Totley History Group
Newspaper Archive: 1840s
Saturday 20th June 1840 Sheffield Independent (page 3)
Cricket
On Tuesday week, a match of cricket was played in Chatsworth Park, between eleven of the Baslow club and eleven of the Totley, and was won by the latter with eight
wickets to go down. There was a large concourse of persons to witness the play. A band of music was in attendance and enlivened the players with some fine tunes. A large party commenced dancing,
which continued until twilight put an end to their diversions.
Saturday 11th July 1840 Derbyshire Courier, Chesterfield Gazette and General County Advertiser
Cricket
The return match, between 11 of the Baslow Club and 11 of the Totley Club, was played at Totley on Monday and Tuesday last, but a dispute arose which prevented the match
being concluded. Baslow had two wickets to go down and seven notches to get, when Totley objected to a run the umpire gave their opponents, and Totley would not go in again without a man going out.
The point was left to be settled by Bell's Life. The state of the game is as follows:
1st Innings. Baslow. 2nd Innings.
J. Woodruff, b by Bunting....... 0 - not out............. 0
G. Alsop, st by Watson........... 4 - b by Wragg........ 2
T. Alsop, c by Wragg............... 4 - b by do............. 5
W. Hallam, not out............... 44 - b by Watson.... 11
J. Brown, b by Bunting........... 1 - b by Wragg...... 11
J. Hernshaw, c by Ward........ 18 - b by do.............. 5
W. Brown, c by W. Marshall..... 0 - b by do............. 3
J. Bettany, b by Bunting......... 0 - b by Watson...... 0
J. Stroyer, st by Watson......... 1 - to go in.............. 0
H. Singleton, c by Wragg........ 7 - b by Wragg........ 0
T. Booth, b by Marshall......... 15 - not out............. 6
Wide balls............................ 2
Total.................................... 96 - ...................... 43
1st innings. Totley. 2nd Innings.
J. Wragg, c by Woodruff....... ...11 - c by T. Booth... 0
H. Watson, b by Alsop......... ...13 - st by Bettony. 16
J. Baxby, leg before wicket........ 1 - by by Alsop..... 0
W. Marshall, by by Singleton..... 0 - b by Singleton. 0
J. Bunting, b by Alsop............. 14 - b by do........... 7
G. Dalton, b by do.................... 2 - b by do........... 1
T. Fearnehough, c by Woodruff 14 - b by do.......... 4
Z. White, st by W. Brown........ 13 - not out.......... 7
J. Marshall, not out.................. 3 - c ny Brown..... 5
W. Parkin, b by Singleton........ 12 - c by do.......... 7
G. Ward, c by Alsop.................. 0 - c by Booth..... 3
Byes and wide balls.................. 9 - Byes.............. 2
Total...................................... 92 - ................... 55
[Totley seconds innings adds to 52 not 55; Baslow have scored 139 versus Totley 147 or 144; neither case accords with 7 to win]
Wednesday 22nd July 1840 Derby Mercury (page 3)
The Baslow Cricket Match.
The decision of "Bell's Life" relative to the dispute between Baslow and Totley last week, is as follows:- "The Totley players ought not to have disputed the decision of
the umpire, and they lose the match by taking their departure." Totley, the umpire at the wicket to which the player was making, must decide the point.
Saturday 12th September 1840, The Derbyshire Courier & Chesterfield Gazette
Totley Inclosure
We, George Clark, of Barnby Moor, in the county of Nottingham, and John Wright, of Romeley, in the county of Derby, Gentlemen, the Commissioners named and appointed in
and by an Act of Parliament lately made and passed intituled, "An Act for Inclosing Lands in the Manor and Township of Totley, in the Parish of Dronfield, in the County of Derby,"
Do Hereby Give Notice,
That we have set out and appointed the following public carriage and drift roads and highways, public bridle and footways, private carriage and drift roads, as we have judged necessary, and in such
directions as appear to us to be most commodious, through and over the lands and grounds intended to be divided, allotted and inclosed, viz.-
Public Carriage and Drift Roads.
"Sheffield and Bakewell Turnpike Road,"
One public carriage and drift road, of the width of 40 feet, called "Sheffield and Bakewell Turnpike-road," commencing at the township of Holmesfield, and proceeding in a north-eastwardly direction
over the Moor to the north-east corner of an ancient inclosure belonging to Geo. Greaves, Esq., called the Bank; and from the east end of an ancient inclosure belonging to Thos. Bunting, called the
Barn Croft, in an eastwardly direction over the town-street of Totley, to the north-east corner of an ancient inclosure belonging to Geo. Greaves, Esq., called Croft; and from the south-east corner
of an ancient inclosure belonging to Offley Shore, Esq., called New Close, in the same direction along the present line of the said turnpike-road, and terminating at the south-west corner of an
ancient inclosure belonging to Geo. Greaves, Esq., called Lime Kiln Close.
"Dore Road."
And one other public carriage and drift road of the width of 30 feet, called "Dore Road," commencing at the Sheffield and Bakewell turnpike-road, and proceeding in a northwardly, north-westwardly,
and north-eastwardly direction over the town-street of Totley, and along Dore-lane (so far as the same passes over the lands and grounds intended to be divided, allotted and inclosed), and
terminating at the Brook, near the south corner of an ancient inclosure belonging to John Gray Waterfall and Henry Waterfall, called Dam Field.
Public Footways
"Bents Footway."
One public footway of the width of six feet, called "Bents Footway," commencing at the Dore-road, and proceeding in a northwardly, north-westwardly and westwardly direction over allotments intended
to be awarded to the Right Honble. Digby Lord Middleton, Charles Brookfield and William Dalton, and terminating at Strawberry Lee-road.
"Door Moor Footway."
One other public footway of the width of four feet, called "Door Moor Footway," commencing at the south-end of a lane leading from Hall Field, and proceeding in a southwardly direction over an
allotment intended to be awarded to John Gray Waterfall and Henry Waterfall, and terminating at Strawberry Lee-road.
