Great Sheffield Flood

Great Sheffield Flood
	Remains of the Dale Dyke Dam after the flood
	Dale Dyke Dam Great Sheffield Flood (Sheffield) Great Sheffield Flood (South Yorkshire) Great Sheffield Flood (the United Kingdom)
Date	11 March 1864
Location	Dale Dyke Dam and downstream;; Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire
Coordinates	53°23′14″N1°28′0″W / 53.38722°N 1.46667°W
Type	Dam failure followed by flash flood
Cause	Crack in embankment; cause of crack never determined
Deaths	240+
Property damage	600+ houses destroyed

Last updated March 25, 2024

The Great Sheffield Flood was a flood that devastated parts of Sheffield, England, on 11 March 1864, when the Dale Dyke Dam broke as its reservoir was being filled for the first time. At least 240 people died^[1] and more than 600 houses were damaged or destroyed by the flood. The immediate cause was a crack in the embankment, the cause of which was never determined. The dam's failure led to reforms in engineering practice, setting standards on specifics that needed to be met when constructing such large-scale structures. The dam was rebuilt in 1875.

Dale Dyke Dam

Sheffield in 1832 Sheffield1832.jpg — Sheffield in 1832

Sheffield is a city and subdivision of South Yorkshire, England. As the town industrialised, its population grew from 45,478 in 1801 to 185,157 in 1861. This rapid population growth resulted in greatly increased demand for water, which led to the construction of the Dale Dyke Dam for the purpose of providing a more efficient source of clean water. It was created by the Sheffield Waterworks Company. During the late 1850s, the company purchased land in the Loxley Valley to the north-west of the town, on which to build a reservoir. By the 1860s the dam and its associated works had been passed as satisfactory and it was allowed to fill with water.^[2]

Collapse of Dale Dyke Dam

On the night of 11 March 1864, assisted by a strong south-western gale, the newly built dam, known as the Dale Dyke Dam in Bradfield Dale near Low Bradfield on the River Loxley, collapsed while it was being filled for the first time. An estimated 3 million cubic metres (700 million imperial gallons) of water swept down the Loxley Valley, through Loxley Village and on to Malin Bridge and Hillsborough, where the River Loxley joins the River Don. The flood continued south down the Don into Sheffield centre, around the eastward bend of the Don at Lady's Bridge, then to Attercliffe, past the sites of what later became Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield Arena and Meadowhall Centre, and on to Rotherham. A wall of water moved swiftly down the valley, destroying everything in its course. The centre of the town, situated on the hill to the south, escaped damage, but the densely populated district of the Wicker, around the new railway viaduct (constructed by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway), was completely destroyed.^[3]

The waterworks company's consultant engineer, John Towlerton Leather, was one of a family of worthy Yorkshire engineers who were involved in such work. His uncle, George Leather, had been responsible for reservoirs around Leeds and Bradford, and one of these was the scene of a dramatic collapse, in 1852, when 81 people died.^[3] John Leather and resident engineer John Gunson were working closely together during the construction of the dam. Leather designed the dam and oversaw its construction whereas Gunson directed and supervised the construction of the dam. Gunson was on site the night of the collapse and stated that there was a concerning crack in the outer slope of the embankment. Gunson convinced himself that the crack was not harmful but still took the precaution of opening up the valves on the middle of the embankment to allow more water through.^[3] This failed to prevent the crack from worsening.

Aftermath

The mayor, Thomas Jessop, quickly set up a relief fund and help was provided for the homeless and needy. Sheffield was quickly supplied with aid wherever needed. The mayor ordered a meeting "For the purpose of considering and adopting such measures as may be deemed necessary to meet sufferings occasioned by this dreadful calamity",^[2] raising over £4,000. On 18 March 1864 the mayor called another meeting, but this time it was for anyone who could afford it to give up one day's wage to give to those in need. A relief committee was created, and in total over £42,000 was raised.

