Many thanks to Brenda Duffield of the Stocksbridge History
Society for this information.
This valley between the Pennine hills of
Hunshelf and Waldershelf would once be thickly forested.
Wharncliffe is mentioned in the opening paragraph of Sir Walter
Scott’s “Ivanhoe”. Remains on Wharncliffe have been dated back
to Roman times and a Mesolithic campsite has been discovered on
its edge overlooking the ancient crossing place of the River Don
at Deepcar.
Always on the very edge of whatever centre
of administration governed it, Stocksbridge grew from a tiny
hamlet at the crossing place of the Little Don river into a
thriving industrial centre during the period we know as the
Industrial Revolution. Although this development began on the
north of the river in Hunshelf Township, Penistone Parish, it
eventually extended onto the south side, which was more
accessible.
The river, originally known as Hunshelf
Water, was later given the name Little Don. The alternative
name Porter, thought to refer to its colour at source, is also
used by another tributary of the Don, so is best ignored to
avoid confusion. Even the name Don was originally Dun – again
due to its colour. The river has been diverted several times
near the site of the original bridge, which is roughly under the
traffic roundabout at the bottom of Smithy Hill.
The bridge from which the Town takes it
name was a wooden footbridge over the river, which has always
formed a boundary between Hunshelf and Waldershelf, the parishes
of Penistone and Bradfield. It was destroyed by flood several
times and was eventually replaced by a stone bridge in 1812 to
cope with heavier traffic. The Stocks, according to recent
research by Steven Moxon, may have a much older origin than
hitherto believed. In a forthcoming book on the origin of place
names, he produces evidence of a connection with monastic
buildings and maintains that the 18th Century fulling
stocks and tenant John Stocks were coincidental.
INDUSTRY
It was a later mill, also built as a cotton
mill in 1794 on the former Stocks’ land, which Samuel Fox took
over in 1842 and developed into the steelworks which brought
prosperity to the district. Initially he used the water power
which had been running the nearby Hunshelf cornmill and the
mills at Deepcar, but he soon learned to exploit the coal seams
in that hillside as machines were developed which used steam
power.
Other business were soon established here
to utilise the clays discovered when testing for coal. John
Armitage founded tile and brick factories at Henholmes and
Deepcar, Thomas Brookes left him to start his own pipeworks at
Bracken Moor, Gregory and Reddish started an enterprise at the
Clough, Deepcar. Later William Brooke left his father’s works
to set up another pipeworks at Pot House and John Grayson Lowood
took over the former chemistry works at Deepcar for a ganister
mine and refractory, producing a variety of bricks and basic
industrial requirements.
Glassware had been produced at Bate Green
for a hundred years and pottery near the same side for another
thirty in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Bolsterstone Glasshouse, as it was then known, although now
extremely dilapidated, is the only one of its kind in the
country, and covers a furnace of unique construction, which
could be a valuable asset in the light of current regeneration
initiatives.
When Samuel Fox arrived, coal, firestone
and ganister were already being mined locally and lead was still
being got out of the Bitholmes and Ewden Valley. Some lead
miners followed Samuel Fox from Bradwell to work here.
Towards the end of the 20th
Century, again in line with national trends, the decline in
these industries has necessitated a diversification of
investment and adaptation to the changing needs of our
community. Housing is still being built as Stocksbridge becomes
a dormitory town, although the number of inhabitants is
declining as more houses are occupied by single people and
smaller families.
AGRICULTURE
The ridges of sandstone forming Hunshelf
and Waldershelf were covered by a thin layer of clay soils, so
were never particularly fertile. The resulting poor
agricultural yield provided only subsistence for the scattered
farms which comprised this Manor of Bolsterstone. However, an
attempt was made in the late 1890’s to grow fruit at Hoyle
House, with some success. Only a few of the original homesteads
survive as working farms, many of the others having been
demolished to make way for modern housing, or converted for
residential or business use. Remains of 14th and 15th
Century cruck barns can still be found at Green Farm, Pot House,
Windhill and Watson House.