"Moorwood Footway"
One other public footway of the width of four feet, called "Moorwood Footway," commencing at an ancient stile in the boundary fence between Holmesfield and Totley townships, and proceeding in a
northwardly direction over an allotment on Broad Car, intended to be awarded to D'Ewes Coke, Esq., and terminating at the Sheffield and Bakewell turnpike-road, nearly at the north-east corner of the
said allotment.
"Holmesfield Footway."
And one other public footway of the width of four feet, called "Holmesfield Footway," commencing at Totley Hall road and proceeding in a westwardly direction over an allotment, on Stock's Green,
intended to be awarded to the Right Honble. Digby Lord Middleton, and terminating at an ancient stile leading into an ancient inclosure belonging to George Greaves, Esq., called Green
Flat.
Public Bridle Roads and Footways, and Private Carriage and Drift Roads.
"Moss Road."
One public bridle-road and footway, and private carriage and drift road, of the width of 24 feet, called "Moss Road," commencing at the Sheffield and Bakewell turnpike-road, and proceeding in a
north-westwardly direction over and ancient inclosure belonging to the Right Honble. Digby Lord Middleton, called Lane Head, thence in the same direction, over Under Leenly and Monny Brooks to the
south end of an ancient lane called Monny Brooks Lane; thence in a northwardly direction along the said lane to the south end of Bents Road; thence in a north-westwardly, westwardly, north-westwardly
and south-westwardly direction over Bents, Storgrave, Millstone Car and Bolehill, to an allotment intended to be awarded to the Surveyors of Highways, thence in a south-westwardly and westwardly
direction over the said allotment, and of two other allotments on the moor intended to be awarded to Geo. Greaves, Esq., and D'Ewes Coke, Esq., and terminating at the Wooden Pole Road, in the
township of Hathersage, near the south end of a road leading to Fox House.
"Deep Hollow Road."
One other public bridle-road and footway, and private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 24 feet, called "Deep Hollow Road," commencing at the Moss road, and proceeding in a north-eastwardly
direction over the Moor, and terminating at Strawberry Lee-road.
"Strawberry Lee Road."
One other public bridle-road and footway, and private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 24 feet, called "Strawberry Lee Road," commencing at Dore road, and proceeding in a westwardly,
south-westwardly, north-westwardly and northwardly direction along Well Bents-lane and over Well Bents, Bents, Taylor-hill, Deep Hollow and Under Bolehill to, and terminating at Lee Dike; which said
road is set out by us as a public bridle-road and footway only so far as the same extends from Dore-road to Deep Hollow-road.
"Totley Hall Road."
One other public bridle-road and footway, and private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 21 feet, called "Totley Hall Road," commencing at the Sheffield and Bakewell turnpike-road, and
proceeding in a southwardly direction over Stocks Green, and terminating at the north end of an ancient lane leading to Totley Hall.
"Bents Road."
And one other public bridle-road and footway, and private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 18 feet, called "Bents Road," commencing at the Moss road, and proceeding in a northwardly direction
over Well Bents, and terminating at Strawberry Lee-road.
Private Carriage and Drift Roads.
"Green's Road."
One private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 20 feet, called "Green's Road," commencing at Dore road, and proceeding in a northwardly, north-eastwardly and eastwardly direction over Dore Lane
Common, and terminating at the west end of a lane belonging to Offley Shore, Esq., which said road is set out by us as a public footway, and private carriage and drift-road.
"Strawberry Lee Road."
One other private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 18 feet, called "Strawberry Lee Road," commencing at the Lee Dike, and proceeding in a westwardly, southwardly and south-westwardly
direction over an allotment on the Moor, intended to be awarded to Offley Shore, Esq., and terminating at the gate leading into an ancient inclosure belonging to the trustees of the late Peter Pegge
Burnell, Esq., called Nether Croft; which road we have set out for the use of the said trustees, or owners, or occupiers of the Strawberry Lee Farm for the time being.
"Hollins Hill Quarry Road."
One other private carriage and drift road, of the width of 12 feet, called "Hollins Hill Quarry Road," commencing at the Sheffield and Bakewell turnpike-road, and proceeding in a north-westwardly and
westwardly direction over an allotment, on the Moor, intended to be awarded to George Greaves, Esq., and termination at an allotment, on Hollins-hill, intended to be awarded to the surveyors of
highways; which road we have set out for the use of the said surveyors, and of the owners and occupiers of the township of Totley for the time being, in leading stone or other materials from the said
allotment.
"Ogden's Road."
One other private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 12 feet, called "Ogden's Road," commencing at the Dore-road, and proceeding in a westwardly direction over the town-street of Totley, and
terminating at the east end of an ancient lane called Ogden-lane.
"Wilde's Road."
And one other private carriage and drift-road, of the width of 12 feet, called "Wilde's Road," commencing at Totley Hall-road, and proceeding in an eastwardly direction over an allotment, on Stocks
Green, intended to be awarded to the Right Honble. Digby Lord Middleton, and terminating at an ancient inclosure belonging to the said Lord Middleton, called Yard; which road we have set out for the
sole use of Joseph Wilde, or the owner or occupier for the time being.
And We Further Give Notice, that we have ascertained the above described roads and ways by marks and bounds, and have prepared and signed a map, in which such intended roads are accurately laid down and described; and we have caused the same to be deposited with Mr Henry Waterfall, our Clerk, at his Offices, in Sheffield, for the inspection of all persons concerned.
And we do hereby also Give Further Notice, that we have appointed a Meeting to be held at the house of Mr. Geo. Helliwell, the Door Moor Inn, in the parish of
Dronfield, on Wednesday, the Seventh day of October, 1840, at Eleven o'clock n the forenoon, at which meeting any person or persons who may be injured or aggrieved by the setting out of such roads
are required to attend and state such their objections, in order that the said roads may finally be determined upon. Dated this 14th day of August, 1840.
Geo. Clark.
Jno. Wright.
