Victoria Street and Broomspring Lane

[willybite]

Hi John Habs,

Sorry I got your mum’s name wrong – I am who I say I am – Fred’s girl and we lived at 115 two doors down from the lane on the other side. If your uncle Derek is still alive he would remember my dad. He died just 2 years ago at 95 – he was a lovely man and I miss him a lot. I don’t know how much you remember about your mum and some things are best not discussed in open forum, suffice to say that I saw her seesaw through happiness to misery. The houses weren’t big enough to conceal rage – raised voices could be heard without eavesdropping and everyone pretty much knew everyone’s business. I hope she found happiness again.

You’ve set me thinking about the other people too, I can look down that street and see in my mind’s eye all the houses, all the people, some petty snobbery, some bickering over the kids but mainly just ordinary people trying to get by. I’ve always been a people watcher - I used to sit on our doorstep with a little bit of sugar in a paper twist with a stick of rhubarb to dip in, that was a real treat and watch. Victoria Street was quite a busy little street, from first thing when you could hear people walking past going down to the factory, the whistle blew at 8 am and the machines started. During the day you were never conscious of the noise , it was just there like living next to a motorway and not hearing the traffic. My dad’s firm had a horse and cart for delivery and she would come down the street, sometimes with the driver asleep on the box. Dolly didn’t have to be told where to go, she just pulled up at the bottom of the street and waited for her driver to take her across to the factory. Did you know that people used to take shelter in the basement or cellars of that firm during the war ?. I think Willybite will remember better than me the air raid shelters in the back yards and the nightly disturbances when we were taken from our beds. Victoria Street was lucky not to have been hit – Fitzwilliam Street for years had a large empty space at the end of Broomhall Street up to Division Street (there was only Winter's the bakers open between Broomhall Street and the end of Bath St) it’s chilling to think how many houses were there. The site was put to good use though, the circus used it for many years, either Billy Smart’s or Chipperfields, we used to go down to Victoria Station to watch the elephants arrive and then follow them back up town. Afterwards, one time in the forties mum and dad took us for a meal at some sort of long prefab type building across the street from City Hall where Andrews the stationers was on the end. The food was awful and we never went again – as a kid I can’t ever remember eating out, my mum’s cooking was enough for us – her cowheel pie was amazing with Henderson’s sprinkled on it. I think I’ve given the forum enough food for thought for one day. .Just one last thing – talking of sweet things does anyone remember the sugar coated fish – boiled sweets in the shape of a fish dipped in sugar, they took ages to eat because they were too hard to bite through - I think they came from a stall in the market before Castle Market was built. It makes my gums sore just thinking about them.

 

hiya around the 40/50s around victoria street and the bottom of broomspring lane i remember, ken carr lived next to theshop on the corner of victoria st and broomspring lane, there were the jessons i remember billy, then the franks, peter, and mrs ayres and her son these last three ladies were dinner ladies. or cleaners along with mr and mrs allen along with mrs turner at springfield school, remember woolhouses paper shop, websters and humphries at the bottom of cavendish st. the air raid shelters my mum would grow mushrooms in ours around 1944, our next door neighbour frank broadhurst built a small greenhouse on top of their shelter growing tomatoe's,these two shelters were for 18 houses, the number of people at the time were 51 , going back to victoria st when i was 5 or 6 years old there were two girls in our class at school called pat street(s) and pat saunders they were both close friends of each other they both left school around the same time a couple of years later. i remember when it was said they were leaving i didn't think you could do that.that was when i wanted to come home midmorning i was told i had to stay.just remembered two more names betty fox, and barbara rawlings i think they both lived nearby.

ps was the factory opposite victoria sr in broomspring lane called emile engineering.

[JOHN HABS]

hiya around the 40/50s around victoria street and the bottom of broomspring lane i remember, ken carr lived next to theshop on the corner of victoria st and broomspring lane, there were the jessons i remember billy, then the franks, peter, these last two ladies were dinner ladies. or cleaners along with mr and mrs allen along with mrs turner at springfield school, remember woolhouses paper shop, websters and humphries at the bottom of cavendish st. the air raid shelters my mum would grow mushrooms in ours around 1944, our next door neighbour frank broadhurst built a small greenhouse on top of their shelter growing tomatoe's,these two shelters were for 18 houses, the number of people at the time were 51 , going back to victoria st when i was 5 or 6 years old there were two girls in our class at school called pat street(s) and pat saunders they were both close friends they both left school around the same time a couple of years later. i remember when it was said they were leaving i didn't think you could do that.that was when i wanted to come home midmorning i was told i had to stay.

ps was the factory opposite victoria sr in broomspring lane called emile engineering.

 

Hello willybite,

If you lived around Victoria Street in the 40's + 50's you probably will have known my great grandparents who lived at the bottom of Broomspring Lane next to the butchers shop and opposit Springfield School - they were property repairers / owners.

