View source for River Sheaf

{{Short description|River in South Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox river
  | name                = River Sheaf
  | image               = River Sheaf through Ladies Spring Wood - geograph.org.uk - 6439439.jpg
  | image_size          = <!--Optional; defaults to 288 px-->
  | image_caption       = The river running through Ladies Spring Wood
  | source1             = Confluence of Oldhay Brook and Totley Brook
  | source1_coordinates = {{coord|53|19|12|N|1|31|26|W|display=inline}}
  | mouth               = River Don
  | mouth_coordinates   = {{coord|53|23|07|N|1|27|44|W|display=inline,title}}
  | subdivision_name1   = 
  | length              = 
  | source1_elevation   = 
  | mouth_elevation     = 
  | discharge1_avg      = 
  | basin_size          = 
}}

The '''River Sheaf''' in [[Sheffield]], [[South Yorkshire]], England, flows northwards, past [[Dore, South Yorkshire|Dore]], through [[Abbeydale, South Yorkshire|Abbeydale]] and north of [[Heeley]]. It then passes into a [[culvert]], through which it flows under the centre of Sheffield before joining the [[River Don, Yorkshire|River Don]]. This lower section of the River Sheaf, together with the Don between the Blonk Street and [[Lady's Bridge]]s, formed two sides of the boundary of [[Sheffield Castle]].

The main tributaries of the Sheaf are the [[Porter Brook]], which joins it beneath [[Sheffield Midland station]], and the [[Meers Brook]]. The river has been polluted upstream through centuries of industrial activity, including [[iron]] and [[steel]] working, and is only slowly recovering. The river used to provide the power for metal works such as the [[Listed building|Grade I-listed]] [[Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet]].

A River Sheaf Walk has been developed which follows the river from Granville Square out to [[Millhouses Park]] and beyond to the [[Peak District]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sheafportertrust.org/explore-our-rivers|title=Explore Our Rivers|website=Sheaf & Porter Trust|access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=River Sheaf Walk | publisher=Sheffield City Council | date=13 June 2005 | url=http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/urban-design--conservation/current--recent-projects/sheaf-valley-walk | access-date=13 October 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612012946/http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/urban-design--conservation/current--recent-projects/sheaf-valley-walk | archive-date=12 June 2011 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==Name==
Until the 17th century the name ''Sheaf'' was written as ''Scheth'' or ''Sheath''.<ref name=ADDY1888>{{harvnb |Addy |1888 |pp=xxix–xxx}}</ref> [[Sidney Oldall Addy]] equates the origins of this word with the [[Old English language|Old English]] ''shed'' (as in ''[[Drainage divide|water-shed]]'') or ''sheth'', which mean to divide, or separate.<ref name=ADDY1888/> Historically, the Sheaf&mdash;along with its tributaries the [[Meers Brook]] and the [[Limb Brook]]&mdash;formed part of the border separating the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] kingdoms of [[Mercia]] and [[Northumbria]]; it remained on the border between [[Yorkshire]] and [[Derbyshire]] into the 20th century. The city of Sheffield derives its name from the Sheaf.

==Course==
{{River Sheaf map}}
[[File:River Sheaf, viewed from the London Road bridge - geograph.org.uk - 7688675.jpg|thumb|The river seen from the [[London Road, Sheffield|London Road]] bridge]]
[[File:Megatron Sheffield.jpg|thumb|"Megatron" arch within the River Sheaf culverts, under Exchange Street]]
[[File:Confluence of Don & Sheaf.jpg|thumb|The River Sheaf emerging from its culvert (right) to join the Don by Blonk Street bridge. The Two Rivers Cafe is in the centre, a former public toilet.]]
The waters which form the River Sheaf rise as a series of streams on a ridge of [[gritstone]] between {{convert|6|and|7|mi|km}} to the south west of the main city centre. The [[Blacka Dike]], [[Needhams Dike]] and [[Redcar Brook]] combine to form Oldhay Brook, while Totley Brook is joined by [[Rodmoor Brook]], and itself joins Oldhay Brook between [[Totley]] and [[Dore, South Yorkshire|Dore]], after which the combined flow forms the Sheaf.<ref name=bcf>{{harvnb |Ball|Crossley |Flavell |2006 |pp=148–149}}</ref> Immediately below the junction, the river is crossed by the [[Hope Valley Line|Hope Valley railway line]], which then joins the [[Midland Main Line]], and both cross back over to reach [[Dore & Totley railway station]], which was built on the site of [[Walk Mill (Sheffield)|Walk Mill]] in 1872.<ref name=walk>{{harvnb |Ball| Crossley |Flavell |2006 |p=156}}</ref> The river shares its valley with the railway, and there are a further five crossings before both reach [[Sheffield station]].