Monday 12th October 1840 Birmingham Gazette (page 3)
LOT 1
A substantial and convenient dwelling house with Barn Stables Cowhouses Orchard, Garden and Croft adjoining thereto containing:
Broad Storth 0A. 3R. 22P.
Stubling 3A. 1R. 30P.
Short Lands 3A. 2R. 33P.
Long Lands 3A. 0R. 6P.
LOT 2
Far Storth and
Lane 5A. 0R. 0P.
The above lots are now in the occupation of Widow Ratcliffe. The respective tenants will show the premises and all further particulars may be had at the offices of
Messrs Brookfield & Gould, Solicitors, Sheffield.
10th April 1841 Sheffield and Rotherham Independent (page 7)
Pound Breach. - Job Green, of Totley, was charged by John Barton, of that place, with a pound breach. It was proved that the defendant's sheep
had frequently trespassed on the complainant's turnips, and that he had impounded them. Barton made a demand of 8s. for damage done to his turnips, which Green refused to pay; but on the following
night the sheep were by some means liberated from the pound. Green was ordered to pay 8s. for damages and 9s. for costs.
Saturday 20th November 1841 Sheffield Independent (page 8)
Poor House Libraries.
Every effort to soften the rigours of poverty is praiseworthy and for the sake of example ought to be widely published. It gives us pleasure to hear that through the
instrumentality of D'Ewes Coke Esq. of Totley Hall a resolution has recently passed by the Board of Guardians of Ecclesall Union that independent of the usual supply of devotional books, popular and
instructive periodicals to the value of £2 annually shall be taken for the use of the poor inmates in the house in addition to which Mr. D. Coke himself will contribute liberally and use his
influence with others to do the same to provide a permanent library of standard work.
Saturday 23rd April 1842 Derbyshire Courier and Chesterfield Gazette (page 1)
Totley Inclosure
We, George Clark, of Barnby Moor, in the county of Nottingham, Gentleman, and John Wright, of Romeley, in the county of Derby, Gentleman, the Commissioners named and
appointed in and by an Act of Parliament made and passed in the second year of the reign of her Majesty Queen Victoria, intituled "An Act for Inclosing Lands in the Manor and Township of Totley, in
the parish of Dronfield, in the county of Derby," Hereby give Notice, That we shall hold a Special General Meeting on Friday, the sixth day of May next, at the house of Mr. Thomas Fisher, known by
the name or sign of the "Cross Scythes," in Totley aforesaid, for the purpose of reading over and executing our award; when and where the Proprietors and other persons interested therein may attend
if they think proper. Dated this ninth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
Geo. Clark,
Jno. Wright.
Saturday 11th February 1843 Sheffield Independent (page 5)
Abraham Elliott of Totley was charged by Martha Staley with taking 3 loads of night soil which they valued at 5s per load. They had charged him 15s for it which he refused to pay. They now charged him with felony. The defendant said that during a year and a half he had had 11 loads of manure, belonging to 6 of his tenants, and produced a bill, in which it was charged 4s 6d. He had paid that amount to one of his tenants. Mr. Bagshawe said that the charge of felony was preposterous and recommended the defendant to make a proper agreement with his tenants. He was ordered to pay 5s for the soil and 8s costs.
Saturday 11th February 1843 Sheffield Independent (page 5)
Isaac Makinson grinder of Totley was charged by Thomas Green with refusing £1 19s 3d for board and lodgings during the time he was in his service as an apprentice. The defendant disputed the amount and stated that according to agreement the complainant owed him 24 weeks service for loss of time during his apprenticeship. He also charged the complainant with taking his bands, but he denied any knowledge of it. The defendant admitted owing him £1 8s 0d and 5s which he was ordered to pay along with the costs. The complainant promised to serve him if he would pay him his wages regularly every week. The defendant said that he would pay him monthly according to agreement.
Saturday 5th August 1843 The York Herald (page 6)
Varieties. - In a brook , near Totley, has recently been found a circular flint shell, about half an inch in thickness, containing within its
centre, a petrified peach or plum stone, nearly perfect in shape. but partly eaten away by time, previous to its flinty incrustation.
Saturday 12th August 1843 Sheffield and Rotherham Independent (page 5)
Justice Room, Hemsworth. Thursday August 10. - Before Henry Bowden, Esq.
Joseph Dalton, of Totley, was charged by John Barton, of the same place, with a wilful and malicious trespass, by allowing his sheep to destroy the complainant's crops. It was complained that Dalton's sheep are complete outlaws, and the best of fences are no protection against their encroachments. - Defendant was convicted in 26s. penalty, including costs.
Henry Dalton, of Totley, late occupier of a fire-brick yard, was charged by the overseers of the poor of that place, with refusing to pay the sum of 15s. 6d. for rates. Dalton had been before the Bench previously, and had stated that he could produce a receipt for the money; this, however, he failed to do, and a warrant of distress was granted for the sum, and all the costs.
Thomas Needham of Totley, brick maker, was charged by Thos Martin of the same place, scythe smith, with having on the morning of the 31st July, entered his garden, and stolen therefrom a quantity of vegetables, and Henry Hammond, of the same place, with having aided and assisted in stealing the same. The parties did not appear, but the case was clearly proved, and they were convicted in five pounds penalty each, and 22s. for costs; and in default of these sums being immediately paid, commitments were made out to the House of Correction in Derby for three months each to hard labour.
Saturday 19 October 1844 Sheffield Independent (page 4) [Extract]
Sales by Bardwell and Sons.
Freehold and Leasehold Dwelling-Houses, Retail Shops, Grinding Wheel, Manufactories, Land, And other Valuable Property, in the Parish of Sheffield, and at Skyers Moor, near Barnsley.
...
To be Sold by Auction, By Messrs T.N. Bardwell & Sons, At their Auction Mart, High-street, Sheffield, On Wednesday, the Twentieth day of November, 1844 at Three o'Clock in the Afternoon, free
from duty, and subject to conditions to be then produced, the undermentioned valuable Estates, in the following, or such other Lots, as may be agreed upon at the time of sale, viz:-
In Sheffield
...