GOVERNMENT
The break up of Bolsterstone Manor in 1802
brought the Manorial system virtually to an end, and more
responsibility devolved onto the Parish Council. During the 200
years encompassing our history, the area was then administered
in turn by a Board of Guardians, a Local Board, then the Urban
District Council – all responsible to the West Riding County
Council – and finally, the Sheffield Metropolitan District
Council, under which the Urban District became a Town Council
with limited powers. Stocksbridge Town Council responsibilities
are now limited to parochial affairs.
THE PEOPLE
A handful of Stocksbridge families can
claim descent from those named in such documents as the Poll Tax
Returns of 1379 and Hearth Tax Returns of 1672 in Bolsterstone,
Bradfield, Hunshelf and Midhope. Of the family names recorded
in the 1779 Waldershelf Valuation, some descendants can probably
trace an unbroken line through more than 200 years. Hundreds
more can certainly claim to have descended from those who were
drawn to this area by the prospect of work in the new industries
of the last 150 years. The Censuses of 1851 to 1891 show that
they came from every part of the British Isles and from almost
every County in England.
While the national population trebled
during the 19th Century, that of Yorkshire as a whole
increased fourfold and the West Riding alone, almost fivefold.
By the half-century, more than a third of the working population
of Bolsterstone Parish were tied to the land. The Agricultural
Depression of the 1860’s and 1870’s forced many to turn their
hands to work in the new industries, and they were joined by
refugees from the Holmfirth flood of 1857 and the Lancashire
Cotton famine of the 1860’s. Then the building of the
reservoirs in Ewden and at Midhope and Langsett in the early
1900’s brought more settlers. In 1950 appeals were still being
made for lodgings for workers at Samuel Fox & Co.
RELIGION
The Established Church is the Church of
England. Our Parish Church was St. Mary’s, Ecclesfield, until
the separation of Bradfield Parish in 1650, when people in this
area had to attend St. Nicholas’ at Bradfield. With the
creation of St. Mary’s at Bolsterstone as a chapel-of-ease
during the next Century, life would become a little easier for
the occupants of the few farmsteads in this valley.
Church Registers show that marriages during
that period were often solemnised on Christmas Day, the only
holiday which a domestic servant and agricultural labourer would
have. St. Mary’s, Bolsterstone, was then the only place of
worship in the valley, other than the Chapel of St. James the
Lesser at Midhope.
The nearest Roman Catholic Church was St.
Vincent’s in Sheffield. Non-conformists met in various private
homes. Their children were baptised at the nearest
Non-conformist Chapel, such as Netherfield at Penistone, or by a
visiting minister in their own homes. Local Historian Joseph
Kenworthy recorded a register of baptisms performed at Spink
House by R.C. Minister V. L. Denis between 1800 and 1819.
Marriages and burials were required by law
to be performed at the Church of England, but eventually the
needs of a growing movement away from the Established Church
were catered for by the formation of Independent Chapels and a
Roman Catholic Church in the 19th Century, with the
addition in the 20th of an Assembly of God
Pentecostal Church.
CULTURAL TRADITION
Many traditions were based on the
Agricultural year and the Church calendar. One which survived
until quite recently was Caking Night, which was celebrated
originally on the night of November 1st, when soul
cakes were made and given to callers for All Souls’ Day.
Ploughing matches were held locally from
1880-1938, attracting nationwide competition.
A strong choral tradition began in the
Churches. Local Christmas Carols have a popular appeal, most
having been composed in the early 1900’s. Choirs 20 to 30
strong used to tour the outlying homesteads throughout the night
of Christmas Eve, a custom which died out in the post war
period. Replacing that tradition is one which could be called
exhibition singing. Dr. W. M. Robertshaw’s St. Cecelia Ladies’
Choir competed nationally throughout the 1930’s and the
Stocksbridge Congregational (now United Reform) Operatic Society
produced Gilbert & Sullivan shows in the 1950’s. Bolsterstone
Male Voice Choir was founded in 1934 and is world-renowned. The
Deepcar Male Voice Choir, recently disbanded, has been
superseded by a mixed choir, named for our ancient land – the
Waldershelf.
Making music was always part of the local
scene, with a piano in almost every household at the centre of
every family gathering. Organised bands were as popular as the
choirs; Stocksbridge Old Brass Band, Stocksbridge Works
Orchestral Section, the Salvation Army Band and the Secondary
Modern School Band (now the High School Orchestra), as well as a
Ladies’ Jass Band. A hillbilly group called The MacDoodles
performed on BBC Radio. Dance bands played at the enormously
popular weekly dances at the Victory Club throughout the 1930’s,
40’s and 50’s, with the annual Policemen’s and Tradesmen’s Balls
the highlights of our social calendar.