Their name was Bestall, they had a small registered office in Broomspring lane just below the cobblers shop a bit further up, and a block of flats at the lower end of Gell Street.

My great uncle Horace was known to everyone as he was a nice easy to get on with guy.

There's a chance also you would have known my grandparents who lived at number 112 Victoria Street opposit Bolton Lane.

[Plain Talker]

Thanks very much for the info. about the Church in Victoria Street, anyone know why they would keep changing the name?

 

Because different denominations took over the church building, over the years, as the other denominations either closed down, or they outgrew the premises. is the simplest and most logical answer.

 

This is the church (where the google-man is not the letter A)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Victoria+Street,+Sheffield&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=18.671517,38.232422&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Victoria+St,+Sheffield,+South+Yorkshire+S3,+United+Kingdom&ll=53.380657,-1.483975&spn=0.001037,0.006711&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=53.380748,-1.482121&panoid=w3EHQj0wp701cJMS2hwqfQ&cbp=11,310.12,,0,-4.82

[willybite]

Hello willybite,

If you lived around Victoria Street in the 40's + 50's you probably will have known my great grandparents who lived at the bottom of Broomspring Lane next to the butchers shop and opposit Springfield School - they were property repairers / owners.

Their name was Bestall, they had a small registered office in Broomspring lane just below the cobblers shop a bit further up, and a block of flats at the lower end of Gell Street.

My great uncle Horace was known to everyone as he was a nice easy to get on with guy.

There's a chance also you would have known my grandparents who lived at number 112 Victoria Street opposit Bolton Lane.

 

hiya john i lived on bath street in the 40/50s and the name bestall rang a bell with me as soon as i read your post, the property repairer , don't know if it was the one who looked after our houses maybe, they had a big hand drawn cart that had 3ft wheels they filled with their tools and bricks and sand and cement, the other was at springfield school there were a few photos of sporting pupils, one i do remember was the name tonks maybe the name bestall was among them

[JOHN HABS]

hiya john i lived on bath street in the 40/50s and the name bestall rang a bell with me as soon as i read your post, the property repairer , don't know if it was the one who looked after our houses maybe, they had a big hand drawn cart that had 3ft wheels they filled with their tools and bricks and sand and cement, the other was at springfield school there were a few photos of sporting pupils, one i do remember was the name tonks maybe the name bestall was among them

 

Hello Willybite,

Bestall's were my great grandparents and I was told that they use to have an horse and cart during the 30's - 40's.......one day whilst my great grandfather was out with the horse and cart on West Street ( dont know whether it was in the 30's or 40's ) the horse had a seizure and galloped through a shop window and was killed.

I use to live with my grandparents at 112 Victoria Street which was opposit bolton Lane.

The name Tonks you refer to, was my mum and stepdad who use to live in the lower part of Broomspring Lane ( in the same yard as my great grandparents ).

John Habs

[mammybear]

hi i lived on broomspring lane from1957 to 1965. we lived at 8 court 5. i remember going to springfield school and going to the circus, i also remember going to glossop rd baths for swimming lessons then coming home to tomato soup, lovely.

[JOHN HABS]

Hello mammybear,

Was your house at the top end or lower end of Broomspring Lane ?

I may have known you at Springfield School or even when you was a little older.

I also remember the circus which use to be on Fitzwilliam street, you use to be able to buy a bag of funny looking brown things to feed the elephants - a fair also use to use the same ground.

[mammybear]

hi john habs our house was down the bottom near the school. i think the 8 court 5 meant it was the 8th house in the 5th yard on the street. i left the area when i was 8 and moved onto the shiregreen.

[JOHN HABS]

hi john habs our house was down the bottom near the school. i think the 8 court 5 meant it was the 8th house in the 5th yard on the street. i left the area when i was 8 and moved onto the shiregreen.

 

Hi,

Was your house on the same side as the school or opposite ?

If on the same side, did you know a girl called Susan Tomlinson ?

If on the opposit side did you live in the first yard you pass just past the butchers shop, if YES then did you know a family called the Twibles ?

[willybite]

Hi,

Was your house on the same side as the school or opposite ?

If on the same side, did you know a girl called Susan Tomlinson ?

If on the opposit side did you live in the first yard you pass just past the butchers shop, if YES then did you know a family called the Twibles ?

 

hiya in answer to above letter about 8 court 5 it was the other way round i lived on bath street at 8 court (( the yard ) and 6 the house number i remember at the bottom of each entry was the court number, anyhow in the 40s and 50s a pal of mine at the time used to visit his aunt she lived opposite bolton lane up an entry, his aunts name was dora, she had a daughter i dont remember her name she was a few years older than us but i remember she had a beautiful head of auburn hair.