Broad Lane
LOT 4. -The Freehold Messuage or Dwelling House, formerly occupied by Mr. Samuel Hill, Clock Maker, and for many years afterwards by Mr. Wm. Lister, situate on the north side of, and
fronting to, Broad-lane, near Red-hill, in Sheffield, together with a Counting House, and extensive Warehouses and Workshops, well fitted up with Fixtures, Stable, and Conveniences, and an entire
Yard, comprising in the whole 414 superficial square yards or thereabouts.
Monday 30th June 1845 Aris's Birmingham Gazette
The Valuable Freehold Water Works known as Totley Rolling Mill.
(Within five miles of Sheffield, and approached by an excellent road)
Houses, Workshops, Wood and Land, also an allotment of Common Land, on Totley Moor.
To be Sold by Auction, by order of the Mortgagees, under a power of Sale, by T. N. Bardwell and Sons, at their Rooms in Sheffield, on Tuesday the 8th day of July 1845, at five o'clock in the afternoon, subject to conditions of sale. -
LOT I - All those valuable Freehold Water Works, with the Dams, Goights, Head, and Fall of Water, Workmen's Houses, Stable, Outbuildings, and other Erections, known as Totley Rolling Mill, and lately occupied by Mr. John Dyson. The Works comprise four Scythe-grinder's Troughs, and Furnaces for the Smelting of Lead Ore; the Dams are bountifully supplied the the Totley Brooks, and have a head and fall of eighteen feet, working a sixteen-feet Water Wheel. the site of this lot, including the dams, is 7A. 0R. 20P. The Property adjoins the excellent Turnpike Road leading from Sheffield to Bakewell. The Dams, Mills, and Goights have been within the last seven years materially improved.
LOT II. - Two Allotments on Totley Common, the one containing 10A. 0R. 37P. and the other 2R. 32P., adjoining the lands of his Grace the Duke of
Rutland.
For further particulars application is requested to be made at the offices of the Auctioneers, in Sheffield; or of Messrs. Cursham and Campbell. Solicitors, Nottingham.
.
Thursday 29th October 1846 Stirling Observer (page 2)
Preservation of Humane Life.
A circumstance which shows the amount of suffering of which the humane frame is capable has just occurred on the Derbyshire Moors, and within a few miles of Sheffield.
An aged man named John Barton and who resides at Holmesfield Lidgate near Owler Bar on the Totley Moors left his house about noon on Friday week on a visit to his daughters who lived on a lonely
track of moorland near Baslow. His daughters' residence however he did not reach nor did he return home, which to a suspicion that something had befallen him, and a party of his neighbours and
friends instituted a 31st August rigid search in every direction, nothing could be of him till he was found lying under the shelter of a stone wall, and although insensible was alive after being
exposed to the inclemency of the night air and without food of any kind for nearly 8 hours. He supposes that he had fallen into a fit beneath the wall. He is recovering.
Wages Case. - Edward Newbould, of Totley, was summoned by Joseph Biggin, farm labourer, of Norton, for arrears of wages, amounting to 16s... The complainant stated that he entered into the defendant's employ on the 27th February, 1846, and continued with him seven weeks, for which he was to receive 3s. per week; he received 3s. for the first week, but had received nothing since...The defendant denied the debt; he said that he had engaged the complainant from the 27th February to Martinmas. The first week he paid him 3s., and afterwards agreed to pay the complainant at the rate of £8 per annum; that the agreement specified that there should be a month's wages or warning on either side. The defendant had left him at the beginning of April, when he had most need of his services, without giving the necessary notice, by which conduct he had been put to much inconvenience and expense. - The case was dismissed, in consequence of the length of time that had elapsed since the wages had become due. The complainant, instead of having to receive, had to pay 6s. costs.
Survey and Valuation of the Township of Totley in the County of Derby.
The guardians of the Poor of the Ecclesall Bierlow Union will be ready on Wednesday next, the 10th January 1849, to receive Tenders for the survey and valuation of the Township of Totley in the County of Derby in accordance with the 6th and 7th of Wm. the 4th commonly called the Parochial Assessment Act. The Township contains about 1800 Statute Acres, 600 of which are old enclosures and 1200 recently enclosed common land. Tenders to be sent in to the Clerk of the Union before 11 o'clock on Wednesday, the 10th January next 1849, and any information will be given on application to the Overseers of the Poor of Totley, Mr. Baxby of Totley, or the Union Clerk. By Order of the Board, William Firth, Union Clerk. Ecclesall Bierlow Union Office, 27th December 1848.
Fraudulently Claiming Exemption From Toll. - John Hogg, labourer, of Totley, was charged with fraudulently claiming exemption from toll. It appeared, from the evidence of James Newbould, toll collector at the Green Oak Bar, on the Owler road, that on the 7th inst. the defendant passed through the toll-bar with a horse and cart. On claiming the toll, he represented that he was employed in repairing the roads in the parish of Dronfield, and pointed to a few barrowfuls of gannister which were in his cart, in confirmation of his statement. As the vehicles employed in this work are free from toll, the collector, though he disbelieved the defendant's statement, allowed him to pass through. Subsequently, enquiries had been set on foot, which showed that on the day in question, after passing through the bar, he had been employed the remainder of the day at Coal Aston, in leading wood, and that the carrying stones was only a ruse to obtain a free passage through the bar. It appeared that he had frequently played the same game with complete success.... The Magistrates were of opinion that the defendant had committed a fraud on the toll-bar, and inflicted a penalty of 20s., including costs. If the offence were repeated, it would be visited with a much more severe penalty.
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Unless stated otherwise our meetings are held in Totley Library on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm.
Pauline Burnett's book The Rise of Totley Rise has been revised and updated. It tells the story of this small piece of land from 1875 when there was only a rolling mill and chemical yard alongside the river a mile from Totley, through Victorian and Edwardian times, two world wars and up to the present day. It has 94 pages including a useful index and many illustrations from private collections. The book is available now from Totley Rise Post Office priced at £5, or through our website when an additional charge will be made to cover packing and postage.
