97-619: The Kelham Island Museum is an industrial museum on Alma Street, alongside the River Don , in the centre of Sheffield , England . It was opened in 1982. The island on which it is located is man-made, resulting from the construction of a mill race, in the 12th century, which diverted water from the River Don to power a corn mill belonging to the Lord of the Manor. It is reported that the island
194-673: A metropolitan and ceremonial county with a Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire and a High Sheriff . South Yorkshire lies within the Sheffield City Region with Barnsley also being within the Leeds City Region , reflecting its geographical position midway between Yorkshire's two largest cities. The metropolitan county borders Derbyshire , West Yorkshire , North Yorkshire , the East Riding of Yorkshire , Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire . The terrain of
291-504: A 12-foot (3.7 m) undershot wheel for rolling copper plates, and another of 18 feet (5.5 m) for rolling silver. The River Loxley joins the Don opposite the mill site, and the building was badly damaged by the great flood of 1864. The tenant claimed £1,932 in compensation, and received £1,720. A steam engine replaced the large water wheel in 1875, and the rest of the works was electrified in 1920. Sheffield Steel Rolling Co. continued to work
388-552: A claim for £6,204 was made and received for damage caused by the 1864 flood. Next came Kelham Wheel, which was used as a cutlers wheel, a silk mill, and a cotton mill. Following fires in 1792 and 1810, the mill was rebuilt to use steam power, and became the Britannia Corn Mills after 1864. The buildings were demolished in 1975, but the weir remains in good order, and is one of the largest in Sheffield. Below this were
485-521: A corn mill and cutlers wheels. Steam power was used from 1860, although a redundant water wheel remained in situ until 1950. Sanderson's weir provided water for the Upper Hammer, on the south side of the river, which was converted into the Attercliffe slitting mill in 1746. By 1802 it was described as being in a decayed state, and the dam and goit were filled in by 1818. The weir also supplied
582-445: A corn mill from before 1383 until 1690. Two cutlers wheels were added in 1706, and the works had become a forge by 1789. Four wheels were recorded in 1895, and a set of tilt hammers from the site were rescued and moved to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet . Hadfields Weir is the final weir on this stretch, which supplied Parker Wheel initially, and then a paper mill from the 1750s. At various times there were two flour mills, two forges and then
679-474: A film, which can be seen at the Kelham Island Museum , was made of its activity. The weir has five bays, but is deteriorating. Wadsley weir supplied a series of works which were situated to the east of the river channel. Wadsley Bridge paper mill was operational by 1709, and a tilt was also working by 1806. The wheel was 16.5 feet (5.0 m) in diameter and 6.83 feet (2.08 m) wide when it
776-581: A local walking and cycling route, the Five Weirs Walk . A further walk, the Upper Don Walk , is being developed that will make it possible to walk or cycle from Sheffield city centre up to Oughtibridge . Below Doncaster , the main channel of the lower Don originally meandered in a north-easterly direction across the marshland of Hatfield Chase to enter the Trent just above its junction with
873-452: A new channel, which would run for 5 miles (8.0 km) from Newbridge, near Thorne, eastwards to enter the Ouse at the site of Goole, 9 miles (14 km) upstream of the Trent. Water levels here were between 5 and 10 feet (1.5 and 3.0 m) lower than at Turnbridge. This new channel was called the "Dutch River", and was finished in 1635, at a cost of £33,000. It ended in a sluice at Goole, and
970-660: A new county—York and North Midlands—roughly centred on the southern part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and northern parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The review was abolished in favour of the Royal Commission on Local Government before it was able to issue a final report. The Royal Commission's 1969 report, known as the Redcliffe-Maud Report, proposed the removal of much of the then existing system of local government. The commission described
1067-751: A public water supply. The middle section contains many weirs, which were built to supply mills, foundries and factories with water power, while the lower section contains weirs and locks, designed to maintain water levels for navigation. The Don's major tributaries are the Loxley , the Rivelin , the Sheaf , the Rother and the Dearne . Along the Sheffield–Rotherham stretch of the river are five weirs that punctuate
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#17327760497771164-616: A river system with a catchment of 714 square miles (1,850 km ), which held a population of around 1.4 million in 1997. Much of the region is underlain by Carboniferous age Coal Measures rocks , and pollution of the river system has arisen where the coal has been mined. The headwaters rise on the moorlands of the Pennines , where the rocks are largely Millstone Grit , while the lower reaches pass through areas of alluvial and glacial material, up to 66 feet (20 m) thick, which overlies Magnesian Limestone strata and rocks assigned to
