Sheffield Clarion Ramblers

[willybite]

You should have been up there in 1947. the snow then was 10ft deep .

No one could get through to the stewards who lived at the Clarion club house for over a week . My father and another clarion member followed the first snow plough on foot carrying food supplies for them .

If you remember this area-- I can tell you the snow came above the Door Moor inn which is situated further down the Hathersage Rd towards Sheffield .

That was a real winter !! I was 12 at the time , but I still remember it, and we have never had a winter as bad for so long a period since

 

hiya just read your letter about the harsh winters on hathersage rd i once asked my mate ted why do we get these stonewalling jobs only in the winter months his answer was so we would have to work to keep warm, just imagine being there in the summer we'd have been taking the sun. also we never worked near fox house inn either ha ha.

Edited June 9, 2010 by willybite

[Donny Lad]

I came across this topic because I was reading that wonderful book "The Pioneer Ramblers 1850-1940" in bed last night, saw mention of the Sheffield Clarion Ramblers, and decided to do a Google search this morning to see if the club still existed. This thread came up near the top of the page.

 

Although I am a regular walker these days, my first love as a boy/young man was cycling, and I used the Clarion Clubhouse on Dore Moor regularly in the 1950s up to, I think, around 1957.

 

I remember that later on we used to use the Pewit Cafe at Owler Bar (which for some reason we always pronounced 'pugh-it'!), so perhaps that was when the Clarion Clubhouse had closed down.

 

At the time I lived in Doncaster and used to ride out into Derbyshire regularly on a Sunday from the age of eight or nine (seems unbelievable now) with either the Doncaster Wheelers or the Doncaster Section of the Cyclists' Touring Club (Sheffield Dist Assn). When we had been into the Peak District we would stop for tea (baked beans on toast and a mug of tea seem to ring a bell) at the Clarion Clubhouse before continuing on our way home. The return through Sheffield, especially on rainy evenings, quite often saw at least one rider (me on several occasions) get their front wheel trapped in a tramline and come crashing down, most usually in front of the Midland Station where there was a section of adverse camber if I remember rightly.

 

My own recollection (and I am happy to accept that I am probably totally wrong), was that the Clubhouse actually belonged to the ramblers, and that we cyclists were merely allowed to use the facilities. I remember rows of bikes leant against the wall of the clubhouse, piled four or five deep. If yours was at the bottom of the heap, it was easier to delay your journey until some others had left, rather than try and extricate your bike from the tangled mass of handlebars, brake cables, saddlebags, etc. Happy days!

Edited September 14, 2010 by Donny Lad

[gaye]

yes you are totaly wrong !! if you enter 'sheffield clarion movement' into yahoo (NOT GOOGLE) you will find a web site 'homepages.shu.ac.uk/~kfrost'

here you will find the history of the clarion movement which began at the end of the 1800's . The ramblers and the cycling were only part of the many activities .

The club house was not built untill 1919/20. It was built by many 'clarionets' who participated in all the many clarion activities and came from all over Sheffield .

Hope you find this interesting if you have anything you would like to contribute to this web site, either photos or your memories .please e mail me , you will find the e-mail on the web site

Gaye

[AllanG]

Just joined this site and noticed the Clarion.

 

My mum was the steward there in the early 50's and I can remember fetching the water from up the road with her. There was a cart which held two dustbins. In the winter we melted snow!

 

There were several bad winters and we were usually cut off. I can remember walking with her to Dore Mixed Infants, and losing mum straight down in a snow drift as it would not bear her weight. I dug her out and she still made me go the rest of the way to school.

 

The AA man used to give me a lift sometimes, clinging to the rails round the top of his sidecar.

 

Dad worked at Banners and then Tinsley Wire Works.

 

We moved to Lincolnshire in 1953.

[johnpm]

My wife's grandad Arthur H Moore (1883 - 1966) & Uncle Eric Moore (1916-2000) are believed to have been in the Clarion Rambers. Maybe uncle's John H Moore & Arthur Moore too.

