many of them were.

LEONARD : They were charming. " The scenery in the direction of
Attereliffe," looking from High street, was noticed as (6 especially
striking when the atmosphere happened to be more or less favourable, or
even by moonlight. "

LEIGHTON : It is something that we still retain names indicating what
many of our streets may once have 'been, and we should all most
earnestly protest against the, absurd mania for altering good old
characteristic names. Harvest lane and Daisy walk, Orchard street
(Brinsworth's orchard), Nursery street and Cornhill, Mulberry street and
Sycamore street (hill), Figtree lane, and many others, tell us what once
was.

LEONARD: The idiots who change old names-Tom Gross lane to stupid.
Brunswick road, and Coalpit lane to Cambridge street-ought to be
ostracised. They cannot have been native-born Sheffielders.

LEIGHTON: I am reminded of Elliott's lines:

Scenes rural once ! ye still retain sweet names,

That tell of blossoms and the wandering bee

In black Pea croft no lark its lone nest frames; Balm green, the thrush
hath ceased to visit thee.

When shall Bower spring her annual corncrake see, Or start the woodcock
if the storm be near?"

EVERARD : As to the outskirts we should have to make a complete circuit
of the town to give even an idea of the changes. There is an article in
the Independent which glances at something of this kind.

ALL: Read !

EVERARD: The writer has been speaking of the devoted loyalty of native
Sheffielders to the town of ' their birth, and the charms that even its
dingy streets have in their retrospective eyes. He has referred to the
regrets one must feel " at the neglected opportunities almost all of us
have had of recording and treasuring up our local folk-lore as it
dropped from time to time from the lips of that generation now, alas,
almost passed away, which was blossoming into manhood and womanhood when
the Directorate had been abolished and Napoleon made Consul. Is there,"
asks the writer, " no Boswell in our midst who has made S heffield his
Johnson; no. local Crabbe Robinson or Mrs. Burney who has hordes of
reminiscences and recollections that might be given to a grateful world
? Did Sheffield never possess some fertile letter writer whose
correspondence would throw interesting light on the lives of our
grandfathers and greatgrandfathers ?" But the following is the part of
the article I wish specially to quote : " In the absence of more
systematic chronicles, we must be as satisfied as possible with what we
can get, and we must see to it that those who are now children may not
hereafter have to complain of any lack of material. And, indeed, it
requires no great age to expatiate from personal recollection on changes
that have taken place in Hallamshire, curious now and that will seem
still more remarkable fifty years hence. A contemplation of the
alterations in our town within the last (say) forty years, presents
contrasts that are of striking interest, although 1832 is a point of
time not sufficiently removed, to enjoy the attractions of antiquity. It
takes us back, at all events, to the pre-railroad era. In those days
there was no difficulty in having your residence in the midst of
charming rural scenes, and yet living within a quarter of an hour's walk
of your business. Mr. Sorby's house on Spital hill was altogether free
from the dinginess which set in some years later, and which was
succeeded by a period of melancholy decrepitude preceding the now
effected dissolution. Its gardens were still pleasant, for the smoke was
not yet pronounced enough materially to injure vegetation. As for Burn
Greave and The Hills, they were emphatically country residences, whose
retirement was in no apparent danger of being. infringed upon for years
to come. Fields were where now stands the already deserted Midland
Station, and Hallearr, on the slope below the top corner of Spital hill,
had its garden extending as far as Saville street. Saville street East
and its long ranges of works were not, and it was only when Royds Mill
was reached on the Attercliffe road that the pastoral character of the
neighbourhood was disturbed by manufacturing industry. Newhall, built by
Mr. Fell, was still an abode for 11 gentleman to desire, its grounds
enjoying a stately seclusion that was the antipodes of rabbit coursing,
pigeon shooting, and foot racing crowds and Hallcarr wood from the hill
side looked down with its fresh waving trees upon a fertile valley,
whose agricultural character was scarce broken. Attercliffe, Brightside,
and Grimesthorpe were' villages an excursion to which was a country 1
out ;' even Pitsmoor was a rural retreat, still separated by a
respectable fringe of hedge rows and meadows from the growing town. To
it the only road was by Pyebank, or if you wanted a longer country walk
by Harvest lane, or by the footpath from Tomcross lane; for the
Burngreave road was unmade, and Rock street, beyond the old Brightside
Workhouse, was a thing of the future. Pyebank could still sustain the
country residences known as West Grove and Grove House; Cook Wood was
intact in its verdure, and as for the Old Park Wood, its sylvan recesses
were endless and charming. The Infirmary enjoyed a delightful exemption
from smoky neighbours, although there were indications of what was
coining in projected streets behind it and in Roscoe place and Globe
works, forerunners of the manufactories that have now seized upon the
Penistone road. Beyond the Infirmary, on the low side, was Philadelphia,
and on the top side Upperthorpe, pleasant suburban colonies. The Nether
Hallam Workhouse was alone in its glory in the lower part of the Crookes
moor road, backed by the farmstead of Barber Nook, and looking down upon
the four small reservoirs that occupied the valley below the Great Dam.
Addy street, and .the long rows of brick houses which are prolongations
of it up the steep hill side, were as yet unimagined, but the upper part
of Crookes Moor roadabove Barber road, was much as it is now, though
Butcher's dam had not become the neglected and grass-grown hollow it is,
nor had the small, triangular sheet of water called Godfrey's Dam been
as yet superseded by the large reservoir on the upper side of Dam road.
Broomhill scorned houses that did not stand on their own grounds;
Broomfield had not yet been invaded by hordes of builders; and as for
Broomhall Park, the old Hall still stood alone in its glory, the only
house within the domain, its nearest neighbours being the houses in Park
lane. Broom Grove was not a road but a solitary house, the old footpath
opposite the bottom of Newbould lane being still a thoroughfare to
Ecelesall road. The Cemetery had not yet sprung into existence, but
there were footpaths leading up to the remote region of Sharrow head.
Across Sharrow lane, where Wostenholm road intersects it new, was still
to be traced the old pack-horse road to Beauchieff. Mount Pleasant and
the other residences at Highfield and Lowfield, together with Sheaf
House, Clough House, East Bank, The Farm, and a number of others to the
south-east of the town, enjoyed a delicious atmosphere and beautiful
gardens. We need not remind our readers of the state of things now."