The company denied any problems relating to their structure and design of the dam, and believed that the cause of the crack and the collapse involved a landslide or landslip. Public perception, informed by the Coroner's court and the press, saw the collapse as due to a failure in the mode of construction of the dam. The professional inquiry was conducted, and progressed to parliamentary investigations and institutional deliberations. The experts could not agree about the causes of the Dale Dyke collapse.^[3] They noted that even with the cracks the collapse of the whole dam was unforeseeable. The corporation had found two men who either were or were becoming president and then found five other engineers, all of whom had already been or about to become presidents of the Civils.^{[ clarification needed ]}^[3] They thought that on the basis of landslipping they would pardon the Sheffield Waterworks Company from any carelessness and that the collapse of the Dale Dyke Dam was an unpredictable accident. They continued:

We are moreover of the opinion that all the arrangements made by your engineers were such as might have been reasonably expected to have proved sufficient for the purposes for which they were intended and that, if the ground beneath the bank had not moved, this work would have been as safe and as perfect as the other five or six large reservoirs of the company which have so long supplied the town of Sheffield and the rivers Rivelin, Loxley and Don with water.^[3]

As for the physical damage in Sheffield and all the nearby areas hit in this short space of time, 238 people died and some 700 animals were drowned; 130 buildings were destroyed and 500 partially damaged; 15 bridges were swept away and six others badly damaged.^[3] The engineering profession at this time possessed a weekly magazine, The Engineer , that provided both an excellent contribution to the technical press and a platform of public relations. An editorial headed "The Bradfield Reservoir" on 18 March 1864 reflected the anxiety of the moment:

Its fall, coupled with that of the failure of the Holmfirth reservoir ... show that the practice of civil engineering is far from what it should be ... That the forthcoming investigation will be of the most searching character there can be no doubt.^[3]

A fortnight later, under the same title, it went on:

The broken dam was constructed much according to the ordinary practice in such works. It failed nonetheless ...That the Bradfield dam was lamentably defective no one can doubt ... The Bradfield catastrophe,^[4] in its way, is a useful warning to the whole profession.^[3]

The claims for damages formed one of the largest insurance claims of the Victorian period.

Rebuilding

The collapse of the Dale Dyke Dam led to reforms in engineering practice. The court criticised the design and the construction of the dam. They focused on things such as the placing of the outlet pipes; the puddle wall thickness; the method by which the embankment had been built up from railway tip-wagons; the inadequacy of the overflow arrangements; and the practice of removing spoil for the embankment from the area to be flooded.^[3] This then set standards on specifics that needed to be met when constructing such large-scale structures as the Dale Dyke Dam. The Dale Dyke Dam was eventually rebuilt in 1875, but on a smaller scale. As for John Gunson, most of the blame fell on him, although the company recognised his loyalty by retaining him in its service until he died in 1886.^[3] The Government started a Board of Inundation Commissioners to pass judgement for compensation claims against the Waterworks Company. They also arbitrated 7,500 claims for loss of life and property which totalled £455,000. All but 650 claims were settled without recourse to the arbitration process, but those 650 claims took almost six months to process. The claims registers record the claimant, their marital status and address, as well as details of the claim and the outcome, and amount awarded in compensation. They provide a unique insight into mid-Victorian Sheffield's trade and industry with claims listed for stock, tools and premises damaged and lost. The claims for furniture, clothes, books, toys and household utensils and goods help build up a picture of workers' lives at the time.^[2] A flood memorial stone marks the site of the original dam wall and footpaths to explore the area.^[5]

150th anniversary

March 2014 saw the 150th anniversary of the disaster. Events took place to commemorate the occasion, including an illustrated talk and exhibition at Low Bradfield Village Hall, guided walks to the dam, memorial services at St Nicholas, High Bradfield and St Polycarps, Malin Bridge, and a public talk at the University of Sheffield by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the British Dam Society. A commemorative tankard and plate were produced by the Bradfield Historical Society, and the Bradfield Brewery produced a special "flood beer" known as Dam It.^[6] The duo Toffee Music recorded a CD of Great Sheffield Flood songs.^[7]

Related Research Articles

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 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 the Doncaster stretch of the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsborough (ward)</span> Electoral ward in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Hillsborough is an electoral ward which includes the districts of Malin Bridge, Owlerton, Wadsley and Wisewood. It is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northwestern part of the city and covers an area of 4.6 km². The population of this ward in 2011 was 18,605 people in 8,012 households.

