Category: Late Night Tales

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Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #8

Mappin Street. Image: DJP/2022

Last night,  I met an elderly gentleman, who stood smoking a pipe outside the gate to St George’s Church. “It’s a wet night,” he obliged. “Aye, but Mappin Street looks very beautiful in the rain,” I said.

“Nay lad. This is Charlotte Street, and before that it was St George’s Square.” He paused. “I understand why you might be confused,” and pointed his pipe back towards West Street.

“Walk back yonder and look at the white paint on the building at the end. It says ‘Zarlot Street.’ Once upon a time, there was a Pitman Society in Sheffield, and they persuaded the town authorities to allow them to name our streets phonetically. That’s the last reminder, but it’s always been Charlotte Street to us.”

And Charlotte Street became Mappin Street, named after Sir Frederick Mappin, whose building for the University of Sheffield was completed in 1913.

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved.

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Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #7

Late Night Tales. In the 1600s, Barker’s Pool was sometimes used for ducking harsh-tempered or overbearing women. For this, the ‘cuck stool’ was brought up from Lady’s bridge. The chair was attached to a long wooden beam and was lowered into the water. Repeated ducking routinely proved fatal, the victim dying of shock or drowning. The reservoir went out of use and filled up with rubbish, and in 1793 it was done away with.

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved.

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Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #6

In August 1835, at about two o’clock in the morning, some dastardly villains broke the rappers and bell pulls of several houses in Union Street. The watchman in that neighbourhood sprung his rattle and followed the ruffians down Norfolk Street, but with no other night guardians answering the call, they managed to escape.

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved.

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Late Night Tales

“Cherish the hope that Sheffielders of the twenty-first century will be interested in noting what Sheffield was like.”

Arthur Davy’s premises at 38 Fargate were built in 1881-1882 and seen in 1888. It is now WH Smiths. The horse drawn bus outside Davy’s is the Spring Vale bus bound for Walkley. Image: Picture Sheffield

“Why should we not try to secure a series of ‘Old Sheffield’ before the town is completely modernised and place these views where they will be treasured by future generations. One of the greatest mistakes we are apt to make is to forget that what is commonplace and familiar to us, may be regarded with great interest by our children and grandchildren. The life of even the oldest of us is but a page, nay, even as a sentence in the book which records the history of out town, and we at may least cherish the hope that Sheffielders of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries will be as interested in noting what Sheffield was like in the early days of its corporate life.”

Words from Robert Eadon Leader in the Sheffield and Rotherham Independent. October 1, 1892.

And for him, and others, we should be extremely grateful for Sheffield City Archives and Local Studies Library and Picture Sheffield.

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Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #5

Sheffield City Hall. Image: DJP/2022

In November 1931, Sheffield City Hall was nearing completion and would cost £444K, more than £79K above budget. Several ancient wells had been discovered when excavating the site, and to stop water rising into the basement an asphalt tank was built, in which the foundation walls and floor rested.

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved

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Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #4

Pinstone Street redevelopment (2022). Image: DJP/2022

In 1892, the opening of a new shop on Pinstone Street offered splendid facilities for pickpockets. A crowd stretched across the road, and while those were looking through the windows, the light-fingered gentry deftly relieved them of their purses and wallets which contained the bulk of their week’s wages.

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved

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Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #3

“Sir, gather your copies of War Cry and follow me. It is a weapon of attack; and a very efficient weapon it has been. Tonight, we shall visit all the public houses in surrounding streets and offer a copy to those with the evil drink. Afterwards, we shall return here and take a cup of hot chocolate, braced with a drop of brandy.” – Anon. Salvation Army Citadel. Cross Burgess Street. March 1903.

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved

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Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #2

Torquay, April 1896. “I regret to inform the family that Mr Skelton Cole has passed away at Braddon Court. The sea breezes did not cure him of illness after all. The wonderful success of the business is in no small measure to this gentleman. Only yesterday, he spoke affectionately about Thomas and John, and sincerely hoped that Sheffield would always have a Cole Brothers.” (Gone, but not forgotten, and this sign recently reappeared in defiance).

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved

Categories
Late Night Tales

Late Night Tales #1

It was a rainy Wednesday night, on 14 June 1916, and a soldiers’ buffet was opened at Midland Station for the convenience of soldiers and sailors’ night-travelling through Sheffield. A sailor was the first man in and was on his way to Newcastle to spend brief respite with friends after taking part in the Battle of Jutland.

© 2022 David Poole. All Rights Reserved