Brightside, Sheffield

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Brightside
Brightside - Vickers Building.jpg
Vickers Building [1]
Sheffield outline map with UK.svg
Red pog.svg
Brightside
Location within Sheffield
OS grid reference SK375898
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SHEFFIELD
Postcode district S9
Dialling code 0114
Police South Yorkshire
Fire South Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°24′14″N1°26′06″W / 53.404°N 1.435°W / 53.404; -1.435 Coordinates: 53°24′14″N1°26′06″W / 53.404°N 1.435°W / 53.404; -1.435

Brightside is an industrial area of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England lying on a hill north of Attercliffe and the River Don.

Brightside was recorded in the fifteenth century as "Brekesherth", when it was home to some mills. [2] Brightside Bierlow was one of the six original divisions of the township of Sheffield, including all the land in the town north of the Don - reaching as far as the Wicker and Neepsend.

The first work on the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was the opening of a cutting in Brightside in 1837. [3] Brightside railway station was opened along with the line in 1838, but closed in 1995. [4] Now the nearest railway station is in Meadowhall (which geographically is in the Shiregreen and Brightside ward) just south of Wincobank. [5] In the 1830s, the only industry in the village was a forge on the river bank. A guide produced for the opening of the railway described Brightside as being "...much frequented by pleasure parties from Sheffield. On every fine Sabbath especially, the sallow artizan may be seen wending his way thither, to inhale the freshness of the country air, and enjoy the beautiful and extensive prospect which the hill affords. The opening of the railway has not been productive of much benefit to it in this respect. Those who, when performing their peregrinations on foot, were compelled to confine them within a circuit of a mile or two round Sheffield, can now ride to Rotherham for sixpence; and the consequence is, that the publicans of Brightside have the mortification of beholding their quondam customers gliding past their very doors to consign to the pockets of the more fortunate retailers of spirits in a more distant town, those gains which they had been accustomed to calculate upon as theirs." [6]

St Thomas' Church opened in 1854, [7] and now serves at the training school for Greentop Circus. [8] [9]

By 1860, industries were growing in the area, with steel and cutlery manufacture being the main trades. Industry continued to grow, and by the early 1970s, it was mostly industrial, and home to a major railway marshalling yard. [2]

Sheffield Brightside was also the name of one of Sheffield's six Parliamentary constituencies until declining population lead to the formation of the larger Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

Related Research Articles

River Don, Yorkshire River in South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

The River Don is a river in South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It rises in the Pennines, west of Dunford Bridge, and flows for 70 miles (113 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 the Doncaster stretch of the river.

Burngreave (ward) Electoral ward in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Burngreave ward—which includes the districts of Burngreave, Fir Vale, Grimesthorpe, Pitsmoor, and Shirecliffe—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northern part of the city and covers an area of 2.8 square miles. The population of this ward in 2011 was 27,481 people in 9,906 households. It is one of the wards that make up the Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough constituency. Most of the ward is served by a free community newspaper, the Burngreave Messenger.

Shiregreen and Brightside Electoral ward in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Shiregreen and Brightside ward—which includes the districts of Brightside, Shiregreen, and Wincobank—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northern part of the city and covers an area of 6.5 km2. The population of this ward in 2011 was 20,826 people in 8,696 households. It is one of the wards making up the Sheffield Brightside parliamentary constituency.

North Midland Railway

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Sheffield and Rotherham Railway

The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was a short railway in England, between Sheffield and Rotherham and the first in the two towns.

Swinton, South Yorkshire Town in South Yorkshire, England

Swinton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England on the west bank of the River Don. It has a population of 15,559 (2011). The town is five miles north-northeast of the larger town of Rotherham and directly west-southwest of Mexborough. The original junior and infant school building built 1852 on Church Street formerly Fitzwilliam School still exists being converted into residential apartments called 'Fitzwilliam Lodge'

Rotherham Westgate railway station

Rotherham Westgate railway station was the eastern terminus of the five-mile-long Sheffield and Rotherham Railway, the first passenger-carrying railway in the Sheffield/Rotherham area. In central Rotherham on the eastern bank of the River Don, it was a single-platform terminus that opened on 31 October 1838 and closed on 4 October 1952.