1261-454: A rolling mill. The precise location of the works is difficult to trace, as the river has been straightened below the weir, but the weir itself can be seen from Meadowhall Shopping Centre . This section provides details of some of the many bridges crossing the River Don, in west-to-east (river source to river mouth) order. This area stretches from the source of the River Don down to and including Oughtibridge. There are many minor crossings of
1358-643: A seven-arch viaduct, built around 1855, which crosses the B6462 Thurgoland to Penistone road as well as the River Don. The railway that it conveys started off as a local colliery line of the South Yorkshire Railway Company and later became part of a trunk freight route which reached its traffic peak in the early 1950s. From 1983 the line has been used for local passenger services between Sheffield and Huddersfield via Barnsley. Built about 1734, this narrow stone bridge conveyed
1455-422: A small part of the weir remains. The next weir supplied Old Park corn mill, which was built around 1673. In 1807 a lease was issued to a group of 32 tenants, which included a miller, grinders, cutlers, a button maker, a scissorsmith and an ivory turner. In the early 20th century, it was known as Old Park Forge, and so had presumably changed its use. Old Park paper, silver or rolling mill followed. In 1795 it had
1552-551: A transition from uplands and rural landscape to lowlands and urban landscape towards the east of the county. Major rivers which cross the area are the Dearne , Rother and Don . To the east, in the Doncaster area the landscape becomes flatter as the eastward dipping carboniferous rocks of the coalfield are overlain by the lacustrine deposits of the Humberhead Levels. South Yorkshire contains green belt throughout
1649-529: Is also culverted, below Sheffield Railway Station , and the combined flows join the Don between Lady's Bridge and Blonk Street bridge. The section of the river from Lady's Bridge to Meadowhall and the junction of the river with the Sheffield Canal has been designated as the Five Weirs Walk, by the creation of a footpath which closely follows its course. It contains the final five weirs before
1746-589: Is operated by the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust . It is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage . The museum houses the prototype Sheffield-Simplex car, one of only three know to remain. The car was described as, "one of the best and most remarkable vehicles available, representing the highest point to which motor design has yet attained", by The Times in 1913. The Benjamin Huntsman Clock,
1843-458: Is rated good or fail. The water quality of the Don was as follows in 2019. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment. These are the settlements on the River Don from the source to
1940-485: Is widespread evidence of both current and former industrial activity. There are numerous mine buildings, former spoil heaps and iron and steel plants. The scenery is a mixture of built up areas, industrial land with some dereliction, and farmed open country. Ribbon developments along transport routes including canal, road and rail are prominent features of the area although some remnants of the pre industrial landscape and semi-natural vegetation still survive. The Pennines in
2037-635: The 1970 general election , there was a commitment to local government reform, and the idea of a metropolitan county of South Yorkshire. The Local Government Act 1972 reformed local government in England by creating a system of two-tier metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and districts throughout the country. The act formally established South Yorkshire on 1 April 1974, although South Yorkshire County Council (SYCC) had been running since elections in 1973 . The leading article in The Times on
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#17327760497772134-672: The Dearne Valley which covers Barnsley and surrounding area; the Sheffield urban area which covers Sheffield, Rotherham and surrounding area; and the Doncaster urban area which covers Doncaster and surrounding area. The South Yorkshire County Council was abolished and its districts effectively became unitary authorities; they are the City of Sheffield , the City of Doncaster , the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and
2231-472: The Environment Agency announced that they had recently re-stocked the Don with 1,000 barbel . A spokesman said that the fish in the river were now at a sustainable level with a breeding population and these would be the last fish added as part of a 10-year programme to help the Don recover from an industrial heritage that had depleted fish stocks. The Environment Agency measure water quality of
2328-476: The Ewden Beck joins, after flowing through Broomhead and More Hall reservoirs . By the time it reaches Oughtibridge , the river is below the 300-foot (91 m) contour. Below Oughtibridge, the course of the river is marked by a series of weirs, which were used to impound water, so that it could be used to power mills, hammers and grinding wheels. The gradient of the river bed is less than that of most of
