Hillsborough Shops Of The Past

[hillsbro]

Well, I woke up this morning, opened one eye, saw that the sun was shining and thought "Why don't I have a walk down to Hillsborough and see if the railings really are still there at the top end of the barracks? So I had a cup of coffee, kissed the still-sleeping Mrs hillsbro and set off down the hill! Sure enough, the railings are still there - see photo: http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/twigmore/Barracks.jpg

[mossdog]

Well, it's either one or the other but hard to say! Towards the right-hand side there is a hill in the background, so this suggests Middlewood Road. Hmmm....

 

Anyone interested in Edwardian fashions would enjoy the Whit Monday photos! The banner in the upper photo reads "Owlerton Wesleyan Reform Sunday School". The Wesleyan Reform chapel survives in Owlerton, on Borough Road.

Whatever happened to Whitsuntide? another great British tradition............Gone!

[hillsbro]

I think that the first "nail in the coffin" for Whitsuntide was when Spring Bank Holiday replaced Whit Monday as a public holiday - I think this was in the mid-1960s? And of course, church attendance has gone down and so less people would want to take part in "Whit walks". And the Yorkshire tradition of "Whitsuntide clothes" (the only time when many pre- and post-war children got new clothes) has died out as clothes have become more affordable. All rather sad, but times change.

[beechnut]

The railings were removed suring the Second World War, but the strange thing is that some of them survived (and are still there I think) at the very top end, where the wall is less than a foot or so in height. Does anyone know why they were left untouched? The only explanation that I can think of is that the rules might have stated that if a wall was less than a certain height, the railings could be left. So they went along the wall from the bottom end, sawing off the railings until they reached the point where the wall was the specified height, and then they left them!

 

I also had noticed that they left the railings at the top end, where the wall is very low. You're probably right about the reason - they may have left the railings to avoid someone on the pavement stumbling over the low wall. Incidentally, during Supertram construction the wall was taken apart, stone by stone, and rebuilt a few feet further back.

[sweetdexter]

ooops repeated post, sorry

[sweetdexter]

and two photos (by Furness of Langsett Road) of Whit Monday gatherings in Hillsborough Park in 1906 (top) and 1907. Can anyone identify the houses in the background of the lower photo?

 

Nosy Nellie may be correct.

It looks like Parkside Rd.

The houses that suggest another Rd off Parkside could be Winster Rd.

The high part in the background is the stand at SWFC .

Where the parade is taking place there were once allotments ,this during WW11, I don't know when the alltoments were established.

PopT can probably give you a definite answers 'Is it Parkside Rd?'

[hillsbro]

Yes - could well be. Here is an enlarged view of that part of the photo:

 

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/twigmore/HillsbroPark1907.jpg

 

Looking at a modern view, on Winster Road there is a row of four houses in the right place:

 

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|sheffield#map=53.41006,-1.50016|20|256&be=7673582|East&loc=GB:53.38308:-1.46487:14|sheffield|Sheffield,%20Norton,%20South%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20S1%202 (to enlarge, turn the mouse wheel and/or click on the little arrowhead to cut out the "find a map" panel at the left).

 

Also, looking at the houses on Parkside Road:

 

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|sheffield#map=53.40978,-1.49979|20|256&be=7673765|North&loc=GB:53.38308:-1.46487:14|sheffield|Sheffield,%20Norton,%20South%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20S1%202

 

They are of the right design, with chimney stacks and dormers in the right places.

 

But looking at an aerial view, the SWFC South Stand and the old "Spion Kop" would seem to be further to the left when looking along Winster Road - see http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|sheffield#map=53.40936,-1.49922|17|32&loc=GB:53.38308:-1.46487:14|sheffield|Sheffield,%20Norton,%20South%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20S1%202

 

Though maybe we are still looking at a hill in the distance (towards Southey Green/Parson Cross?). Or the view could still be Penistone Road - here is an old photo, unfortunately not of quite the right area, but the houses on the left have similar dormers:

 

http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=u04502

[sweetdexter]

Hasn't the Wednesday ground been altered entirely?

During the 40's we used to play on the banks of the Don.

They would clean up the stands after the game and dump the rubbish down the banks of the Don, we would go through it looking for Tizer bottles to return.

The present day photos are nothing like I remember

[hillsbro]

I really don't know about alterations to the Wednesday ground, but as I had to go to our Wadsley home today, I decided to have a walk down to Hillsborough Park to see if I could identify the view. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera (I might go back - perhaps when the trees are bare and the view is better) but I did make a bit of progress (I think...). I stood more-or-less where the 1907 photographer would have been, equipped with the original photo and a magnifying glass. Everything about the houses is right - the four on Winster Road and the ones on Parkside Road; they have the right chimney stacks, dormers, doors, windows and gateways. Only two factors were wrong - the tree in the foregound (partly obscured by the banner on the old photo) isn't there now - it is a few yards further to the right. But of course, it might be a different tree. Also, looking along Winster Road there is no hill in the background. The trees (also visible on the old photo) are there, but looking through the foliage, daylight can be seen, down to the level of the first floor windows of the Winster Road houses. The football stands are out of sight to the left. But maybe the "kop" area has been completely re-landscaped.

 

Standing near the park gates and looking across Penistone Road, Shirecliffe hill looks exactly the right shape as in the old photo - sloping down to the right, above where the old "White Bridge" was. Also looking at the old photo, there seems to be a light-coloured band where the level of the railway line would have been.

 

So I still don't know for sure whether the photo shows Parkside Road or Penistone Road. The houses on Penistone Road were probably of the same design, with little dormers etc. Maybe another short street led off from Penistone Road, as Winster Road does from Parkside Road. If we can't find evidence of this, I would tend to favour the "Parkside Road" theory!

[Jan Softly]

I just looked at the 1925 directory. No 552 Langsett Road is shown as "Fred Ward, hatter" (maybe your great-grandad?) with "John Robert Unwin, pawnbroker" on one side and "Langton & Sons, boot makers" on the other.

 

It must have been my great grandfather, but my grandfather had a brother called Fred and he had a men's outfitter's shop also, opposite the Infirmary, we called them the top shop and the bottom shop. We ( my parents and I and later my grandparents) bought Mr and Mrs Unwins house at 356 Middlewood Rd North Oughtibridge. Where we lived for many years. Jan.