It is said they took part in the Kinder Mass Trespass of 24 April 1932.

Do these names mean anything to anyone who was involved in Clarion Ramblers or are they in any of the Year books?

Also is the story of the Clarion Ramblers being involved in the Mass Tresspass correct?

John

[gaye]

Hi Allan, If you look on this site ,just above your entry, you will see how to find the web site about the Clarion . From the main page click on 'club house' (bottom right), then from this menu click 'residential stewards', and you will find a letter sent to by a Brian Mears whose family were the stewards from 1955which you might find interesting.Perhaps you would contact me on the e-mail given on this site with your memories of your time spent there which I could include here ? Gaye

Just joined this site and noticed the Clarion.

 

My mum was the steward there in the early 50's and I can remember fetching the water from up the road with her. There was a cart which held two dustbins. In the winter we melted snow!

 

There were several bad winters and we were usually cut off. I can remember walking with her to Dore Mixed Infants, and losing mum straight down in a snow drift as it would not bear her weight. I dug her out and she still made me go the rest of the way to school.

 

The AA man used to give me a lift sometimes, clinging to the rails round the top of his sidecar.

 

Dad worked at Banners and then Tinsley Wire Works.

 

We moved to Lincolnshire in 1953.

[gaye]

My wife's grandad Arthur H Moore (1883 - 1966) & Uncle Eric Moore (1916-2000) are believed to have been in the Clarion Rambers. Maybe uncle's John H Moore & Arthur Moore too.

It is said they took part in the Kinder Mass Trespass of 24 April 1932.

Do these names mean anything to anyone who was involved in Clarion Ramblers or are they in any of the Year books?

Also is the story of the Clarion Ramblers being involved in the Mass Tresspass correct?

John

 

You need the local studies department, in the main library on Surrey St central Sheffield. Here they have the complete set of the Clarion Ramblers hand books. They also have a copy of a book about the ramblers called 'Wards Piece' which gives the history of the ramblers and the mass tresspass. You can't borrow these books but you can read them there Gaye

[johnpm]

You need the local studies department, in the main library on Surrey St central Sheffield. Here they have the complete set of the Clarion Ramblers hand books. They also have a copy of a book about the ramblers called 'Wards Piece' which gives the history of the ramblers and the mass tresspass. You can't borrow these books but you can read them there Gaye

 

Hi Gaye, Thanks for that but I live up in the north east & had hoped someone has access to them.

John

[gaye]

Hi Gaye, Thanks for that but I live up in the north east & had hoped someone has access to them.

John

 

looked in the rambling books that I have which are mainly from before 1st world war and 1940/50. The books give only the names of the presidents, secretaries, treasurer, committee members etc, not unfortunately the names of the individuals who went on each walk . I cannot find any with the name 'moores' among them .

The mass tresspass in 1932 was mainly by walkers/ramblers from Manchester , but they were joined by some 30 people from Sheffield many of whom would no doubt have been from the Sheffield Clarion Ramblers .The book about the Clarion Ramblers was published in 2002 I am sure you would be able to still purchase a copy should you wish, although I have looked at my copy and can find no reference to Moore . Still it is an interesting book .

Gaye

[johnpm]

looked in the rambling books that I have which are mainly from before 1st world war and 1940/50. The books give only the names of the presidents, secretaries, treasurer, committee members etc, not unfortunately the names of the individuals who went on each walk . I cannot find any with the name 'moores' among them .

The mass tresspass in 1932 was mainly by walkers/ramblers from Manchester , but they were joined by some 30 people from Sheffield many of whom would no doubt have been from the Sheffield Clarion Ramblers .The book about the Clarion Ramblers was published in 2002 I am sure you would be able to still purchase a copy should you wish, although I have looked at my copy and can find no reference to Moore . Still it is an interesting book .

Gaye

 

Many thanks Gaye for the information.

John