2425-451: The Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham . In 1986, throughout England the metropolitan county councils were abolished. The ceremonial county with a Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire and a High Sheriff was retained. The county remains defined as metropolitan , functions of the county council devolved to the boroughs with many functions administered by joint authorities (such a passenger transport executive ) containing representatives of
2522-655: The Pennines , west of Dunford Bridge , and flows for 69 miles (111 km) eastwards, through the Don Valley, via Penistone , Sheffield , Rotherham , Mexborough , Conisbrough , Doncaster and Stainforth . It originally joined the Trent , but was re-engineered by Cornelius Vermuyden as the Dutch River in the 1620s, and now joins the River Ouse at Goole . Don Valley is a UK parliamentary constituency near
2619-571: The Sheffield flood of July 2007 with water over a metre deep inundating the site, causing £1.5 million of damage. Paintings by William Cowen and Henry Perlee Parker, a drawing master at Sheffield's Wesleyan College , were some of the objects damaged by the floodwater. The museum was closed for 18 months, reopening in September 2008. It received a national commendation from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) for its recovery from
2716-508: The Sherwood Sandstone Group . The impacts of human habitation, particularly the inadequate treatment of sewage effluent, and the growth of mining in the upper reaches and the processing of metals in the Sheffield area have resulted in serious pollution of the river, and the depletion of fish stocks, to the extent that large parts of the Don contained no fish until the mid-1980s. Concerted efforts have been made to improve
2813-484: The South Yorkshire Structure Plan of the environment, conservation and land use, South Yorkshire County Council commissioned a public attitudes survey covering job opportunities, educational facilities, leisure opportunities, health and medical services, shopping centres and transport in the county. In 1986, throughout England the metropolitan county councils were abolished. The functions of
2910-491: The 1905 River Don Engine , a 12,000 horsepower (9 MW) steam engine, which originally powered a local armour plate rolling mill . The engine is remarkable for its ability to change direction very quickly, a feature that was necessary for the efficient rolling of heavy steel. The engine rolled steel for nuclear reactors towards the end of its life (it was last used in production in 1978 at the River Don Works). The museum
3007-526: The 2007 floods. The site is now protected by new flood defences which were completed in December 2011. 53°23′22″N 1°28′20″W / 53.389503°N 1.472345°W / 53.389503; -1.472345 River Don, South Yorkshire The River Don (also called River Dun in some stretches) is a river in South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire , England. It rises in
Kelham Island Museum - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-690: The 700-tonne Eurobarge standard by deepening the channels and enlarging the locks as far as Rotherham. The expected rise in freight traffic did not occur, however. The cuts and navigable river sections, with the Stainforth and Keadby and the New Junction canals constitute the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation . Locks on the Bramwith to Rotherham section can accommodate boats which are 230 by 20 feet (70.1 by 6.1 m), but above that, boats are restricted to 56 by 15 feet (17.1 by 4.6 m) by
3201-551: The Dearne and the Rother has not improved as much as on the Don, and pollution of the lower reaches is compounded by the fact that the pollutants, which include dioxins , are locked up in the river bed sediments. Despite the steady improvement in water quality, restocking of the river with fish, attempted on several occasions between 1981 and 1994, was largely ineffective, caused by intermittent discharges of pollutants. In November 2011,
3298-477: The Don bridges upstream of Lady's Bridge (see "Bridges over River Don" section below) and killed 270 people. The Don was also one of the rivers that flooded during the 2007 United Kingdom floods . Following high levels of rainfall, some 80 million cubic metres of rain fell on South Yorkshire on 25 June 2007. The river burst its banks in the late afternoon, flooding areas of Sheffield from Hillsborough to Meadowhall , and two people died after being swept away by
3395-419: The Don in this area, so only a selection of bridges is covered in this section. The road bridge at the small hamlet of Dunford Bridge carries the unclassified Windle Edge Road across the River Don. The source of the Don is about 2.5 miles (4 km) to the west and the retaining dam of Winscar Reservoir is 1,300 feet (400 m) to the west. The road bridge is 160 feet (50 m) below the surface level of
3492-476: The Don's tributaries, which required the weirs to be spaced further apart, to prevent water from one mill backing up and preventing the next mill upstream from operating. The river falls by 160 feet (49 m) between Oughtibridge and Brightside, a distance of 8 miles (13 km), and by 1600, there were sufficient weirs that no new ones were built subsequently, although there were cases where additional mills were built, which used water from an existing weir. Most of
