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The Meers Brook is a stream in Sheffield, England and one of the main tributaries of the River Sheaf. The Meers Brook originates in Gleadless [1] and flows downhill through Gleadless Valley and Meersbrook then, culverted, continues underneath Heeley to pour into the River Sheaf near Saxon Road and Clyde Road in Lowfield. [2]
The river starts at a spring to the west of Gleadless Townend, close to some allotment gardens, and heads in a west-north-westerly direction, passing through Herdings Wood to the north of Herdings, which is part of the Gleadless Valley area of Sheffield. In the woods it is joined by another small stream. To the south of Rollestone, it is joined by a stream which rises in Hemsworth, and flows northwards through wooded terrain, which joins onto Rollestone Wood. After passing under Blackstock Road, it is joined by another stream, which rises in Buck Wood, Newfield Green, and flows in a south-westerly direction. A series of streams rise in Leeshall Wood, and combine before joining Meers Brook near the Rollestone recycling centre. The river used to flow around the northern edge of the recycling site and across open land bordered on the northern side by High Bank Wood, and to the south by Car Wood, but it has been culverted in this area. [3]
Near the end of the culvert, it is joined by a stream which rises near Norton Woodseats sports ground, from where it flows northwards. The stream flows under Cat Lane to join Meers Brook, and then both flow under Cat Lane again, along the northern edge of Meersbrook allotment gardens, and under Carfield Lane. There is then a short section where it forms the boundary between gardens on Northcode Avenue and Meersbrook Road, before it disappears into a culvert where Northcode Avenue, Meersbrook Road and Albert Road meet. [3] Prior to the culvert being built, it ran along the bottom of gardens on Albert Road, passed under Brooklyn Road, passed the north end of Molloy Street, [4] and then flowed around Joseph Tyzack's saw works. The building dates from the 1880s and was constructed of red bricks, although modifications were made in the 20th century. Tyzack made saws there until the mid-20th century, after which the works, offices and salesroom were reused as workshops. The building is grade II listed. [5] The river marked the end of Bradbury Street and Arlington Road, and then passed under houses on London Road, some railway sidings serving a goods depot, and the main line into Sheffield railway station, before it joined the Sheaf near Saxon Road. [4]
Historically the stream formed part of the boundary between the ancient kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. The stream forms the boundary between the historic counties of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. [6]
In 1957, the section from Albert Road to the railway culvert was enclosed in a culvert. The scheme was planned by the city engineer, H Foster, and was designed to reduce flooding of homes in Heeley and Meersbrook, and to carry additional water away from new housing in the Gleadless Valley. The culvert was about 0.75 miles (1.2 km) long, and although it broadly followed the existing line of the river, the bends were ironed out where possible, providing a much straighter course. At the start, it ran through concrete pipes which were 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter, but then ran through rectangular castings of various sizes. As part of the work, the original culvert under Chesterfield Road and the railway was strengthened. The drop in level of the river bed between the two ends of the culvert was handled by constructing several staircases, down which the water flowed. The culvert was designed to take a maximum flow of 25,000 cubic feet (710 m3) per minute. [7]
The Environment Agency measure water quality of 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, is rated good or fail. [8]
The Environment Agency do not publish separate data for Meers Brook, but the river is included as part of the River Sheaf data. Water quality was as follows in 2019.
| Section | Ecological Status | Chemical Status | Length | Catchment | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheaf from Source to River Don [9] | Moderate | Fail | 18.4 miles (29.6 km) | 20.33 square miles (52.7 km2) | heavily modified |
The river is only rated moderate for ecological status due to the fact that the channel has been heavily modified by human activity. Like many 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.
The River Sheaf in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, flows northwards, past Dore, through Abbeydale and north of Heeley. It then passes into a culvert, through which it flows under the centre of Sheffield before joining the River Don. This lower section of the River Sheaf, together with the Don between the Blonk Street and Lady's Bridges, formed two sides of the boundary of Sheffield Castle.
The Porter Brook is a river which flows through the City of Sheffield, England, descending over 1,000 feet (300 m) from its source on Burbage Moor to the west of the city to its mouth where it joins the River Sheaf in a culvert beneath Sheffield railway station. Like the other rivers in Sheffield, its steep gradient made it ideal for powering water mills and works associated with the metalworking and cutlery industries, and around 20 dams were constructed over the centuries to facilitate this. At its lower end, it is extensively culverted, but parts of it are gradually being restored to open channels, as part of a daylighting scheme for the city.
The River Ryton is a tributary of the River Idle. It rises close to the Chesterfield Canal near Kiveton Park, and is joined by a series of tributaries near Lindrick Common in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Most of its course is in Nottinghamshire, flowing through the town of Worksop. It meanders northwards to join the River Idle near the town of Bawtry on the South Yorkshire-Nottinghamshire border.
Meersbrook is a suburban district in the south-west of Sheffield, England bordered by Nether Edge to the west, Norton Lees to the south, Heeley to the north and the Meersbrook allotment site to the east. Until 1950 it was part of the Sheffield Ecclesall constituency and now forms part of the Sheffield Heeley constituency. The district falls within the Gleadless Valley ward of the city. The name comes from the stream, the Meers Brook, a tributary of the River Sheaf which means 'boundary brook' and in ancient times this, along with the River Sheaf was thought to have formed the boundary between the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. It remained as the boundary between Yorkshire and Derbyshire into the 20th century. Meersbrook itself was once several small communities which have given many roads their names; Rush Dale, Carfield & Cliffe Field and in 1857 was known as Mears Brook.
