Attercliffe
Encyclopedia
Attercliffe is an industrial
suburb of northeast Sheffield
, England
on the south bank of the River Don.
Westforth or Washford bridge, at the Sheffield end of the village was first recorded in a will of 1535. It was rebuilt in wood in 1608 and 1647, then in stone in 1672, 1789 and 1794.
Historically a part of the parish of Sheffield, Attercliffe Chapel
was built in 1629 as the first place of worship in the settlement. The Town School was built in 1779, and Christ Church was built in 1826 but destroyed during World War II
.
In 1686, Richard Frankland
set up a dissenting academy
at Attercliffe Hall. Three years later, it was taken over by the nonconformist minister Timothy Jollie
, who educated students including John Bowes
, Nicholas Saunderson
and Thomas Secker
. Secker, later Archbishop of Canterbury
, was frustrated by Jollie's poor teaching, famously remarking that he lost his knowledge of languages and that 'only the old Philosophy of the Schools was taught there: and that neither ably nor diligently. The morals also of many of the young Men were bad. I spent my time there idly & ill'.
In the early nineteenth century, Attercliffe remained a rural community known for its orchard
s, windmill
, and large houses including the Old Hall, New Hall and Carlton House. New Hall was later converted into pleasure gardens, with a cricket ground, racecourse, bowling green
, maze
, lake
and depictions of famous cities. It was known for its concerts and firework displays.
Small-scale manufacture of pen knife and pocket knife
developed in the early nineteenth century, The suburb became more accessible with the construction of first a turnpike
from Sheffield to the terminus of the River Don Navigation
at Tinsley
, then the opening of the Sheffield Canal
, running to the south of the village. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there was a frequent proposal to widen this to form a Sheffield Ship Canal, to terminate in a basin at Attercliffe.
Attercliffe railway station opened in August 1871 and closed on 26 September 1927.
Attercliffe has long been an industrial area, but by the early 20th century, there was also a large residential population and high-class shops, John Banners Department Store (Banners) in particular. The area declined post World War II
as Victorian housing was cleared which was not replaced, causing the local schools to close, followed by most of the local shops. While some of the local industries closed or moved to larger sites further out of Sheffield.
. It was built in 1920 by architect William C. Fenton. The cinema closed in 1967, and the building was then used as a bingo hall
under the name "Adelphi Bingo Club" and a nightclub
. It is currently disused.
population, and is known locally for its sex industry
, garnering a reputation as Sheffield's equivalent to Soho
.
Its location on the Sheffield Supertram
, the completion of the Five Weirs Walk
and construction of the Don Valley Stadium
and Sheffield Arena in the 1990s brought some life back to the area. As part of this regeneration, new house building started in 2002.
Ward. Sheffield Attercliffe has been the name of one of Sheffield's Parliamentary constituencies since 1885, but it is due to be renamed Sheffield South East for the next general election.
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
suburb of northeast Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on the south bank of the River Don.
History
The name Attercliffe can be traced back as far as an entry in the Domesday book -Ateclive- meaning at the cliffe, a small escarpment that lay alongside the River Don. This cliff can be seen in images from the nineteenth century, but is no longer visible.Westforth or Washford bridge, at the Sheffield end of the village was first recorded in a will of 1535. It was rebuilt in wood in 1608 and 1647, then in stone in 1672, 1789 and 1794.
Historically a part of the parish of Sheffield, Attercliffe Chapel
Attercliffe Chapel
Attercliffe Chapel, also known as the Hill Top Chapel, is a Gothic chapel in Attercliffe, now a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...
was built in 1629 as the first place of worship in the settlement. The Town School was built in 1779, and Christ Church was built in 1826 but destroyed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1686, Richard Frankland
Richard Frankland (tutor)
Richard Frankland was an English nonconformist, notable for founding the Rathmell Academy, a dissenting academy in the north of England.-Biography:...
set up a dissenting academy
Dissenting academies
The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....
at Attercliffe Hall. Three years later, it was taken over by the nonconformist minister Timothy Jollie
Timothy Jollie
Timothy Jollie, , was a nonconformist minister and notable educator in the north of England.-Biography:Timothy Jollie, son of Thomas Jollie, was born at Altham, Lancashire, about 1659. On 27 August 1673 he entered the dissenting academy of Richard Frankland at Rathmell, Yorkshire...
, who educated students including John Bowes
John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes
John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes PC was an Irish peer and politician.-Life:He was born in London, son of Thomas Bowes, a merchant, and was called to the Bar in 1712. He came to Ireland as a member of the staff of Richard West, the Lord Chancellor in 1723...
, Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson
Nicholas Saunderson was an English scientist and mathematician. According to one leading historian of statistics, he may have been the earliest discoverer of Bayes theorem.-Biography:...
and Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker
Thomas Secker , Archbishop of Canterbury, was born at Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire.-Early life and studies:In 1699, Secker went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield, staying with his half-sister and her husband, Elizabeth and Richard Milnes...
. Secker, later Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, was frustrated by Jollie's poor teaching, famously remarking that he lost his knowledge of languages and that 'only the old Philosophy of the Schools was taught there: and that neither ably nor diligently. The morals also of many of the young Men were bad. I spent my time there idly & ill'.
In the early nineteenth century, Attercliffe remained a rural community known for its orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s, windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
, and large houses including the Old Hall, New Hall and Carlton House. New Hall was later converted into pleasure gardens, with a cricket ground, racecourse, bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
, maze
Maze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...
, lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
and depictions of famous cities. It was known for its concerts and firework displays.
Small-scale manufacture of pen knife and pocket knife
Pocket knife
A pocket knife is a folding knife with one or more blades that fit inside the handle that can still fit in a pocket. It is also known as a jackknife or jack-knife...
developed in the early nineteenth century, The suburb became more accessible with the construction of first a turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
from Sheffield to the terminus of the River Don Navigation
River Don Navigation
The River Don Navigation was the result of early efforts to make the River Don in South Yorkshire, England, navigable between Fishlake and Sheffield...
at Tinsley
Tinsley
-People:*Beatrice Tinsley – New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist**The Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize – awarded by the American Astronomical Society*Boyd Tinsley -People:*Beatrice Tinsley (January 27, 1941 – March 23, 1981) – New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist**The Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize –...
, then the opening of the Sheffield Canal
Sheffield Canal
The Sheffield Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin in the city centre, passing through 11 locks.- Early history :...
, running to the south of the village. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there was a frequent proposal to widen this to form a Sheffield Ship Canal, to terminate in a basin at Attercliffe.
Attercliffe railway station opened in August 1871 and closed on 26 September 1927.
Attercliffe has long been an industrial area, but by the early 20th century, there was also a large residential population and high-class shops, John Banners Department Store (Banners) in particular. The area declined post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as Victorian housing was cleared which was not replaced, causing the local schools to close, followed by most of the local shops. While some of the local industries closed or moved to larger sites further out of Sheffield.
Adelphi Cinema
The Adelphi was a cinema on Vicarage Lane in Attercliffe, SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. It was built in 1920 by architect William C. Fenton. The cinema closed in 1967, and the building was then used as a bingo hall
Bingo (Non-US)
Bingo or housey-housey or housie is a gambling game that began in Italy in the 1500s. The game is believed to have migrated to France, Great Britain, and other parts of Europe in the 1700s...
under the name "Adelphi Bingo Club" and a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
. It is currently disused.
Attractions
The area became a centre for Sheffield's LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
population, and is known locally for its sex industry
Sex industry
The sex industry consists of businesses which either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment...
, garnering a reputation as Sheffield's equivalent to Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
.
Its location on the Sheffield Supertram
Sheffield Supertram
The Supertram, officially called the Stagecoach Supertram, is a light rail tram system in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...
, the completion of the Five Weirs Walk
Five Weirs Walk
The 8 km long Five Weirs Walk runs alongside the River Don in Sheffield, England. From Lady's Bridge in Sheffield City Centre, it heads downstream, northeast, over the Cobweb Bridge, through Attercliffe to Meadowhall....
and construction of the Don Valley Stadium
Don Valley Stadium
The Don Valley Stadium is a stadium in Sheffield, England and is the home of Rotherham United F.C.. The stadium is an athletics stadium which has hosted major UK Athletic events and the 1991 World Student Games. Sheffield Eagles RLFC and Parramore Sports FC also use the stadium. It was designed by...
and Sheffield Arena in the 1990s brought some life back to the area. As part of this regeneration, new house building started in 2002.
Politics
Attercliffe falls within the DarnallDarnall
Darnall ward—which includes the districts of Attercliffe, Carbrook, Darnall, Tinsley, and parts of Handsworth—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the eastern part of the city and covers an area of 17.4 km2. The...
Ward. Sheffield Attercliffe has been the name of one of Sheffield's Parliamentary constituencies since 1885, but it is due to be renamed Sheffield South East for the next general election.