3589-575: The Doncaster stretch of the river. The probable origin of the name was Brittonic Dānā , from a root dān- , meaning "water" or "river". The name Dôn (or Danu ), a Celtic mother goddess, has the same origin. The river gave its name to the Don River , one of the principal rivers of Toronto , Canada. The Don can be divided into sections by the different types of structures built to restrict its passage. The upper reaches, and those of several of its tributaries, are defined by dams built to provide
3686-643: The Flooding section above, its wide catchment area and the sometimes-extreme weather in the Pennines makes the river susceptible to occasional flooding. The two photographs illustrate the contrast. South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England . It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to
3783-545: The Nether Hammer on the north side of the river, which was first recorded in the 1580s. The forge was sold in 1869, one part to the Midland Railway, and the other to Sandersons, who had six water wheels in 1895, but the works was running on steam power by 1907. In addition to the weir, the head goit is still visible, passing under the railway twice, to disappear into a culverted drain. Brightside weir supplied
3880-528: The Ouse. A second channel flowed to the north, along a Roman channel called Turnbridgedike. The eastern channel formed the boundary between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. In the Hatfield Level drainage project which started in 1626, the Dutch civil engineer Cornelius Vermuyden diverted the Don northwards along Turnbridgedike. He constructed Dikesmarsh bank some distance to the east of the channel, so that
3977-525: The River Dearne. This has led to a great improvement in ammonia levels and BOD, further aided by the construction of biological treatment facilities for the processing of industrial effluent in the Doncaster area, while the decline in the steel industry in Sheffield has reduced the discharge of metals into the river. Mining presents a different problem, as the mines have been abandoned, but the pollution continues. Near Penistone , ochre discharged into
Kelham Island Museum - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-532: The River Don. It is used by passenger services on the route from Sheffield to Huddersfield ("The Penistone Line "). It was built in 1850 by Sir John Fowler for the Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway (later the Great Central Railway ). The viaduct suffered a partial collapse in 1916. The viaduct crosses the B6462 Thurgoland to Penistone road as well as the River Don. This is
4171-429: The River Don. The station referred to is the "Oughty Bridge Station" (east of the road bridge) on the former Great Central Railway Company's Sheffield to Manchester route. It opened in 1845 and closed to passengers in 1959. Like most of the upper Don, the river at Oughtibridge appears fairly benign, with it having a small flow and being easily fordable below the weir to the south of the bridge. However, as discussed in
4268-636: The Sheffield to Manchester Railway which opened in 1845. Trains ceased on this section of the line in May 1983. This footbridge is on the Barnsley Boundary Walk, upstream of Tin Mill Dam. It provides a drier alternative to the adjacent set of stepping stones when the river level is high. The bridge has an above-deck truss design and is constructed largely of tubular steel. It was manufactured by Tubewrights Ltd of Newport (Monmouthshire). This
4365-426: The Stainforth and Keadby Canal, was closed in 1939. Navigation to Sheffield was made possible by the construction of weirs, locks and canal cuttings to avoid circuitous and unnavigable sections of the Don downstream of Tinsley, and then by a canal from Tinsley to Sheffield. The first serious attempts at improvements were authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1726 by Sheffield's Company of Cutlers to make
4462-477: The Town Corn Mill and wheel, which was water powered until 1877, and was the subject of an archaeological investigation in 1999, which uncovered the remains of the wheel pits. Wicker Tilts and wheel was really two works, a grinding wheel known to have been working in 1581, and a tilt forge built in the 1740s. A second tilt was added near Lady's Bridge by 1752. The grinding wheel, which supplied 36 troughs,
4559-576: The Trent used that in preference to the Dutch River and the route around Trent Falls, where the Trent joins the Humber. Construction of a railway from Doncaster to Goole in 1869 reduced traffic on the river, but the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company was formed in 1889, to buy back the River Don Navigation, the Sheffield Canal and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal from railway ownership, to keep them competitive. They acquired
4656-403: The building of the railway. The mill housed grinding wheels in 1862, but was used for milling corn in 1934. The dam remains full, overflowing through a culvert which passes beneath the railway. Owlerton Rolling Mill was next, located on the west bank, but was destroyed by fire around 1883. It had been reconstructed by 1907, when steam power assisted the water wheels, and was demolished in 1936. Only