Dramatic Societies were also a prominent
feature of the Stocksbridge cultural scene. Every Church was a
natural nursery of talent, unselfconsciously displayed in
parades and festivals which marked each cause for celebration.
There were formal drama groups, a Pierrot Troupe and Deepcar
Follies. Annual Carnivals were held in the 1920’s. The
Stocksbridge Works Amateur Dramatic Society is one of the oldest
sections of the Stocksbridge Works Social Services, continuing
almost without interruption throughout World War II.
Other hobbies supported by the Stocksbridge
Works Social Services were the Gardening and Photographic
Sections, a Pigeon Club and a Poultry and Rabbit section.
SPORT
The oldest game is Knur and Spell, thought
to have been brought into this area by the Viking invaders of
the 10th Century, and popular throughout the North of
England in the early 1900’s.
Rifle Clubs were formed at the turn of the
Century, surviving until recently.
Individual athletes were able to compete at
Sports meetings, originally also organised by the Churches, held
annually at grounds at Stonemoor, Bolsterstone and Lowoods field
at Deepcar, then from 1912 at Bracken Moor. These meetings
attracted competitors from far and wide, reopening after
improvement of facilities in 1951 for its 12th Great
Hunshelf Steeplechase and Annual Athletic Sports under AAA
rules.
Every Church also had its Football and
Cricket teams, and from these evolved our present competitive
Clubs at Oxley Park and Bracken Moor. The Old Cricket Club was
founded in 1862.
The S.W.S.S. again made it possible for
employees and their families to enjoy the sports, subsidised by
the firm, of Archery, Badminton, Billiards and Snooker, Bowls,
Boxing, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Cricket, Football, Golf, Hockey,
Indoor Games, Rifle Shooting, Swimming and Tennis. Many of
these activities began before 1939 and had to be suspended for
the duration of World War II. The Physical Culture section
developed into the extensive facilities enjoyed today at
Stocksbridge Leisure Centre.
KEY DATES FOR REFERENCE
1802 Sale of Bolstertone Manor – the only property in
the catalogue which was identified as being in Stocks Bridge
itself was 17 acres, 36 perches, occupied by Matthew Walker and
comprising a house, small barn, beasthouse and land. Sheffield
Solicitor John Rimington bought the Estate from Lord Melbourne,
later Prime Minister, for £35,000. He raised the money by
offering their freehold to leaseholders. Many tenants took
advantage of this opportunity, but others who could or would
not, were evicted.
1805 Opening of the Wadsley and Langsett Turnpike.
Previously roads had been maintained by the manual labour of
parishioners, who were compelled by law to spend a certain
number of days a year in repairing the damage done to dirt
tracks by weather and horse transport. Now money was invested
in Turnpike Trusts and engineers employed. The toll-bars at
Deepcar exacted dues from all traffic passing along the
Sheffield and Wortley roads.
1812 The wooden footbridge at Stocks Bridge was replaced
by a stone carriage bridge, so vehicles no longer needed to ford
the river.
1817 A Terrier (a list of Church properties) includes “a
half acre at Stocks Bridge, bounded on the west and north by a
small river, on the east and south by the farm of Jonathan
Hawke”.
1827 The Independent Ebenezer Chapel was built almost on
the very edge of Bolsterstone Parish, in the hamlet of Stocks
Bridge.
1837 Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths
was made compulsory. Certificates now show these as having
taken place in Wortley Registration District.
1838 Trade Directory:
Jonathon Hawke, Shoemaker, Stocksbridge
Willie Jubb, Victualler, Coach and Horses,
Stocksbridge
John Webster, Colliery Owner and Coke Burner,
Stocksbridge
1841 Census: Of the 871 population of
Bolsterstone Chapelry in Bradfield Parish, 34 lived in 5
households in Stocks Bridge. William Jubb was now described as
a farmer, John Webster as a coalmerchant, Jonathan Hawke still
as a shoemaker. There were also Edward Askew, blacksmith and a
household of five single men and a boy in what seemed to be a
boarding house.