A few copies are still available of Sally Goldsmith's book Thirteen Acres: John Ruskin and the Totley Communists. Totley was the site of a utopian scheme funded by art critic and social reformer John Ruskin. In 1877 he bought 13-acre St. George’s Farm so that nine Sheffield working men and their families could work the land and, to keep themselves busy, make boots and shoes. Sally tells an engaging story from our history with a quirky cast of characters including Ruskin himself, the poet and gay rights activist Edward Carpenter and Henry Swan, a cycling, vegetarian artist and Quaker. The book is available to order online from the The Guild of St. George by following this link.
A recently discovered box of WWII correspondence reveals the story of how a small group of ladies from Dore and Totley recruited knitters from the west of Sheffield and how their efforts made them the country's greatest provider of Comforts for the Minesweeping crews of the Royal Navy. The story is told in Knit For Victory, a new book from Totley History Group. Written by Pauline Burnett, it has 82 pages and many illustrations. It is on sale in local shops and via our website. Further information about the correspondence is in this inside page of our website: Dore & Totley Minesweeping Trawlers Comforts Fund.
The story is told in Totley War Memorial WW1 of the ten men from our village who gave their lives in the Great War. Written by Pauline Burnett, Jim Martin and Dorothy Prosser, a chapter is devoted to each of the soldiers with a family tree followed by as much information as could be discovered about the men and their families. There is also information about their military careers and the actions in which they lost their lives. The book has 64 pages and is illustrated throughout with photographs of the men, their families and the houses where they lived.
Totley All Saints' Church Parish Magazines for the years 1985-2006 with notices of baptisms, marriages and funerals and accounts of spiritual, educational, charitable and social matters in the village. Scanned in full, including advertisements from local traders.
In 1893 during the building of the Totley Tunnel there was an outbreak of smallpox amongst the navvies which spread to some of the local population. 17 people were buried in communal graves in Dore Churchyard, 6 from "Green Oak" (Lemont Road). The severity of the outbreak was principally caused by overcrowding and insanitary conditions in lodging houses .
Kathleen Grayson was a 39 year old housewife when WW2 broke out. She volunteered for the ARP and became an ambulance driver. During an air raid on Sheffield in July 1941, and despite her own injuries, she managed to get a seriously injured casualty to hospital. For this she was awarded a commendation from King George VI. Together with her friend Hilda Duffy, Kathleen also assembled a team of knitters to provide essential warm clothing for the men serving on the minesweepers patrolling the North Sea.
We have recently bought at auction the WW2 memorabilia of Douglas Platts whose family home was at Hillside, 98 Queen Victoria Road. After the war Douglas returned to his civilian occupation working in the family scissors manufacturing business. He lived in our area for the rest of his life.
We are very grateful to Mrs Valerie Taylor of Dore for lending us the title deeds to Lower Bents Farmhouse which is reputed to be the oldest surviving building in the area with a proven history back to 1621. We have now scanned and transcribed the deeds which could be particularly interesting to anyone with a connection to the local Fisher, Dalton and Marshall Families.
Until 1844, when Dore Christ Church parish was created, Totley township was part of Dronfield parish. We have now transcribed the burial records for former Totley residents at St. John the Baptist, Dronfield for the period 1678-1870 and at St. Swithin, Holmesfield for the period 1766-1901.
Whilst researching the history of the Dalton Family we found it useful to transcribe a number of early Wills and Inventories. These and those of many other Totley, Dore and Holmesfield people dating from between 1594 and 1856 have now been added to our website.
St. Swithin's Church, Holmesfield pre-dates Dore Christ Church and was the place where many of the people from Totley worshipped and were baptised, married and buried. Read the inscriptions on more than 750 gravestones in the churchyard including those of Mr. and Mrs. William Aldam Milner of Totley Hall, Jessie Matilda Tyzack (nee Fisher) of Avenue Farm, and Rev. J. A. Kerfoot of St. John's, Abbeydale.
Thomas Youdan was a music hall proprietor and benefactor who was living at Grove House, Totley in 1867 when he sponsored the first football knockout competition in the world for The Youdan Cup.
The words Millhouses Cricket Club can be seen in the background of team photos which are likely to date from between 1905 and the early 1920s, very probably pre-war. They were lent to us by Garth Inman who can identify his great uncle, Cecil Inman, in some of the photos and would like to know when they were taken and, if possible, the names of others present. Please take a look to see whether you can put names to any of the faces.
Josiah Hibberd was seriously injured whilst working on the construction of the Totley Tunnel in 1892. He died on 9 May 1897 at the age of 38 having apparently spent most of previous five years in hospital.
Bradway House was built around 1832 by Henry Greaves, a farmer, together with two adjacent cottages. We have traced most of the occupants of the property from these early days up to the start of World War Two.
We have transcribed the baptisms records at St. John the Evangelist, Abbeydale from when the church was consecrated in 1876 until just after the start of World War 1. The records are arranged in alphabetical order based upon the child's name and show the date of baptism, the names of the parents, their home location and occupation.
Nick Kuhn bought an original 1920s poster which had this owners' blind stamp in one corner. The stamp almost certainly refers to a house named Wigmore that was built in the late 1920s or early 1930s. The first occupiers that we can trace are John Howarth Caine, a district mineral agent for the LNER, his wife Florence Jane (nee Prince) and daughter Doris Mary. The Caine family lived at Wigmore until 1936 by which time the house would have been known simply as 12 The Quandrant.
George Griffiths died on 13 December 1888 following an explosion during the sinking of number 3 airshaft at Totley Bents. His widow Florence died shortly afterwards and his two daughters Maud and Annie were adopted separately. Whilst Annie lived the rest of her life in Yorkshire, Maud emigrated to Australia in 1923 with her husband, John Burrows, daughter Margaret and son Jack, pictured above.