4753-660: The country. As one of the least prosperous areas in Western Europe, South Yorkshire has been targeted for funding from the European Regional Development Fund . This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of South Yorkshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. However, the county has experienced a recent growth in the services sector. In the FDI European Cities and Regions of
4850-547: The county are more rural. The county is governed by four metropolitan boroughs : Barnsley , City of Doncaster , Rotherham , and City of Sheffield . They collaborate through South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority . South Yorkshire lies on the edge of the Pennines , and the west of the county contains part of the Peak District National Park . The River Don rises in these hills, and flows through Sheffield, Rotherham, and Doncaster before reaching
4947-517: The county council were devolved to the boroughs; joint-boards covering fire, police and public transport; and to other special joint arrangements. The joint boards continue to function and include the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive . The South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner also oversees South Yorkshire Police . Although the county council was abolished, South Yorkshire remains
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#17327760497775044-472: The county is mostly distinguished by the Pennines and its foothills which rise in the west of the county and gradually descend into the Humberhead Levels in the east of the county. Geologically, the county lies largely on the carboniferous rocks of the Yorkshire coalfield in the outer Pennine fringes, producing a rolling landscape with hills, escarpments and broad valleys. In this landscape, there
5141-497: The county, surrounding its four districts to large extents. It was first drawn up from the 1950s. The western edge of the Sheffield and Barnsley districts directly form with the boundary of the Peak District National Park. The table below outlines many of the county's settlements, and is formatted according to their metropolitan borough. Of these settlements above, South Yorkshire has three main urban areas:
5238-535: The day the Local Government Act came into effect noted that the "new arrangement is a compromise which seeks to reconcile familiar geography which commands a certain amount of affection and loyalty, with the scale of operations on which modern planning methods can work effectively". South Yorkshire initially had a two tier structure of local government with a strategic-level county council and four districts providing most services. In 1974, as part of
5335-669: The early 2000s, led primarily by the Catchment Science Centre, based at the University of Sheffield . A comprehensive summary of the river catchment was completed in 2008, describing the key social, economic and environmental characteristics of this historically important urban river and its main tributaries. The River Don, together with its main tributaries, the River Rother and the River Dearne , form
5432-596: The eastern portal of the Woodhead Tunnel , through the Hamlet of Dunford Bridge, and continues, first east and then south-east, on its way to Sheffield. Near Penistone, the river is joined by Scout Dike, which flows from the Ingbirchworth, Royd Moor and Scout Dike reservoirs. The Little Don River or River Porter, on which there are three more reservoirs, joins the Don near Deepcar, while at Wharncliffe Side,
5529-570: The first manufactured object to contain Crucible Cast Steel , can be seen in the Enid Hattersley Gallery. The museum also has a large photographic archive which is used by authors for illustrating local history books. Since 2009, the museum has housed the workshop of Stan Shaw , a little mester . Shaw worked there and demonstrated knife making to the public until his death in 2021. The museum suffered heavily in
5626-412: The flat Humberhead Levels in the east of the county. While the county of South Yorkshire was created in 1974, the history of its constituent settlements and parts goes back centuries. Prehistoric remains include a Mesolithic "house" (a circle of stones in the shape of a hut-base) dating to around 8000 BC, found at Deepcar , in the northern part of Sheffield. Evidence of even earlier inhabitation in
5723-549: The four councils. The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority was established in 2014 to bring the leaders of the four councils to give the county a main statutory body. It is led by the directly elected Mayor of South Yorkshire . In the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union , South Yorkshire voted 62% leave and 38% remain, making it one of the most heavily Leave areas in
5820-498: The head goit. The weir by Station Lane, Oughtibridge served the Upper Middlewood forge, described as a tilt in the sources, as it had a tilt hammer which was raised up and allowed to drop to shape the metal. The weir is in good order, although much of the original structure has been replaced by concrete steps. Next came Middlewood Works, which was a rolling mill and slitting mill, splitting bars of iron into thin strips for