1842 Samuel Fox came, reputedly on foot, from Bradwell
in Derbyshire, seeking premises to rent for the wire-drawing
business.
1848 A Local Board of Health was appointed to implement
the requirements of the 1842 Health of Towns report. Samuel Fax
began production of steel umbrella frames, providing work for
hundreds, particularly women. Children were also allowed to
work half-time.
1851 Census: The population of the area had grown to
987 in 199 households, of whom 36 lived in the 7 homes labelled
Stocks Bridge. The Askew and Hawke families and widow Ann
Webster were now joined by George Batty, carpenter, a widowed
shopkeeper Hannah Broadhead, two brothers and sister named
Helliwell, who we know occupied the cottage and workshop at the
bottom of Nanny Hill and the house of Independent Minister
George Spencer. Only 16 of them were born locally, including 75
year old Jonathan Hawke, still described as a shoemaker. Samuel
Fox, his wife Maria, their son William Henry, their nephew
William, two lodgers and a servant were living near the mill on
the Hunshelf side of the river, so in Penistone Parish. Mr. Fox
was described as a Wire Manufacturer.
1851 The only Ecclesiastical Census showed the
comparative attendance at the Parish Church of St. Mary,
Bolsterstone, and the Congregational Independent Chapel, Stocks
Bridge.
1852 The Paragon Umbrella frame was patented.
1855 Samuel Fox took advantage of fashion and began
production of crinoline wire.
1856 The Fox household moved to take up residence in
Townend House, Deepcar. A Parochial Valuation of the Township
of Hunshelf described the extent and value of his property as
being in Stocksbridge. The first houses were built on Hunshelf
Bank to accommodate his workers, known as Brick Lump. Deepcar
National School was opened.
1858 Stocksbridge Hall was built, on Horner House land,
although that district and the whole of the western part of
Bolsterstone Parish was still identified as the District of
Green, after Green Farm at its centre.
1859 St. Ann’s Catholic Church was built in Deepcar.
1860 Samuel Fox had established a works at Amiens,
France, to manufacture umbrella frames. Census returns show
that several children were born there, and in Boulogne. The
plant was finally wound up in 1914.
1861 Census: Population 1,628. Of the properties named
as Stocksbridge, the New Inn, described as a beerhouse, had been
built and the Henholmes Farm was included. Joseph Hinchliffe,
farmer and carter, Charles Illingworth, farmer and coke-burner,
Joseph Kenworthy, farmer and mason - examples of the dual
occupations which were typical of the current economy. On the
day of the Census, Maria Fox, Manufacturer’s wife, was Head of
the Household at Townend.
1862 Saw the formation of the Stocksbridge Band of Hope,
the Industrial Co-operative Society, which first met at the
Friendship Inn, but was later to give rise to the Stocksbridge
Temperance Society.
1863 The Congregational Chapel was built. It was first
known as the Salem Chapel.
1867 Samuel Fox built the Works School, sometimes known
as the Red School, then as Bramley’s, after a head teacher of
that name, and finally as the Co-op School.
1868 The Wesleyan Chapel opened at Old Haywoods,
Deepcar.
1869 Stocksbridge National School was built at the
bottom of Nanny Hill. It was used as Church and School until
St. Matthias was built in 1890. From 1920 it was known as a
Church of England School.
1870 Deepcar St. John’s Church was built, daughter
Church to St.Mary’s, Bolsterstone.
1871 Census: The population of Stocksbridge Sanitary
District, which now included parts of Hunshelf, was 3,725. On
the day of the Census, Samuel Fox, Steel Manufacturer, was alone
at Townend with a visiting niece and two servants. Stocksbridge
inhabitants included Harriet Batty, Innkeeper (Friendship Inn),
Joe Hepworth, Stationer and the Rev. Henry Robertshaw,
Independent Minister.
1872 Stocksbridge Sunday School Union was formed. From
this date combined Whitsuntide Processions were held.
1873 The Stocksbridge Local Board was elected to
administer the new Sanitary District of Stocksbridge and issued
Byelaws to regulate the use of the new water supply. Samuel Fox
had campaigned for this change because of the Industrial Rate
which he had to pay to Penistone Parish, while Bolsterstone
Parish had the expense of maintaining access roads to the
Works. Of the 11 members elected, 6 were farmers, proving that
Agriculture was still of great importance, while 2 were the
principal manufacturers Fox and Armitage.