LEONARD: Rows upon rows of brick cottage houses!

LEIGHTON : Speaking of Newbould lane, the writer might have mentioned
the old house of Benjamin Withers in Broom Park, with the magnificent
weeping Willow in front, and the field sloping down to Clarkehouse lane.
That ancient and decrepitlooking residence may well have been startled
out of existence by the Congregrational Church and the modern villas
which have usurped its place.

TWISS: And as to Sharrow lane, the old house by the Pack-horse road, or
" bridle sty," should not be omitted. It is a good specimen of the
gentleman's house of the period, with an inscription over the doorway, G
1633 L-that is to say, George Lee. The family of Lee is very ancient in
Little Sheffield, although no pedigree of it appears in the 11
Hallamshire." There was a Roger Lee, of Sheffield, butcher, who was
living in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, and probably the same with
a Roger Lee, who died about 1614. In the 11 Reliquary.." vol. 2, there
is printed a copy of " An inventorie of the goods and chattells, rights,
and creditts of Roger Lee, late of Sheffield, deceased, priced by
William Blith, William Bamford, John Quicksall, and Francis Barlow, the
xvth daye of June, 1614." The amount is £307. 4s. 4d. Roger Lee was
father to George Lee, who was dead in 1649, and left a widow, Anne,
living in that year. In the same volume to which reference has just been
made, there is also printed a copy of " The inventorie of the goodes,
chattells, and creditts of George Lee, late of Little Sheffield, yeoman,
deceased, taken and priced the three and twentieth daie of Aprill, Anno
Dom., 1649, by Nicholas Stones, William Lee, Robert Bright, and George
Ludlam." The amount in this case is £670. 13s. 4d. The next we meet with
is Roger Lee, of Little Sheffield, gent., who seems to be referred to in
one of the items in the last document. He was father to Jonathan Lee, of
Little Sheffield, gent., living 1712, who had issue-George Lee, of
Little Sheffield, Bachelor of Physic, identified in the initials on the
old house, which was probably built by him. He died about 1719, leaving
a widow and two sisters his co-heirs:-1. Elizabeth, married first to
Daniel Gascoigne, of Sheffield, apothecary, and secondly (about 1721) to
Christopher Cowley, of Sheffield, gent., and died without issue. 2. Ann,
who married in 1715 John Fenton, of Little Sheffield, gent., and had
issue a daughter, Elizabeth, who was wife to John Rotheram, of
Dronfield, Esq., Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1750, by whom she had Samuel
Rotheram, of Dronfield, Esq., Sheriff of Derbyshire 1773, who died
unmarried in 1795; John Fenton Rotheram, who died unmarried in 1794; and
an only daughter, Elizabeth, who also died unmarried in 1797. After her
death the estate devolved to Mr. Joseph Cecil, in whose descendants it
has continued to the present time.