5917-452: The intervening land could be used as washlands . The main work was completed by 1628, but after flooding in 1629, a "Great Sluice" was constructed at the junction between the river and the Aire, with 17 openings which were 6 by 8 feet (1.8 by 2.4 m), probably by Hugo Spiering, who had assisted Vermuyden on the main project. The washlands had insufficient capacity, and in 1632 work started on
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#17327760497776014-467: The late 19th century for the Dewsbury and Heckmondwike Waterworks Board. Lower Windleden was the first to be completed in 1872, with Upper Windleden following in 1890. Winscar, Snailsden and Harden were all completed in 1899, although Winscar was called Dunford Bridge at the time. A new dam was built at Winscar between 1972 and 1975, and replaced the earlier earth dam. To fit it in, without destroying
6111-441: The manufacture of nails. Four water wheels were recorded in the 1820s, and water power was still being uses in 1900. The site was cleared after 1985, but the stone weir, with its nine bays, remains. Beeley Wood or Nova Scotia Tilts was a sizeable operation, with eight water wheels operating in the 1830s, four wheels driving two forges, another two driving the bellows for the forges, and the final two driving two tilt hammers. The works
6208-441: The mill buildings have long since gone, but the weirs remain. All of the weirs on this section of the Don followed a similar pattern, with a weir built at an angle across the river, and a goit or channel leading from the lower edge to a reservoir or dam running parallel to the river. After the works, a tail goit returned water to the river. Water supply to the dam was controlled by shuttles which could be raised to allow water to enter
6305-647: The mouth. The largest city on the river is Sheffield. Settlements with a population of over 10,000 according to the 2001 census are shown in bold . The river's source, tributaries and mouth are in italics . Winscar Reservoir Confluence with Little Don River River Ouse The River Don rises in the Peak District, on Great Grains Moss, a millstone grit moorland area between 1,480 and 1,570 feet (450 and 480 m) above sea level. A series of small streams, including Great Grains and Black Grough join up, and within 1.2 miles (1.9 km) enter Winscar Reservoir. Reaps Dyke rises within 500 yards (460 m) of
6402-460: The museum. The museum houses exhibitions on science and Sheffield industry, including examples of reconstructed little mesters' workshops and England's largest surviving Bessemer converter . This object received an Engineering Heritage Award in 2004 from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers . (Henry Bessemer's pilot converter is on display at the Science Museum (London) ). The museum gives tours to local schools and has regular demonstrations of
6499-529: The navigable section is reached. Walk Mill weir supplied the Upper and Nether Walk mills and wheels. The Nether Walk mill is thought to have been the site of a fulling mill mentioned in 1332, and was still operating as a fulling mill in 1760, when there were also two cutlers wheels at the lower site and one at the upper. The use of water wheels ceased in 1853, and both sites were recorded as the Albion Iron and Steel Works in 1864. Burton Weir supplied Royds mill and wheels, which also operated on two sites, and included
6596-403: The navigation, but although some locks were lengthened around 1910, Long Sandall lock was not, and it was not until 1959 that it was extended to 215 by 22 feet (65.5 by 6.7 m) and trains of 17 compartment boats could work through to Doncaster. The navigation was the subject of one of the last major attempts in the UK to attract commercial freight to the waterways. In 1983, it was upgraded to
6693-444: The north-east, Lincolnshire to the east, Nottinghamshire to the south-east, and Derbyshire to the south and west. The largest settlement is the city of Sheffield . The county is largely urban, with an area of 1,552 km (599 sq mi) and a population of 1,402,918. The largest settlements after Sheffield (556,500) are the city of Doncaster (113,566), Rotherham (109,697), and Barnsley (96,888). The east and west of
6790-513: The packhorse trail from Leeds to Cheshire. It now forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail . It is listed Grade II by English Heritage. This substantial viaduct conveys the long-distance Trans Pennine Trail across the River Don and its valley which is narrow at this point. The name of the viaduct varies. Barnsley Council sign-boards call this Romticle Viaduct, local newspapers call it Rumtickle Viaduct and 1940s LNER plans call it Romptickle Viaduct. Built in 1844 from local stone, it formed part of
6887-417: The river from Barnby Dun to Fishlake Ferry, to avoid the shallows at Stainforth and Bramwith. The river was navigable to Rotherham in 1740, and to Tinsley by 1751. Stainforth was connected to the River Trent by the opening on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal in 1802 and to the Aire and Calder Navigation by the New Junction Canal , opened in 1905. There were plans to use compartment boats to carry coal on
6984-406: The river from old ganister mine workings, giving it an orange colour for about six miles, eventually remedied, while at Beeley Wood , the ochre comes from a pile of waste metal on the river bank. A nearby paper mill has also been a significant polluter of the river. Some of the problem has been mitigated by the construction of lagoons, into which mine discharges have been diverted. Water quality on