Gleadless Valley ward—which includes the districts of Gleadless Valley, Heeley, Lowfield, and Meersbrook—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southern part of the city and covers an area of 4.5 km2. The population of this ward in 2011 was 21,089 people in 9,516 households. It is one of the five wards that form the Sheffield Heeley parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons. Gleadless Valley actually describes the valley that separates Hemsworth from Herdings, and is a broad area that covers several housing estates: Hemsworth, Herdings and Rollestone. Gleadless Valley is bordered by Gleadless and Norton.
Chesterfield Road is a shopping street in Sheffield, England. It leads south from the suburb of Meersbrook to Woodseats, before becoming Meadowhead at the Abbey Lane junction, next to the Abbey pub. The road starts at Toll Bar bridge on the Meers Brook, the former boundary between Yorkshire and Derbyshire. There the road changes name from London Road to Chesterfield Road.
The Totley Brook is a stream in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises on a millstone grit ridge some 7 miles (11 km) to the south-west of the centre of Sheffield. Over its course it drops from 740 feet (230 m) to 430 feet (130 m) near its junction with the Old Hay Brook close to Baslow Road. The streams form the River Sheaf once they have joined.
The Blackburn Brook is a stream in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which flows through the Blackburn Valley along the M1 and Ecclesfield Road and joins the River Don near the Meadowhall shopping centre. Downstream from the A61 road at Chapeltown the Blackburn Brook is defined as a main river by the Environment Agency, which requires new building development to be at least 26 feet (8 m) from the bank side as a flood defence measure and to allow access to the watercourse for maintenance.
The Old Hay Brook is a small river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is formed from the Redcar Brook, Blacka Dike and another stream, which rise on moors to the south of Sheffield, and is joined by Needham's Dyke near Totley Grange. At Totley Rise it joins Totley Brook, to become the River Sheaf. Water from the river was used to power mills processing lead, corn and paper from at least the 17th century, which were later used for grinding scythes as the Sheffield metal industry expanded. All the mills were defunct by 1900, although some remnants including weirs and dams are still visible.
The Limb Brook is a stream in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises at the village of Ringinglow, flowing east through Whirlow and Ecclesall Woods into Abbeydale in the Beauchief area, where it merges with the River Sheaf. Near this point part of the stream has been diverted to provide the goit for the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet millpond, and this channel flows through what is now Beauchief Gardens.
The River Roach is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex. It is one of four main streams that originate in the Rayleigh Hills to the west, and flow east. They then flow towards the centre of the Rochford Basin, a circular feature which may have been caused by an asteroid impact in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene periods. To the east of Rochford, the river becomes tidal, and is governed by the Crouch Harbour Authority. It joins the River Crouch between Wallasea Island and Foulness Island. To the west of Rochford, there is some doubt as to which of the four streams is officially the Roach.
Cove Brook runs 4 miles (6.4 km) from near Farnborough Airport in Farnborough, Hampshire, England and flows through the former Southwood Golf Course where it is joined by Marrow Brook and other smaller streams. It runs north through Cove before joining the Blackwater at Hawley Meadows near the M3 motorway.
The River Doe Lea is a river which flows near Glapwell and Doe Lea in Derbyshire, England. The river eventually joins the River Rother near Renishaw. The river contained 1,000 times the safe level of dioxins in 1991, according to a statement made by Dennis Skinner, (MP) in the House of Commons in 1992. The river flows through the site of the former Coalite plant near Bolsover, where coke, tar and industrial chemicals were manufactured until the plant closed in 2004.
The River Drone is a river which flows south from its source on the Sheffield, South Yorkshire, border. It flows through Dronfield, Unstone and Unstone Green in Derbyshire before merging at Sheepbridge to the north of Chesterfield with the Barlow Brook. Below the junction, it is often referred to as the River Whitting. It then flows south-east till it merges with the River Rother at Brimington Road North (B6050) at Chesterfield. It is one of the three main tributaries of the Rother.
Shire Brook is a small stream in the south eastern part of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It rises in the suburb of Gleadless Townend and flows in a general easterly direction for 4 miles (6.5 km) to its confluence with the River Rother between Beighton and Woodhouse Mill. In the past the brook has been both the border of Yorkshire and Derbyshire and between the sees of Canterbury and York. The course of the stream has been influenced by human intervention in the 20th century with the brook being diverted underground and flowing through culverts on three occasions as it traverses locations which were formerly landfill sites and extensive railway sidings.
The River Dove is a river that extends through the Low Valley in Barnsley, England. It flows from Worsbrough Reservoir to its confluence with the River Dearne.
Gleadless Valley is a housing estate and electoral ward of the City of Sheffield in England. The population of the estate at the 2021 Census was 9,724. It lies 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-southeast of the city centre. Formerly a rural area, Gleadless Valley was developed as a large housing project with around 4000 dwellings by Sheffield City Council between 1955 and 1962. It is an area of undulating land drained by the Meers Brook, which has its source on the high ground in the woodland at Gleadless. Adjacent are Gleadless to the east, Norton to the south-west, Heeley to the west and Arbourthorne to the north.
The Eller Beck is a small river in North Yorkshire, England, that flows through the town of Skipton and is a tributary of the River Aire. Its channel was heavily modified to supply water to mills in the 18th and 19th centuries, and although all the mills have closed, the water now supplies power to the National Grid, generated by a turbine at High Corn Mill. The beck flows through several underground culverts in Skipton that contribute to the flood risk. To alleviate flooding in Skipton town centre, a scheme involving two flood water storage reservoirs was designed and eventually completed in 2017.
Oldcotes Dyke is the name of the final section of a river system that drains parts of north Nottinghamshire and the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. Historically, it has supported milling, with seven water mills drawing their power from its water, and ran through the grounds of the Cistercian Roche Abbey. It is a tributary of the River Ryton.
Fleet Brook is a small river in northern Hampshire, England and tributary of the River Hart.