George Wainwright was said to have been born in Bamford, Derbyshire in 1714. He learned the trade of linen weaving and moved to Totley after his marriage on 1744. He became an ardent follower of John Wesley who paid many visits to Sheffield and who would have passed through or close to Totley. Preaching was at first conducted out of doors and when Wesley's preachers became harassed by a mob of Totley ruffians in 1760, George offered them safety of his own home. He remained a Methodist for all of his long life, dying in Dore in 1821 at the reputed age of 107.
Oakwood School was started by Mrs Phoebe Holroyd in 1925 initially as the Firth Park Kindergarten and, by 1927, as the Firth Park Preparatory School. Phoebe was still working at the school almost fifty years later when she was well into her seventies. We would like to hear from anyone with memories of the school.
James Curtis was born at sea aboard HMS Chichester in 1790. He enlisted as a Private in the 1st Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards in Sheffield in 1812 and served in Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular War. He later fought in France and Belgium taking part in the Battle of Waterloo. In later life James lived at the Cricket Inn where his son-in-law William Anthony was the licensed victualler. He died in Heeley in 1882 aged about 91.
Charles Paul lived in Totley in later life. He was a local historian and archaeologist who was an authority on the history of Sheffield, especially the two areas he knew best: Attercliffe and Ecclesall. His books and letters to local newspapers were published under the Latin form of his name Carolus Paulus.
Towards the end of the 19th century Totley Hall gardens became a well known beauty spot that attracted many hundreds of visitors from Sheffield on open days and the rock gardens became one of its most popular features. Mrs Annie Charlesworth sent us six glass transparencies of the rock gardens taken, we believe, in the early years following the Great War.
Anton Rodgers send us photographs of three water-colours that had been bought by his grandfather at a sale of the contents of Abbeydale Hall in 1919. One was of a scene said to be in York by A. Wilson. A second was of a seated child with a dog believed to be pianted by Juliana Russell (1841-1898). The third was of Lake Como, by Ainslie Hodson Bean (1851-1918) who lived for much of his life on the Riviera and in North Italy.
A Canadian correspondent sent us photographs of a set of silver spoons that were bought in a small town in British Columbia. The case contained a note signed by Ebenezer Hall indicating that they were a wedding gift to Maurice and Fanny Housley. We think we may have traced how they got to Canada and where they might have been since.
Green Oak Park was opened on 23 March 1929 on land that had been bought by Norton District Council from John Thomas Carr, a farmer and smallholder of Mona Villas. In later years, the buildings were used by the Bowling Club (the green having been built in 1956) and by the park keeper. However, the buildings appear to have been constructed in several phases, the oldest of which predates the park to the time when the land was used for pasture.
We believe the old Totley Police Station at 331 Baslow Road was built around 1882. Two lock-up cells were excavated just below floor level in the summer of 1890. We have traced the Derbyshire Constabulary police officers who lived there from John Burford in 1886 to George Thomas Wood who was there when Totley was absorbed into Sheffield in 1934.
David Stanley lived in Totley Rise in the later years of his life. Born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, he joined the 17th Lancers when he was 19 and rode in the Charge of The Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava where he was seriously wounded. For the first reunion of veterans in 1875, he told his story to a reporter from the Buxton Herald.
This picture postcard was addressed to Miss Abell, Holly Dene, Totley Brook Road and posted in Rotherham on 10 December 1907. Edith Annie Abell was born on 4 February 1887 in Sheffield and her family came to live in our area in the 1900s, staying for the rest of their lives.
Charles Herbert Nunn enlisted in the British Army on 23 August 1915 and was sent to France on 18 December 1915 to served with the British Expeditionary Force. In March 1916 it was discovered that he was underage and he was returned home. Shortly after his 18th birthday he re-enlisted and was again posted abroad where, in addition to this trio of medals, he was awarded the Military Medal.
This certificate was awarded jointly by the Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance to Isaac Henry Williams, of Lemont Road, for his services during WW1 as a stretcher bearer. We are seeking anyone who can help us pass it on to a living relative.
In 1832 Samuel Dean pleaded guilty to stealing a quantity of lead from the Totley Rolling Mill and was sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. He sailed on the Mangles and upon arrival in New South Wales he was sent to work for William Cox, the famous English explorer and pioneer. After receiving his Certificate of Freedom in 1840, Samuel became a farmer and went on to have a very large family. Samuel was born in Whitechapel around 1811 to parents Samuel Dean Snr. and Susannah Duck. His descendant Sarah Dean would like help in tracing his ancestry.
Ellen Topham was born in 1889 in Nottingham. Her parents had been living together since 1862 but had never married so it was most unusual that, after their deaths, Ellen was accepted into Cherrytree Orphanage. Even more so since her father, Snowden Topham, had been acquitted somewhat unexpectedly in a widely reported manslaughter trial. Ellen remained at Cherrytree until her death from pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 15.
Mabel Wilkes was a resident in Cherrytree Orphanage between 1897 and 1905. Her granddaughter Sally Knights sent us these images of a book presented to Mabel as a prize for her writing. Sally also sent us some personal memories of her grandmother and a photograph of a locket which contains portraits of Mabel and her husband Septimus Gale.
John Henry Manby Keighley was living at Avenue Farm when he enlisted in 1916. He fought in France with the Cheshire Regiment but after home leave in early 1918 he went missing. The Army were unable to determine whether he had deserted or returned to the front and been either killed or captured by the enemy. In August 1919 he was formally presumed killed in action but it appears he did not die but returned home to his family.
Horace Ford was admitted to Cherrytree Orphanage on 26 October 1888 at the age of six. He left at the age of 14 to become an apprentice blacksmith and farrier. Soon after his 18th birthday Horace enlisted in the Imperial Yeomanry to serve his country in the war in South Africa. His letter home to his Orphanage mentor tells of the lucky escape he had in battle.
Pat Skidmore (née Sampy) lived on Totley Brook Road from 1932 to 1948 before her family moved to Main Avenue. In this short article she remembers her time at Totley All Saints School where she was a contemporary of Eric Renshaw and Bob Carr.
