Monitoring station near High Bradfield?

[Playpen]

Hi

 

Was out walking the dog around Onesmoor this morning and noticed what appeared to be some kind of monitoring station in an area between Lumb Lane and Delf Road. Several satellite dishes - not the Sky type - a few small huts etc, one of the dishes seemed to be rusting away.

 

Had a quick search on here and the web but not found anything about it. Does anyone know what its used for, whether its still in use ?

 

Heres a link to the site: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=s35+0jb&ie=UTF8&ll=53.432536,-1.582825&spn=0.00264,0.007296&t=h&z=17

 

Thanks

[only_me]

Intresting looking place, there appears to be some sort of raised bunker maybe it has its own water storage. Do you know what the farm next door is called? I also cannot seem to find any info on this place.

[RoyalRegular]

Some years ago, there used to be a satellite tracking station that was used by the University. It could be that.......just up from the kennels.

[Greybeard]

Not very far from us. It used to be the Uni radio astronomy site.

 

If you pan south from the Google map reference you can see the two dishes pointing up at the camera. Just over the wall to the left is a trig point and the cover of a huge water storage tank.

[Greybeard]

Intresting looking place, there appears to be some sort of raised bunker maybe it has its own water storage. Do you know what the farm next door is called? I also cannot seem to find any info on this place.

 

The 'bunker' is just a single storey breeze block caboosh, and the 'farm' is Edge Mount - a kennels I believe.

 

The little plantation to the south is interesting -there are some huge domed holly bushes and several dwarf beech trees with girths of around 12-15 feet, although they can't be more than 20 feet high. Usually a pair of Curlew nesting there in the summer.

[Blackbeard]

It is the University of Sheffield Edgemount Research Station. It was originally built for the Radio Astronomy Group of the Department of Physics. As far as I know it has not been used for research for many years when the Space Physics Group closed about 20 years ago. If you want any more information on the site PM me

[Playpen]

Thanks for the replies. Came across an article remembering a former professor at the Uni which gives a good insight to the place:

 

"We have all, or many of us have, spent many happy nights with Tom up at the observatory, up at Bradfield site and he always impressed upon me as a sort of 'can do' person. You can imagine the site, you can see pictures of it here in this room, racks and racks of crude electronics that were so advanced that everything had to be made here in Sheffield and quite often it went wrong. But you knew that if Tom was with you, everything would be done to get it going right and he would get the whole group searching and searching to get this stuff going right, so that we could observe meteors like the Quadrantids, Perseids and Geminids. Very very happy days. I can always remember when he used to come up to Bradfield and I had actually got things going right. You could always tell at the site when it was working because it had this wonderful hum and Tom would look in and say "Everything OK?" and you would say "Yes" and he would hold his hand up, and touch the aerial wires and sparks would fly off them and he would stand there going Brrrrr... "

 

It must be about 20 years or so since I last walked round Onesmoor, and it was indeed a moor then but now its been cultivated and is just 1 enormous field. The land that the observatory is on however is still moorland. Amazing views still, counted 6 power stations on the horizon.

[retrogo]

Thanks for the replies. Came across an article remembering a former professor at the Uni which gives a good insight to the place:

 

"We have all, or many of us have, spent many happy nights with Tom up at the observatory, up at Bradfield site and he always impressed upon me as a sort of 'can do' person. You can imagine the site, you can see pictures of it here in this room, racks and racks of crude electronics that were so advanced that everything had to be made here in Sheffield and quite often it went wrong. But you knew that if Tom was with you, everything would be done to get it going right and he would get the whole group searching and searching to get this stuff going right, so that we could observe meteors like the Quadrantids, Perseids and Geminids. Very very happy days. I can always remember when he used to come up to Bradfield and I had actually got things going right. You could always tell at the site when it was working because it had this wonderful hum and Tom would look in and say "Everything OK?" and you would say "Yes" and he would hold his hand up, and touch the aerial wires and sparks would fly off them and he would stand there going Brrrrr... "

 

It must be about 20 years or so since I last walked round Onesmoor, and it was indeed a moor then but now its been cultivated and is just 1 enormous field. The land that the observatory is on however is still moorland. Amazing views still, counted 6 power stations on the horizon.

 

Here's my trip up there

 

http://www.ephotozine.com/user/dynexclick-34266/gallery/photo/scifi---we-are-watching-you-25928176

[Blackbeard]

Here's my trip up there

 

http://www.ephotozine.com/user/dynexclick-34266/gallery/photo/sheffield-university-observatory----high-bradfield--sheffield-25918834

 

You certainly picked an excellent day for a visit to the old site. I can assure you that not every day is like that and working there in winter is not to be recommended, especially at the top of a radio mast.

[retrogo]

You certainly picked an excellent day for a visit to the old site. I can assure you that not every day is like that and working there in winter is not to be recommended, especially at the top of a radio mast.

 

Who said public sector workers had it cushdy.

I've updated the link. Made the pic more dr who'ish.