Making Sheffield

“It was a devastating night,” says Sheffield historian Ron Clayton.

“Foaming water pounded down Loxley Valley like a train, and everything in its path went down.

“People caught in the middle of it thought the world was ending.”

The Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 killed at least 240 people and destroyed more than 600 houses, when the newly-built Dale Dyke Dam collapsed as it was being filled for the first time, sending three million cubic metres of water smashing through the city, as it slept.

Here, Ron explores exactly what happened on that fateful night, just before midnight on March 11 1864.

“On two terrible nights in December 1940, Germany rained bombs down on Sheffield,” says Neil Anderson, author of ‘Sheffield’s Date with Hitler.’

“Hundreds were killed, thousands injured, and ten per cent of the city left homeless.

“Until ten years ago, the story of the Sheffield Blitz was largely untold, but it’s important that people know what happened here, and that nothing like it is ever allowed to happen again.”

Here, Neil explores the Sheffield Blitz in detail, re-telling many first-hand accounts and stories he gathered during interviews for his book, written to mark the 70th anniversary.

For 14 years, Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner in Sheffield.

“They thought they could lock her away and she’d be forgotten about, but Mary never stopped being a thorn in Queen Elizabeth’s side,” says Sheffield historian David Templeman.

“She would never just fade into the background; she sent more than 2,000 letters whilst in captivity.”

Here, David explores the truth behind Mary’s time in Sheffield, lifting the lid on how she spent her days at Sheffield Manor Lodge, and the fortress that was Sheffield Castle, her escape attempts, and the spy network which eventually led to her death.

According to Canon Keith Farrow, walking into the main room of Sheffield Cathedral is an experience every Sheffielder should have.

The proud seat of the Bishop of Sheffield, it is the oldest building of continuous use in the city, where prayer has happened nearly every day for 1,000 years.

Here, Keith takes us on an audio tour of his ‘office,’ introducing the tombs of the Shrewsbury Earls, dating back to the 1400s, the atmospheric Crypt Chapel of All Saints, and revealing details of the foundations of an extension, lying under Cathedral Square, that were abandoned after the Second World War.

“We waited such a long time for that thank you.”

Kathleen Roberts made the 2009 phone call, to The Star offices, that launched a campaign for long-awaited recognition for the women of Sheffield, who stepped up during the war effort.

Along with her ‘partners in crime,’ Kit Sollitt, Ruby Gascoigne, and Dorothy Slingsby, Kathleen travelled around the country, campaigning and fundraising, and was eventually invited to Downing Street to meet then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The Women of Steel statue in Barkers Pool is the culmination of their efforts.

Here, Kathleen shares her story, and the story of so many other women in Sheffield, who left young families at home during the war to take on long and unrelenting work in the city’s factories.

Music credit: Archie Noble