As we have nowhere to exhibit memorabilia and artifacts, we have created a Virtual Museum instead. The latest addition to our collection is this double-sided Totley Rise Post Office oval illuminated sign which was on the wall of 67 Baslow Road before the Post Office business transferred to number 71. Please contact us by email if you have things that you own and would like to see added to the virtual museum.
Conway Plumbe was a man of many talents who came to live in Totley Rise around 1912. As a young man he had poems published by Punch magazine and is remembered in modern collections of WW1 poetry. A number of his paintings were accepted by the Royal Academy. An engineering graduate of London University, he joined the Civil Service where he rose to a high level as a factory inspector, publishing two books on the subject and giving a series of talks on workplace health and safety on BBC radio during WW2. In retirement he wrote a philosophical-spiritual work called Release From Time.
Inside Totley Rise Methodist Church there is a Roll of Honour commemorating the soldiers from its congregation who served their king and country during the Great War. For all but one of the 28 names the soldier's regiment is recorded in the next column. The exception is David Cockshott for whom 'killed in action' is written alongside yet he appears on no war memorial in our area and no record of a mortally wounded soldier of that name is to be found. We think we have solved the mystery.
Mrs. Kate Plumbe moved from Mansfield to Totley Rise with a number of her family in 1913 and became closely involved with the Totley Union Church. Her daughter Winifred became a missionary and headmistress in Calcutta for over 38 years following which she returned home to live with her sister Hilda on Furniss Avenue. Hilda had also been a teacher, missionary and, like her mother, a volunteer at St. John's VAD during WW1.
Thomas Glossop was a cutler and razor manufacturer who was well known amongst cricketing and gardening circles. Despite going blind, he was able to continue his hobbies with remarkable success
The Totley Union Cycling Society Prize Giving and Fete was held on the fields near Abbeydale Hall on 18 July 1914. Anne Rafferty and Gordon Wainwright have named some of the people in two wonderful photographs of the event. Can you identify any more for us?
The Tyzack family are well known in our area for owning iron and steel trades at Walk Mill, Abbeydale Works, Totley Rolling Mill and Totley Forge. This article covers the history of the family from the late 18th century when William Tyzack the founder of the company was born until the early 20th century when Joshua Tyzack farmed at Avenue Farm, Dore.
Walter Waller Marrison moved to Totley around 1897 with his wife and their two young sons. He was a house builder who constructed properties around Totley Brook and Greenoak before ill health forced him to take up less physically demanding work. In 1904 he took over the tenancy of the grocers and off licence at number 71 Baslow Road. After his death in 1908, his widow Kate and later their eldest son Jack continued to run the business until it was sold in 1934.
Ron Wijk of Nieuw-Vennep in the Netherlands has sent us two scanned images of drawings of old cottages made by the celebrated Dutch painter, Anton Pieck (1895-1987) simply annotated "Totley", and wondered whether we could identify their locations.
We would like to thank Christopher Rodgers for bringing to our attention this fascinating log of the 85th Sheffield (St. John's and Totley Orphanage) Wolf Cub Pack for 1927-45. The log is published jointly by Sheffield Scout Archives and Totley History Group as a free PDF download. It is illustrated by no fewer than 92 photographs and is supported by a comprehensive index and biographies of some of the main participants.
Following our Open Meeting event on School Days, Roger Hart, Howard Adams and John Timperley have each written to us with their memories of Norwood School, which was located in the rooms attached to the Dore & Totley United Reformed Church on Totley Brook Road.
On 22nd July 1909 the children of Dore and Totley Schools celebrated by a pageant the union of England under King Ecgbert which took place at Dore in AD 827. The pageant was devised and written by Mrs Sarah Milner and her daughter Marjorie and performed in a field close to Avenue Farm in front of a large audience. Photographs of the event survive together with a fragment of the script.
John Edward Greenwood Pinder had lived all 46 years of his life in Totley but on census night, Sunday 2 April 1911, he was not at home; he was in Derby Gaol serving a sentence of three months hard labour. From the age of 20, John had been in and out of local courts for a series of minor offences including drunkenness, assault, wilful damage and night poaching. Finally he was sent to gaol for cutting down and stealing 86 small trees which he sold in Sheffield market for Christmas.
We have already transcribed the census returns for Totley, Totley Rise and Dore. Now we have transcribed Census Strays. These are people who were born in Totley but are missing from our earlier transcriptions. They may have been living, working or studying elsewhere or just away from home on the night the census was taken. Two people were in prison. Others were in Union Workhouses, hospitals and asylums. Fully indexed strays from the 1851, 1861, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses are available now.
We wish to thank Gillian Walker for allowing us to digitize an archive of material about the 1st Totley Scout Group. Most of the material was collected by Arthur Percival Birley in the period 1949-51 and there are many interesting documents pertaining to the building of the scout hut on Totley Hall Lane. In addition four Newsletters survive, two from the 1940s and two from 1971.
We are grateful to Angela Waite and All Saints' Parish Church for giving us access to baptismal and kindergarten birthday rolls dating from 1926 to 1941. We have transcribed the names, addresses, birthdates and baptismal dates and created an alphabetical index of entries for you to search.
Edmund Sanderson, a Sheffield estate agent, aquired the land on either side of the old drive to Totley Grove in 1874 and divided it into plots for development. He called it the Totley Brook Estate. But before many houses were built, the estate road was severed in two by the building of the Dore & Chinley Railway line. The eastern end of the road became the cul-de-sac we now call Grove Road.
John Roberts was born in Sheffield in 1798. He became a partner in one of the leading silversmiths firms in the city before moving to Abbeydale Park in 1851 and extending the house in Victorian gothic style. He paid for the building of St. John's Church and was believed to dispense more in charity than any other person in the neighbourhood including his protege Ebenezer Hall.
The Coke Family owned the Totley Hall Estate from 1791 to 1881. With the aid of a family tree to guide us, Josie Dunsmore takes us through the story of their tenure.
When the Rev. D'Ewes Coke inherited the Totley Hall Estate in 1791 it had two farms. Josie Dunsmore tells the story of how the two farms were combined under the tenancy of Peter Flint with the aid of field maps drawn by Flint himself and later by the Fairbanks family.