Low Bradfield is a village within the civil parish of Bradfield in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated within the boundary of the city of Sheffield in the upper part of the Loxley Valley, 6¼ miles west-northwest of the city centre and just inside the northeast boundary of the Peak District National Park. Low Bradfield and the surrounding area is noted for its attractive countryside which draws many visitors from the more urban parts of Sheffield. At weekends the village can become quite crowded, especially when there is a match on the village cricket pitch. Low Bradfield which stands in the shadow of Agden Reservoir has a sister village High Bradfield which is located at a higher altitude, ½ mile to the northeast. The two villages are joined by the steep Woodfall Lane.

The Teton Dam was an earthen dam in the western United States, on the Teton River in eastern Idaho. It was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, one of eight federal agencies authorized to construct dams. Located between Fremont and Madison counties, it suffered a catastrophic failure on June 5, 1976, as it was filling for the first time.

The St. Francis Dam, or the San Francisquito Dam, was a concrete gravity dam located in San Francisquito Canyon in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was built between 1924 and 1926. The dam failed catastrophically in 1928, killing at least 431 people in the subsequent flood, in what is considered to have been one of the worst American civil engineering disasters of the 20th century and the third-greatest loss of life in California history.

The River Loxley is a river in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its source is a series of streams which rise some 10 miles (16 km) to the north-west of Sheffield on Bradfield Moors, flowing through Bradfield Dale to converge at Low Bradfield. It flows easterly through Damflask Reservoir and is joined by Storrs Brook at Storrs, near Stannington, and the River Rivelin at Malin Bridge, before flowing into the River Don at Owlerton, in Hillsborough. The Loxley valley provided the initial course of the Great Sheffield Flood, which happened after the Dale Dyke Dam collapsed shortly before its completion in March 1864.

Malin Bridge is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, England. It is located at grid reference SK325893 and stands 2+1⁄2 miles north-west of the city centre where the rivers Loxley and Rivelin meet. Malin Bridge is only a small district centred on the road bridge over the River Loxley which carries the B6076 road to Stannington ; it is surrounded by the suburbs of Hillsborough, Wisewood, Walkley and Stannington.

Loxley is a village and a suburb of the city of Sheffield, England. It is a long linear community which stretches by the side of the River Loxley and along the B6077 for almost 2.5 miles (4 km). Loxley extends from its borders with the suburbs of Malin Bridge and Wisewood westward to the hamlet of Stacey Bank near Damflask Reservoir. The centre of the suburb is situated at the junction of Rodney Hill and Loxley Road where the old village green stands and this is located 3 miles (5 km) north west of Sheffield city centre. The suburb falls within the Stannington ward of the City of Sheffield.

The Malpasset Dam was an arch dam on the Reyran River, north of Fréjus on the French Riviera. It collapsed on 2 December 1959, killing 423 people in the resulting flood. The breach was caused by a tectonic fault in the impermeable rock base, which had been inadequately surveyed. Nearby road-building works, using explosives, may also have contributed to the disaster.

Damflask Reservoir is situated at grid reference SK277907 five miles west of the centre of Sheffield in the Loxley valley close to the village of Low Bradfield and within the city's boundaries. The hamlet of Stacey Bank is located to the east. The reservoir has a capacity of 4,250.9 million litres and has a surface area of 47 hectares with a maximum depth of 27 metres. The dam wall is approximately 400 metres wide with a height of 28 metres.

Dale Dike Reservoir or Dale Dyke Reservoir is a reservoir in the north-east Peak District, in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, a mile (1.6 km) west of Bradfield and eight miles (13 km) from the centre of Sheffield, on the Dale Dike, a tributary of the River Loxley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsborough Barracks</span>

Hillsborough Barracks is a walled complex of buildings between Langsett Road and Penistone Road in the Hillsborough District of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

The Church of St. Nicholas, Bradfield is situated in the small village of High Bradfield, which is located 6 miles (10 km) north west of the centre of the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of only five Grade One Listed buildings in Sheffield. The church is situated 260 metres (850 ft) above sea level, overlooking the Peak District National Park.