1876 The Ebenezer Chapel came into use as a day as well
as a Sunday School and the manse became the schoolhouse.
1877 A rail link with the Manchester, Sheffield and
Lincolnshire railway enabled Samuel Fox to transport his
products directly, avoiding the road tolls which he had had to
pay at Deepcar. The Stocksbridge Railway Co. was formed. Until
1931, when bus services were provided, employees and Penistone
Grammer Scholars were allowed to use the line, at their own
risk, from the station near Smithy Hill. The terminus at Horner
House was later to be used for supplying materials for the
construction of Langsett and Underbank Reserviors.
1881 Census: The population of S.U.S.D. was 4,660; of
the area covered by the 1851 Census 3,737. An estimate of the
native population, less than one-sixth of the 36 in Stocks
Bridge in 1851, only 4 survivors. Dr. Herbert Ward was our
first resident doctor, at Stocksbridge Hall. Samuel Fox, Steel
and Umbrella Manufacturer, was Head of a household of six
servants. Maria and William Henry now lived in Oxfordshire.
1887 Samuel Fox died and was buried at his home North
Cliffe in Market Weighton. He left a considerable personal
fortune, having already established a Benefit Fund for
employees, and had housed his workforce on Hunshelf Bank in
Gentleman’s Row. Derbyshire Row, Goit Terrace and Ford Lane; and
at Horner House on Bessemer Terrace, Springmill Terrace,
Pearson Street and Langsett Terrace.
1890 St. Matthias’ Church was built as a memorial to
Samuel Fox.
1891 Census: The population of Stocksbridge, Deepcar
and Bolsterstone had risen to 5,677.
1895 The creation of Stocksbridge Urban District
Council. Its boundary now the top of Hunshelf Bank and its
population thereby increased by 1,100.
1896 The sale of Stocksbridge Water Rights to Sheffield
Corporation.
1897 Underbank Reservoir was begun, completed 1907.
Samuel Fox had always opposed the damming of the river since the
disaster at Dale Dyke in 1864.
1901 Census: Population calculated at 6,566.
1902 The Stocksbridge Works Institute, later known as
the Miners’ Welfare, was founded as a reading room, with baths
and billiards.
1903 Tom Batty built a new façade on the Friendship
Inn.
1907 Wood Willows built by S. Fox & Co for its workers;
George Thickett, foreman, being housed in the villa opposite.
1912 The Works canteen was built, which would later
become the Victory Club.
1913 The Workers’ Educational Association established
classes for adults.
1917 Stocksbridge Parish Church acquired its first
Vicar and the first wedding took place there.
1918 Samuel Fox & co Ltd became part of the United Steel
Companies Ltd
The end of the Great War enabled building to
recommence. Garden City was completed with a fruit tree in
every garden from the former Fruit Farm.
1921 A national coal strike put 3,000 local miners out
of work for 6 months. The Palace Cinema took the place of the
Electric Theatre on Edward Street.
1923 The Urban District Council took over
responsibility for Stocksbridge Fire Brigade, previously manned
and run by volunteers. The Clock Tower Memorial was built to
the 107 young people, a nurse, sailors and soldiers, who died
1914-18.
1924 The first estate of 94 council houses was built at
Shay House.
1925 Steel houses were built at Deepcar at a cost of
£400.
1928 A Town hall was built to replace the old Council
offices.
1929 The Council School was built – called the New
School – in Shay House Lane and the Works’ and the British
Schools were closed. It comprised Infant, Junior and Senior
departments.
1931 Stocksbridge Co-operative Society opened its Model
Dairy in Shay House Lane, pasteurising and bottling milk from
local farms
1933 The first 20 houses were built at The Royd.
1937 Work began on the 180 houses of Glebelands Council
estate.
1939 The outbreak of World War II for many meant
garaging the family car and taking a munitions job to avoid
Military Service.
1940 The Sheffield Blitz on the night of 12/13th
December, viewed from the safe distance of Stocksbridge was like
Bonfire Night. All told, only 6 bombs are believed to have
dropped in this valley, which seemed to be at the end of the
bombing run, and these may have been jettisoned rather than
deliberately aimed at the Works.