JOHNSON: About fifty yards higher up Sharrow lane is another house of
less architectural pretensions, but still, in its decay, preserving some
of the dignity of its former state. This appears to have been the house
of some substantial yeoman-at a time when the yeomanry were the strength
of England. Over the door of one of the tenements into which the house
is now divided, appears the inscription, I D S 1638. Inside, the floors
are still supported by oak beams and rafters, black with age. There is a
fine oak staircase. and traces are distinct of a large open fireplace,
extending along the, entire breadth of the room.

TWISS: I do no` know to whom that house belonged.

LEONARD: Our notice of the suburbs of Sheffield would be incomplete if
we -failed to glance at Page Hall in the days when Mr. George Bustard
Greaves, with his bag-wig, and his portly person, did the honours of
Sheffield to visitors of distinction, or rolled into the town in his
yellow carriage (a phenomenon then) with sky blue liveries. It is just
over one hundred years since Page Hall was built on land, described in
the early deeds as " Page Field," and " Page Greave, " by Thomas
Broadbent, the banker of the Hartshead. It was a notable place, for it
was the first great outcome of the increasing wealth of the town. Many
as have been the magnificent houses since built by our manufacturers,
Page Hall stood alone then, and there were not wanting birds of ill-omen
who, Cassandra like, prophesied a bad end to such unprecedented
extravagance. There was some foundation for their gloomy views, for
before the hall was finished, Thomas Broadbent, who must have been a man
of large ideas, found that he had not sufficiently counted the cost, and
that his plans were too grand for his purse; so he curtailed the
dimensions of the* house in a way plainly to be seen in the entrance
hall to this day. Nor was this all, for within a very few years (the
house was built in 1773, and the event I now relate took place in 1780)
the banking firm of the Hartshead had to suspend payment, and Page Hall
was mortgaged to Mr. James Milnes, of Thornes House, Wakefield, the
trustee under the bankruptcy. In 1786, it was conveyed to Mr. George
Bustard Greaves, who had married the heiress of the Clays, of
Bridgehouses. He, as I have said, kept high state there until his death
in 1835, when Mr. James Dixon, + whose biography is one of the striking
manufacturing episodes of the town, became the purchaser. It remained in
the possession of his son, the late Mr. William Frederick Dixon, until
his death, and the estate has just been sold (May, 1874) to Mr. Mark
Firth, who intends to give a portion of it for the purposes of a public
park.

LEIGHTON: Which reminds me that since we began these conversations, the
lady of Weston Hall has laid down her benevolent life (May 3, 1873), and
her property has been bought by the town for the recreation of the
public.

TWISS : A word or two as to the earlier history of the Page Greave"
estate may not be uninteresting. Prior to 1717, it was in the possession
of a family of Rawsons, and in that year James Rawson conveyed it to
John Potter, of Beighton. It was in 1759 that the then representative of
the Potters, described as a brushmaker of Pagefield, sold the estate to
Joseph Broadbent, the father of Thomas, the builder of the Hall.
Included in the estate recently sold, is Skinnerthorpe. Part of this
formerly belonged to the Bournes, afterwards to the Mellands; the other
part to the Barkers (of Bakewell) and the Lees, who, in 1775, assumed
the name of Carril Worstley. I should not omit to mention that the Dixon
family claims to have sprung from the immediate neighbourhood of the
estate, the late Mr. James Dixon having been the grandson of William
Dixon, of Shiregreen.

WRAGG: I do not know that, after the event Mr. Leighton has referred to,
there is any impropriety in my telling the following anecdote of the
father of the late Miss Harrison: --- Mr. Harrison laid the foundation
of his fame as a saw-maker thus. He sent a man, dressed like a working
carpenter, in his shirt sleeves and apparently fresh from his
work-bench, among the London shops, asking for " Harrison's saws." None
of the shopkeepers had ever heard of such a maker. They had, of course,
saws by this eminent firm and the other which they recommended to the
customer, but he would have none of them, declaring that no saws were
like Harrison's, and he must have them or none. This, from a practical
man, made its due impression, and a few days afterwards, when Mr.
Harrison happened to call soliciting orders, he found no difficulty in
obtaining them. The story comes from an old workman of Mr. Harrison's
and is, I am assured, authentic.

EVERARD: The night air gets chilly to old men. I shall go home.

LEIGHTON: And my pipe's out.