7081-654: The river navigable from Holmstile in Doncaster to Tinsley , on the edge of Sheffield, and another obtained by the Corporation of Doncaster in 1727 to improve the river below Holmstile, as far as Wilsick House in Barnby Dun. An Act of 1733 created "The Company of the Proprietors of the Navigation of the River Don", and authorised further cuts above Rotherham, while a further Bill of 1740 sought powers to improve
7178-426: The river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates , angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations,
7275-636: The short Rotherham lock. On the night of 26 October 1536, a sudden rise in the level of the River Don prevented the forces of the Pilgrimage of Grace from crossing the river at Doncaster, forcing them to enter into negotiations with Henry VIII's forces. The Great Sheffield Flood , which occurred on 11 March 1864 following the collapse of the Dale Dike Dam on a tributary of the River Loxley, destroyed 800 houses, destroyed or damaged most of
7372-494: The site until 1980. Sandbed wheel was built in 1723, and by 1794, there were three water wheels supplying 52 grinding troughs. A steam engine was supplementing the wheels by 1886, but the wheels remained in use until at least 1907. The weir and the shuttles controlling the flow in the head goit remain. Below this, Morton wheels are known to have existed in 1581. The works became the Philadelphia Works around 1807, and
7469-453: The source, and flows in a semicircle to the north, through Snailsden reservoir and Harden reservoir, to flow into another arm of Winscar reservoir. Just 100 yards (91 m) from the source, Withens Brook rises, but flows westwards, to supply the reservoirs of Longdendale and the people of Manchester . To the south of Winscar reservoir, other streams supply Upper Windleden and Lower Windleden reservoirs. All of these reservoirs were built in
7566-570: The system of administering urban and rural districts separately as outdated, noting that urban areas provided employment and services for rural dwellers, and open countryside was used by town dwellers for recreation. Redcliffe-Maud's recommendations were accepted by the Labour government in February 1970. Although the Redcliffe-Maud Report was rejected by the Conservative government after
7663-462: The village of Dunford Bridge, the dam is built of rock fill, which allows the faces to be much steeper than those of an earth dam, and the inner face is covered with two layers of asphaltic concrete, the first such use of this material on a dam in Britain. The dam is 174 feet (53 m) high and contains around 1,180,000 cubic yards (900,000 m ) of rock fill. Another innovation in its construction
7760-465: The water in the reservoir. One of many footpath crossings of the Don in the upper part of its course. This path links the A628 (near St Saviour's Church) with Leapings Lane. There is a ford by the side of the footbridge and this can be easily crossed by road vehicles for most of the year. This is a curving 29-arch viaduct which is 980 feet (300 m) long and 98 feet (30 m) high where it crosses
7857-439: The water quality, by reducing the concentration of metals, the ammonia content, and the biological oxygen demand (BOD), which is a measure of the amount of oxygen that is needed by organisms to break down organic matter in the water. Sewage treatment works on the Don, notably those at Cheesebottom, on the west bank of the river at Thurgoland and Blackburn Meadows at Tinsley , have been upgraded, as has that at Darton on
7954-471: The water. Parts of Rotherham and Doncaster were flooded for the second time in 10 days. Two days later, the army were called in to assist at Barnby Dun after the river flooded large areas near Thorpe Marsh Power Station . The Don also burst its banks in November 2019, flooding villages along its course, notably Fishlake . The River Don catchment was the subject of extensive research investigations in
8051-522: The waterways in 1895, but failed to raise sufficient capital for the major improvements they had planned. However, they succeeded in constructing the New Junction Canal from Stainforth to the Aire and Calder Navigation (Knottingley and Goole Canal) west of Goole, which was jointly funded by the Aire and Calder, and opened in 1905. The Dutch River reverted almost entirely to its original drainage function, and Stainforth lock, which connected it to
8148-670: The west of the county are mostly inside the Peak District National Park and also contain carboniferous rocks, with the underlying geology primarily being millstone grit sandstones of the Dark Peak rising from the Yorkshire coalfield and the terrain is mostly moorland plateaus and gritstone edges. The inner Pennine fringes between the Dark Peak and Yorkshire coalfield are distinguished by many steep valleys, and
8245-642: The wider region exists about 3 miles (5 km) over the county boundary at Creswell Crags in Derbyshire , where artefacts and rock art found in caves have been dated by archaeologists to the late Upper Palaeolithic period, at least 12,800 years ago. The region was on the frontier of the Roman Empire during the Roman period. The main settlements of South Yorkshire grew up around the industries of mining and steel manufacturing. The main mining industry