1943 The Day Continuation scheme was inaugurated for
all boys employed by Stocksbridge Works, aged 14-16, to attend
one full day a week without loss of wages.
1944 The Cemetery was opened on Bocking Hill.
1945 Spink Hall estate of 80 houses was begun –
foundations dug by German P.O.W.’s. Another 51 names were added
to the War Memorial. The Roll of Honour in Fox’s Works
commemorates 39 former employees.
1946 Dr. W. M. Robertshaw’s Annual Report for the
Ministry of Health revealed that S.Fox & Co now employed more
people than the entire population of 50 years previous,
comparative population figures being 6,021 in 1893 to 9,795 in
1946. Prefabricated bungalows were built by the Ministry of
Works in Pot House Lane and at Wilson Road, Deepcar.
1947 October 18th. A coach carrying members
of the Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir to Holmfirth crashed with
the loss of 9 lives and many injuries.
1950 Stubbin Estate added 388 to the Council housing
stock.
1953 A Ministry of Health report assessed the
population of Stocksbridge as 10,220 – an increase of 100 in 12
months.
1955 An Infant School was built at Pot House.
1960 East Whitwell, an estate of 400 houses, completed
our council house building.
1963 The new Junior School opened in Cedar Road and the
Shay House site became a Secondary Modern.
1965 Stocksbridge Rugby Union Club was formed.
1966 Stocksbridge College in Hole House Lane, was
opened by Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
1967 With the nationalisation of steelworks, S. Fox &
Co became part of the British Steel Corporation.
1968 The Central Library was built, replacing
demolished housing on Button Row.
1970 Stocksbridge Swimming Pool was built in Oxley
Park, largely due to the efforts of local people and the Urban
District Council.
1973 The Sports Centre building was added by the Urban
District Council. St. Ann’s Roman Catholic School opened in
McIntyre Road.
1974 Abolition of the West Riding and creation of South
Yorkshire, but Stocksbridge Urban District and the Civil Parish
of Bradfield were now included in Sheffield Metropolitan
District. The Urban District Council became Stocksbridge Town
Council.
1985 The Assembly of the Pentecostal Church moved from
its temporary home in Deepcar Community Hall to the top floor of
the Stocksbridge Co-op building.
1986 BSC Stocksbridge Works became part of United
Engineering Steels.
1988 Stocksbridge College became the Stocksbridge site
of Loxley College. Stocksbridge Rugby Union Football Club bought
the old chapel on Manchester Road and converted it into a
licensed clubhouse.
Stocksbridge By-Pass was opened.
1991 Population 13,619. The number employed in the
steelworks had dropped from 6,500 at is peak, with 85% of our
population dependent on it, to 1,400.
1995 British Steel acquired all assets of United
Engineering Steels, the Company now trading as British Steel
Engineering Steels.
1997 The Steel Valley Partnership grew out of the Steel
Valley Forum, its purpose to formulate a bid for funding from
the Single Regeneration Budget.
1998 The College was closed and demolished. The former
Co-operative building on Manchester Road was converted for use
by Sheffield College and W.E.A. classes, with a crèche.
1999 Stocksbridge Works now has three separate sites
under different ownership: Bridon Wire at Sheephouse, Corus
Alloys and Special Steels and Avesta-Polarit Stainless.
2000 We celebrated the new millennium with fireworks.
At least one old lady thought war had broken out.
2001 Stocksbridge Training and Enterprise Partnership
installed at the refurbished Community Centre with workshop and
office space at Deepcar. Steel Valley Forum meets regularly to
voice the concerns of the community and act as liaison between
us and the executive of the S.R.B. board.
2002 The new Co-op opened in September. The Miners’
Welfare building, now Stocksbridge Training and Enterprise,
celebrated its centenary.
May 2nd – The funeral of Fr. J. P. Callanan
was held at St. Matthias – the only time the traffic in
Stocksbridge has ever been completely held up.
2003 Corus announced proposals to transfer steel melting
processes from Stocksbridge Works to Rotherham Works, entailing
the closure of the Melting Shop and the Hot Rolling Mill, with
the loss of 350 jobs.
Many thanks to Brenda Duffield of the Stocksbridge History
Society for this information.
