Do you remember how mucky Sheffield was before the clean air act?

[Plain Talker]

I thought the Town Hall was built of black granite. When I went to Plymouth in 1949 my mother came for a visit, she couldn't believe people put their washing on privet hedges to dry & leave the washing out when it rained.

 

I acquired a book not long ago, a picture, taken from a 'plane i think, a very high shot of the Town Hall, in the fifties, after the clean air act came in.

 

The Town hall was blackened and grimy, very different to today.

 

I commented in this post on the town hall and clean air act back in 2007

daven, I remember Carbrook School (lately players cafe) at Attercliffe, being sandblasted clean. I would only have been 2, or 3 at the most. I remember how odd it looked, changed from blackened stone to pristine-looking sandstone colour.

 

I have seen the phootgraphs of the Town Hall, all black and filthy-looking, but I don't remember it being cleaned. does anyone know what year the TH was cleaned?

 

Also, I'm a bit curious, Darnall road school was cleaned. Sharrow Lane school was, Carbrook, Brightside, Lowfield, Anns Road... the church and school (?) the one on the right-hand side of Elesmere road as you head out-of town was cleaned up, Earl marshal (now fir vale) was, Orphanage road was cleaned, Porter croft and Highfield were. Daniel hill school, crookesmoor and netherthorpe, asn Springfield schools also got the sandblaster treatment.

 

the one near Wisewood (Malin Bridge?) was, as were Bole Hills, Crookes Endowed, and the two schools at Walkley, Hillsborough School and Beeley Wood, and the other school on Halifax Road, (Parson Cross School) were.

 

but, Gleadless and Handsworth Schools, Lydgate school, Burton Street school, Pye-Bank and Woodseats school, the two on Meersbrook (Meersbrook Bank and the one near Albert Road) weren't, Salmon Pastures and Greystones School weren't, nor was Carter Knowle, to my knowledge.

 

I find it a bit weird that some were, and some weren't, and gernerally, the proximity or lack-of doesn't give any clues... does anyone know why this happened?

 

I wonder... maybe some schools opted out, or maybe the money ran out part way through "Operation Sandblast"...?

 

sorry, this is a rambl-y geek-y post, but I am quite curious why some were and some weren't cleaned.

 

and Hillsboro and greybeard mentioned that the TH had been sandblasted clean in 1957 for its 60th anniversary. It's hard to believe that the TH accumulated all that muck in just 60 years.

[DaveD]

I remember the fogs...going to the Gaumont on evening ..it was even foggy inside..and driving down the BAWTRY ROAD IN Rotherham with the car door open so I could see the white line...I was young and foolish then back in the 60s lol

[harvey19]

Even with all the pollution most of my grandparents lived into their 80s.

[Highnote]

So did mine Harvey19, and I lived in Sheffield when it was Mucky Sheffield and I am now in my 80s, when my late Mother-in-Law was diagnosed with lung trouble the consultant said it was the polluted atmosphere of the city that caused her problems, and it used to be said about Sheffield and its surrounding beautiful countryside, it was an ugly picture in a beautiful frame.

In the 50s my Dad bought a lovely little Morris Minor, and he worked at John Bedfords near Mowbray St and after a while the body work was ruined by the muck and debris floating about in the atmosphere from chimmneys and ventilators.

There has been mention of the sand blasting and Springfield school was included, and when I attended this was a mucky black shade, but it is now in its original glory, and on a recent nostalgic visit there I was delighted to be told by a member of staff it is now a grade 2 protected building, and looking like worthy of it!!!

[Janner]

where's there's muck, there's brass!

[poppins]

Those were the good old mucky days every one had a job, no one cared what it was,kids couldn't wait to leave school so they could bring in a wage to help out, pay packet was handed over as soon as you walked in the door with no problem.....yes, good old days on a lot of ways, but not all.

[Johnny P]

Something on another thread reminded me just how 'mucky' Sheffield was before the clean air act came in. It was on a Saturday morning and I was on the railway at the time, mid 50's. I was on a duty called 'relief' and a driver and myself had to walk down to Brightside from Grimesthorpe to change over with another engine crew. They were cleaning the furnaces at English Steels or something, and the whole place was yellow. I'd never seen it as bad as that.

Another time, I was on my way to Heeley top on the tram, sat in the back bay looking back toward Sheffield City Center. All you could see was the Cathedral spire and and Vulcan. Man, it was mucky back then.

 

I can remember the river at the bottom of Staniforth Road in Attercliffe it were orange with all the **** being thrown in there

[Johnny P]

Kids nowadays dunt know what a wage packet is !!

[chrishall]

When I got my first car in'64 i remember driving slowly down Ravencar Rd on the Manor and not being able to see anything past the bonnet, straight across Prince of Wales Rd and found myself in someone's hedge!

 

First time we went down to the south coast and my mum was amazed to see washing left on the line all night

[soft ayperth]

I remember the fogs...going to the Gaumont on evening ..it was even foggy inside..and driving down the BAWTRY ROAD IN Rotherham with the car door open so I could see the white line...I was young and foolish then back in the 60s lol

 

Yes, you got no relief from the pollution when you went to the pictures back then because most people smoked in there. Looking at the black and white picture on the screen through columns of white cigarette smoke. I used to be a partaker myself. Those were the day, my friend.