Spring Hill Sheffield

The map below shows Spring Hill circa 1850. The only two dwellings marked are firstly Spring Cottage which is situated at the junction of Spring Hill and Crookesmoor Road and secondly Spring Cottages which are located on the left hand side of the road. Adjacent to Spring Cottages is another building that is known as Beggars Farm that dates back to the eighteenth century. According to the records Spring Hill got its name surprisingly enough from a spring that ran down the hill. However any traces of this spring have long since disappeared

The first houses to be built on Spring Hill were a block of six brick terraced houses directly above Spring Cottages which are numbered 5,7,9,11,13, and 15 in the 1876 Sheffield Street Directory. The numbers 1 and 3 were given to the properties known as Spring Cottages. Dating when the houses were actually built is rather difficult. The original land title dated 1860 indicates that the land was owned by the Trustees of the Church and formed part of the Parish of St Thomas, Crookes, Sheffield

The original tenant - occupier was a George Booth who obtained a 99 year building lease from 24th June 1852. A George Eadon then acquired the lease and was given a 99 year lease from 24th June 1855. The inference is that George Booth was unable to develop the land and so the lease passed to George Eadon.

George died prior to 1899 and all his properties and land that he had massed in the district were auctioned. This is the notice that appeared in the local newspaper The Sheffield Daily Telegraph. It is dated Saturday 6th May 1899. Spring Hill is down as Lot 13. The auction took place on Tuesday 16th May 1899 at Eadon's salerooms in St James Street Sheffield

and from the 1876 Sheffield Street Directory, details of which are listed in the next table

House No.	Name of Occupant	Trade of Occupant
1	Wheatman Mrs Elizabeth
3	Kay Edward	Iron and Steel Agent
3	Case Miss Mary
5	Oldale Henry A	Engineer and Millwright
7	Ash John	Silver Piercer
9	Garside Henry	Razor Blade Grinder
11	Turner John	Roller
13	Crookes Jno	Joiners Tool Turner
15	Nowill Frank	Cutlery Manufacturer
	.............Commonside............
	Rhodes Miss Eliza
	Rodgers Maurice
	Wright Joseph R - Spring Cottage	Steel Manufacturer

Twelve years later the house numbers were changed to take account of the new stone buildings that had been erected between Spring Cottages and Crookesmoor Road. Numbers 5 - 15 became numbers 31 - 41 respectively, a street numbering that is still retained today. Spring Cottage the house at the junction of Spring Hill and Crookesmoor Road became number 8 Spring Hill

House No	Name of Occupant	Trade of Occupant
3	Howe Mrs Jane
7	Revitt Frank	Razor Manafacturer
9	Carlisle William L	Ivory Cutter
11	Hull Henry R	Traveller
13	Gibson George	Cashier
15	Miller James T	Clerk
17	Peace Mrs Eliza
17	Peace Miss Emily	Ladies School
19	Davies Lewis	Assistant
21	Case John	Clerk
23	Gill Samuel	Engine Tenter
31	Cole Charles	Cutler
33	Ash John	Manager
35	Garside Henry	Grinder
37	Lee George	Carter
39	Seed George A	Traveller
41	Cope John William	Clerk

8	Gleadhill James C	Accountant
	...................Spring Hill Road....................
28	Rodgers Maurice	Engraver

The above painting shows Sheffield in 1854 just prior to the building of Spring Hill. The painting was by Willian Ibbit.

I moved to Spring Hill in late February 1979 and so I've got none of the older photographs of the road. However in the book "Crookes - The History of a Sheffield Village" that was published by the Local History Group there is a photograph of the top of Spring Hill with it junction with Commonside.

The four houses across the road 134 - 140 Commonside, were demolished in 1954 and replaced by a row of 15 lock-up garages, one of which I used to lease from a Mr Frank Beard. The freehold to the land was "owned" by the City Council who sold it to a property development company Merlin Estates in March 2002. In January 2003 the garages where demolished and the land cleared. A block of flats with adjacent car parking now stands on the site.

There is also a nineteenth century drawing of the original cottages by an unknown artist.

The cottages further down Commonside namely 128 - 132 Commonside, were reputed to be the oldest in Sheffield but that is a matter of speculation.

1. The is also more information on Spring Hill as it entered the twentieth century.

2. I am slowly putting together a section that outlines the history of Crookes and its development from a straggling settlement on the outskirts of Sheffield to the densely populated and congested suburb it is today.