8342-507: Was a company that specialised in the fabrication of tubular steel structures. It had other factories in London, Liverpool and Glasgow and was in business from 1899 until 1981. In 1961, the company employed 1,200 people. This pre-fabricated design of footbridge was popular in the years immediately after World War II and examples can be found all over Britain. Station Lane bridge carries the unclassified road from Oughtibridge to Grenoside over
8439-408: Was coal which was concentrated to the north and east of the county. There were also iron deposits which were mined in the area. The rivers running off the Pennines to the west of the county supported the steel industry that is concentrated in Sheffield, Stocksbridge and Rotherham. The proximity of the iron and coal also made this an ideal place for steel manufacture. Although Christian nonconformism
8536-482: Was described as a forge, and a high pressure steam engine was operational in 1855, to supplement the 15-foot (4.6 m) water wheel. The dams were out of use by 1892, and parts of the site are now occupied by Hillsborough Football Stadium . Near the tail goit of the Wadsley works, the Don was joined by a small tributary, on which was located Rawsons Mill or Bark Mill . The mill building was separated from its dam by
8633-528: Was later connected to the tail goit. Wadsley Furnace was also located in this area. It was built for the Earl of Shrewsbury by 1583, but the blast furnace is thought to have been defunct by the 1670s. The final works in this section was Wadsley Forge or Wardsend Steel Works, which was operational from 1581 to the late 19th century, although the precise function varied. In 1819, there were two wheels supplying power to 69 troughs, where blades were ground. By 1849, it
8730-560: Was never as strong in South Yorkshire as in the mill towns of West Yorkshire, there are still many Methodist and Baptist churches in the area. Also, South Yorkshire has a relatively high number of followers of spiritualism . It is the only county that counts as a full region in the Spiritualists' National Union . The Local Government Commission for England presented draft recommendations, in December 1965, proposing
8827-470: Was never intended to be navigable, as boats could access the Aire at Turnbridge. The sluice was later swept away in a flood and never replaced. The Dutch River was difficult to navigate, made more hazardous by shoals, three awkward bridges, and low water levels at neap tides. With the opening of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal in 1802, from the Don at Stainforth to the Trent at Keadby, most traffic for
8924-409: Was recorded as derelict by 1895. In February 2016 the Environment Agency removed the middle two-thirds of Beeley Wood Lower Weir as part of a scheme to allow the free migration of fish and let the river return to a more natural form. The next works was Hawksley or Clay Wheels which employed 54 men in 1794, and was still using water power in 1895. The site was used to make scythes until after 1941, when
9021-531: Was replaced by a power station in 1899 to provide electricity for the new fleet of trams in the city. The power station operated until the 1930s when the building was used for storage and workshops. These are the premises now occupied by the museum, along with Russell Works, once occupied by Messers Wheatman and Smith. Russell Works now houses the Hawley Gallery and the Crucible Shop, both part of
9118-462: Was replaced by a wire mill in the 1870s, and was still using water power in 1895, by which time the tilts were using steam power. The weir was close to Lady's Bridge, and the head goit flowed through one of the arches of the bridge. It is thought that there are several goits in culverts near Blonk Street, but their exact extent is unknown. The culverted Porter Brook joins the River Sheaf , which
9215-548: Was subsequently named after the Town Armourer, Kellam Homer, who owned a grinding workshop on the neighbouring goit (mill race) in 1637. Having remained meadowland for much of its existence, John Crowley's Iron Foundry was built on the site in 1829 and continued in operation until the 1890s. The site was flooded on 11 March 1864 , when the Dale Dyke Dam broke, damaging workshops on the site. Crowley's Iron Foundry
9312-416: Was surveyed in 1855, by which time the works had become Niagara Works. It was recorded as a forge which was still using water power in 1907. The weir remains, together with the shuttles which controlled the flow into the head goit, although the channel itself has been built over. Wadsley Bridge corn mill, which became a forge around 1800, originally took its water supply from the head goit of the paper mill, but
9409-572: Was the use of a hydraulic jump pool at the foot of the overflow chute, which dissipates the energy of the cascading water. The reservoir supplies drinking water to the Calder Valley, some 12 miles (19 km) to the north, and is also the base for Pennine Sailing Club, who offer basic training in sailing skills, on courses certified by the Royal Yachting Association . The Don flows from the foot of Winscar Dam, close to
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