Do you think you recognize this face? More than sixty photographs of the girls and teachers at Hurlfield Grammar School for Girls in the 1940s were given to Totley History Group by Avril Critchley, who was herself a student at the school. The collection includes fifteen form photographs from June 1949. There would have been a number of girls from the Totley area attending the school in those days.
Christine Weaving tells the story of her 2 x great uncle George Edward Hukin, a Totley razor-grinder, and his life-long friendship with the academic, poet, writer, and free-thinker Edward Carpenter.
Eric Renshaw (pictured here on the right with Bob Carr) grew up and lived in Totley from 1932 to 1960. Many of his memories are of a sporting nature.
We are very grateful to Gordon Grayson for giving us this splendid sale document for the Norton Hall Estates, following the death in 1850 of Samuel Shore. The estates included a large part of Totley and the document has maps and illustrations, plus schedules of land and property with the names of tenants. We have also added a transcription of the entries for Totley and Dore.
Watch this Youtube video of the talk given by Dr. Mark Frost and Sally Goldsmith on Ruskin, Totley and St. George's Farm. The talk was hosted by Totley History Group on 20th May 2015 as part of the Ruskin in Sheffield programme. Also enjoy a video of the outdoor performance Boots, Fresh Air & Ginger Beer written by Sally.
When Jacqueline A. Gibbons became interested in what made her father tick, it began a journey through WW1 archive records and led to her flying from Toronto to visit the house and village where he lived and the countryside that he so much enjoyed. Jacqueline reminds us that in the early 20th century Sheffield was a driving force of industry and that Totley was the place where many of its remarkable people lived and where they formulated their ideas.
Edgar Wood was the designer of The Dingle, 172 Prospect Road, built in 1904 for Rev. William Blackshaw, the founder of the Croft House Settlement. The house, together with its western terrace and boundary walls, has now been awarded Grade II listed building status.
What was probably "the most perfect little garden railway in existence" in 1910 was to be found in the grounds of Brook House, Grove Road, the home of its designer and constructor, Guy Mitchell. Look at some wonderful photographs and read reports in newspapers and a full appreciation in Model Railways magazine.
We have now completed our transcription of Totley School's Admission Records for the period from 1877 to 1914. There is also a useful index to the names of the scholars and to their parents or guardians. We are very grateful to Sheffield Archives and Local Studies Library for allowing us to transcribe and publish these records and for permission to reproduce the photograph of a specimen page of the register.
On 8, 9 and 11 November 2014 Totley History Group held an exhibition at Dore & Totley United Reformed Church to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. Below are additional links to some of the photographs we were lent and stories we researched especially for the exhibition.
Oscar Creswick was a local farmer who served with the Army Service Corps in Salonika and who after the war returned to Totley to become the innkeeper of the Cricket Inn and a member of the village's successful tug of war team.
Walter Evans was a market gardener who also ran a small grocery shop on Hillfoot Road when war broke out. He fought with the Machine Gun Corps at the fourth battle of Ypres. After the war, Walter ran a grocers shop at the top of Main Avenue.
Fred Cartwright was another Totley soldier who survived the Great War. He fought in France and Belgium and although he wasn't wounded he was gassed and was home on sick leave when his daughter was delivered by Nurse Jessop during a snowstorm in January 1917.
Maurice Johnson joined the Yorkshire Dragoons, a territorial unit, on 1 Jan 1914 and so was called up at the very start of the war. He fought throughout the war on the Somme, at Ypres and at Cambrai. After demobilization in 1919 Maurice returned to his old occupation in the steel industry.
Bill Glossop lent us a letter written by his father, William Walton Glossop to his wife describing life in the army during training in the north east of England and asking her to keep him in mind with the children.
The photo above provides a link to an album of photographs taken of WW1 Hospitals at St. John's, Abbeydale and the Longshaw Estate.
Nora Green, of Chapel Lane, was only 14 when war broke out. In 1914 she was ill with diphtheria and was sent to the isolation hospital at Holmley Lane, Dronfield. Nora recovered and wrote a letter of thanks to one of the hospital staff and the reply she received survives.
We have collected together on this page the names of local men who appear on various War Memorials and Rolls of Honour in Totley, Dore, Abbeydale, Norton, Holmesfield and Dronfield.
Unfortunately we were unable to identify all the photographs we were lent of Totley Soldiers. Please take a look at this album to see if you recognize any of the missing names.
This walk visits locations that have strong associations with Totley during the First World War. It includes the homes of the ten soldiers from the village who lost their lives, the auxiliary hospitals, war memorials, and even the rifle range on which the soldiers trained. Take a look at the first draft of a new walk by the authors of "Totley War Memorial WW1 1914-1918"
We wish to thank the Trustees of Cherrytree for giving us permission to publish transcriptions of the Cherrytree Orphanage Admissions Book entries for the years 1866-1929. There is also an alphabetical index for you to look at.
With more people having access to faster broadband and mobile networks, we have uploaded seven full and unedited oral history recordings and also added more short excerpts for you to listen to.
Our transcriptions of local trade directories have been expanded to cover the 95 years from 1837-1932 and have also been indexed. From the days when there were a handful of farmers, stone masons, saw handle makers & scythe grinders to the wonders of the Totley Bridge Garage Company, Betty's Boudoir and The Heatherfield Shopping Centre.
We continue to add to our Totley Newspaper Archive. Recent entries have included several about The Plumbe Family, Thomas Glossop and accidents during the construction of Totley Tunnel.
Totley Church of England Parish Magazines for the years 1922-1939 and 1948-1967 with notices of births, marriages and deaths and accounts of spiritual, educational, charitable and social matters in the village.
Around 90 photographs taken by Stuart Greenhoff for his thesis A Geographical Study of Dore and Totley including several of Totley Moor Brickworks. Superb!
Chronologically ordered snippets of information recorded by Brian Edwards during his many years of research into our local history.
Read the inscriptions on more than 700 gravestones in the churchyard.
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