Strines Reservoir is a water storage reservoir situated at 53.4099°N 1.6557°W, 8 miles (13 km) west of the centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England.

Fair House Farmhouse is a 17th-century building situated on Annet Lane in the village of Low Bradfield within the boundary of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The farmhouse is a Grade II* Listed Building while the stable and garage buildings immediately to the west of the main house are Grade II listed.

Little Matlock Rolling Mill also known as Low Matlock Rolling Mill is a Grade II* Listed building situated on the River Loxley in the village of Loxley on the outskirts of the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The building continues to operate as a rolling mill, owned and operated by Pro-Roll Ltd, a specialist hand rolling company. A brick building extension was added to the original 1882 structure in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Towlerton Leather</span>

John Towlerton Leather (1804–1885) was a British civil engineering contractor.

Bradfield Dale is a rural valley 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west-northwest of the City of Sheffield in England. The valley stands within the north-eastern boundary of the Peak District National Park just west of the village of Low Bradfield. The dale is drained by the Strines Dike which becomes the Dale Dike lower down the valley, these being the headwaters of the River Loxley. The dale contains two reservoirs, Strines and Dale Dike, and a third, Agden Reservoir, stands in a side valley just above Low Bradfield. The dale is characterised by agricultural land interspersed with farming and residential buildings. It is approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long from its foot at Low Bradfield to its head on Strines Moor.

Reservoirs storing large volumes of water have the capability of causing considerable damage and loss of life if they fail. Reservoirs are considered "installations containing dangerous forces" under international humanitarian law because of their potential adverse impact. In 1975 the failure of the Banqiao Reservoir Dam and other dams in Henan Province, China caused more casualties than any other dam failures in history. The disaster killed an estimated 171,000 people and 11 million people lost their homes.

Upper Barden Reservoir is an upland fresh water reservoir, one of two reservoirs that collect water from Barden Moor, and dam Barden Beck, a tributary of the River Wharfe in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. The reservoir was opened in 1882 and also supplies fresh water to the Nidd Aqueduct, which transports it to Bradford. Upper Barden Reservoir was the second of the reservoirs to be built,.

References

↑ "The Forgotten Flood: Sheffield's tragic past remembered". BBC News. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
1 2 3 "Flood of 1864 research guide". Sheffield City Council. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Buchanan, R Angus. "Special Issue: Engineering Disasters – 4 The Causes of the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864." History of Technology 26, (2005): 113
↑ "Reports from Committees". Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 1865. p. 118.
↑ "The Dale Dyke Disaster" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
↑ Bradfield Parish Council Archived 9 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Gives details of 150th anniversary events.
↑ "Bradfield Parish Council Newsletter" (PDF). Bradfield Parish Council. January 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.

External links

The Great Flood at Sheffield – 1864 Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
Newspaper article from 1864
Sheffield Flood – insurance claims archive
Sources for the Study of the Sheffield Flood 1864 Produced by Sheffield City Council's Libraries and Archives
Documentary film telling the story of the Great Sheffield Flood 1864
Wright, Oliver (11 March 2014). "The Forgotten Flood: Sheffield's tragic past remembered". BBC News . Retrieved 11 March 2014.
Sheffield Flood 1864, song by Toffee Music created for the 150th anniversary, on SoundCloud

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[1] "The Forgotten Flood: Sheffield's tragic past remembered". BBC News. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2014.

[libraries-2] 1 2 3 "Flood of 1864 research guide". Sheffield City Council. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2020.

[Buchanan-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Buchanan, R Angus. "Special Issue: Engineering Disasters – 4 The Causes of the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864." History of Technology 26, (2005): 113

[Bradfield_catastrophe-4] "Reports from Committees". Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 1865. p. 118.

[5] "The Dale Dyke Disaster" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2012.

[bradfield_parish-6] Bradfield Parish Council Archived 9 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Gives details of 150th anniversary events.

[7] "Bradfield Parish Council Newsletter" (PDF). Bradfield Parish Council. January 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.

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