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Brightside railway station Disused railway station in South Yorkshire, England

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West Tinsley railway station Disused railway station in South Yorkshire, England

West Tinsley railway station is a former railway station in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

Greasbrough Canal

The Greasbrough Canal was a private canal built by the Marquess of Rockingham to serve his coal mining interests in and around the village of Greasbrough, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1780, and the Newbiggin branch was built some time later. The main line to Greasbrough closed in 1840 with the coming of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway, and the canal ceased to carry commercial traffic during the First World War. Most of it has been filled in, but a small section near the River Don Navigation remains in water.

River Don Navigation Waterway navigation in South Yorkshire, England

The River Don Navigation was the result of early efforts to make the River Don in South Yorkshire, England, navigable between Fishlake and Sheffield. The Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden had re-routed the mouth of the river in 1626, to improve drainage, and the new works included provision for navigation, but the scheme did not solve the problem of flooding, and the Dutch River was cut in 1635 to link the new channel to Goole. The first Act of Parliament to improve navigation on the river was obtained in 1726, by a group of Cutlers based in Sheffield; the Corporation of Doncaster obtained an Act in the following year for improvements to the lower river. Locks and lock cuts were built, and, by 1751, the river was navigable to Tinsley.

Rotherham Town in South Yorkshire, England

Rotherham is a large market and minster town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham. Rotherham is also the third largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield and Doncaster, which it is located between.

The Wicker

The Wicker is an arterial street in Sheffield, England noted for its history and viaduct that crosses it, the Grade II* listed Wicker Arches. It runs in a north-east to south-westerly direction between Lady's Bridge and the Wicker Arches. For many years the Wicker was an A road, but it has been downgraded following the opening of the Sheffield Northern Relief Road.

Masbrough Suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England

Masbrough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was named as the west of Rotherham by the middle of the Industrial Revolution, namely that part on the left bank of Don. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, centred 0.5 miles (0.8 km) west of Rotherham town centre. Much of the suburb falls within the Rotherham West ward of Rotherham MBC.

Greentop Community Circus Centre is the only circus school in Yorkshire, England, and was established in 1995 on the TV programme Challenge Anneka, and is one of three UK circus schools providing accredited level training courses in circus skills.

St Thomas, Brightside

St Thomas is a former Anglican church in the Brightside area of Sheffield in England which now serves as a circus training school.

References

  1. Historic England. "Vickers Building River Don Works (1246818)". National Heritage List for England .
  2. 1 2 Vickers, J. Edward (1971). The Ancient Suburbs of Sheffield. pp. 14–15. ISBN   0950156124.
  3. Drake, James (1840). Drake's Road Book of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway : with a visiter's[sic] guide to the towns of Sheffield and Rotherham. London: Hayward and Moore. p. 4. OCLC   1110190681.
  4. Tuffrey, Peter (2011). South Yorkshire railway stations : Adwick-le-Street to Wortley. Stroud: Amberley. p. 26. ISBN   1445601222.
  5. UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Shiregreen and Brightside Ward (as of 2011) (E05001060)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  6. Drake, James (1840). Drake's Road Book of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway : with a visiter's guide to the towns of Sheffield and Rotherham. London: Hayward and Moore. p. 35. OCLC   1110190681.
  7. William Odom, Memorials of Sheffield, p.143
  8. Historic England. "Greentop Circus Training Centre (Grade II) (1255153)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  9. Rains, Kian (9 May 2021). "Sheffield-based circus group celebrates 25th anniversary with 'circusathon' to raise funds". The Sheffield Star. Retrieved 14 June 2022.