From the junction of the Redcar Brook and the Oldhay Brook to the city centre, the river descends by around {{convert|400|ft|m}}, and this fall has resulted in it being harnessed to provide water power for a number of industries from at least the 16th century.<ref name=bcf/>

The river valley is broad, cutting through the underlying [[Coal Measures|coal measures]] with its [[sandstone]]s and [[clay]]s, and the location of harder rock has been a major factor in where [[weir]]s and dams (a local word for the ponds used to hold water rather than the structure that creates the pond) have been located. There are some 28 sites which have well-documented and long standing mills associated with them, and a further seven were located on some of the smaller tributaries, or were more transitory in nature. The Sheaf supplied a greater variety of industry than the other Sheffield rivers, partly because of its close proximity to [[Derbyshire]], with its mineral reserves of [[lead]]. The lead ore was brought to the area around Dore, Totley and [[Norton, Sheffield|Norton]], which was then in Derbyshire. There were at least ten mills where the ore was smelted in ore [[hearth]]s, which used kiln-dried wood as the heat producing agent, and water-powered [[bellows]] to produce the temperatures required. As well as the lead smelting mills, there were a variety of corn and [[paper mills]] along the river, some of which were adapted in the 18th century to service the metal trades as they grew and expanded.<ref name=bcf/>

Walk Mill was one of the earliest known mills on the Sheaf, having been built around 1280 by the Canons of [[Beauchief Abbey]] as a [[fulling mill]]. After the abbey was dissolved in the reign of [[Henry VIII]], it was used as a cutlers wheel. By 1746, John Tyzack was using it for grinding scythes, in 1797 Thomas Biggin was making knives for cutting hay and straw, and it was being used as a sickle mill in 1805. After a brief spell as a [[paper mill]] around 1826, it was occupied by Thomas Tyzack and Sons, who made saws. The site was sold to the [[Midland Railway]] by the [[Duke of Devonshire]] in 1871 to enable the construction of Dore and Totley station, and the last mill buildings were taken down in 1890.<ref name=walk/>

Below Walk Mill, the Limb Brook flows in from the west. Whirlow Wheel was situated on the brook, and was used for milling corn between about 1586 until 1803, when a grinding wheel was added. With the building decaying, the site was sold to Sheffield Corporation in 1935. The roof of the building collapsed in 2006,{{sfn |Ball|Crossley|Flavell |2006 |pp=156–157}} but although there were calls to demolish it, the Friends of Whirlow Wheel campaigned for it to be retained until a use could be found for the site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wix.com/pitapawole/pitapawole |title=Friends of Whirlow Wheel |access-date= 5 October 2010}}</ref>

Abbeydale Works is located just below the Limb Brook and was powered by two water wheels. In 1855, these were supplemented by a steam engine, but the site declined after 1900. It was given to Sheffield Corporation in 1935 as an industrial museum, and only an active campaign by members of a local history group prevented its demolition. Restoration eventually began in 1964, and in 1970 it was opened as a museum, known as [[Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet]].{{sfn |Ball|Crossley|Flavell |2006 |pp=159–162}} The Abbey Brook then joins the river from the east, below which the river is bordered by [[Millhouses Park]]. In order to reduce flooding and pollution of the river when the sewerage system is overloaded by heavy rainfall, Yorkshire Water excavated the park in 2004/5 to construct a tank capable of holding {{convert|10000|m3|cuft}} of storm water. The decision to build a tank rather than a vertical shaft was made after test boreholes found hard rock and high groundwater pressure in the area. The project cost £7.5 million, and included three more conventional shafts further down the river, which provide an additional {{convert|3175|m3|cuft}} of storage.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.hy-ten.co.uk/pages/nce_millhouses.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313121330/http://www.hy-ten.co.uk/pages/nce_millhouses.htm |archive-date=13 March 2012 |title=Going down a storm|magazine= New Civil Engineer|date= 10 February 2005|access-date= 7 October 2010}}</ref>

Little London wheel was used for the cutlery trade from the earliest known records in 1720. By 1814 it was described as a grinding and plating forge, and later was used for the production of scythes. When the railway was constructed, it crossed part of the dam, which was reduced in size by one eighth. By 1912, the water wheels had been modernised and there were two tilt hammers in operation. The owners moved their scythe production from Abbeydale Works to Little London on 1935, and the tilt hammers continued to be water-powered until the mid-1950s. Some of the equipment was dismantled in the 1970s and taken to [[Beamish Museum]] to be restored.{{sfn |Ball|Crossley|Flavell |2006 |pp=172–174}}

The next tributary is the [[Meers Brook]], culverted for its last section under the suburban district of [[Meersbrook]]. Just below the junction is Heeley Station, built on the site of Heeley Wheel. The mill was demolished and the river was diverted by the railway company.{{sfn |Ball|Crossley |Flavell |2006 |pp=176–177}} Other sections of the river were also re-aligned in the 1860s to make way for the railway, and the weir at the site of Cooper Wheel, which can be seen from Havelock bridge, was probably built by the Midland Railway, as its orientation changed around that time.{{sfn |Ball|Crossley|Flavell |2006 |p=179}}

From Granville Square to the Don, the river is almost entirely in culverts. The Midland Railway bought the water rights to allow them to build their station over the river. The site of Pond Tilt is now occupied by the station forecourt, and the goods yard covered its dam. The owners of Pond Forge vacated their site soon after the station was built, but attempted to get compensation for loss of water power as a result of the work.{{sfn |Ball|Crossley|Flavell |2006 |pp=185–190}}

At Granville Square, a large screen prevents debris from entering the culverts. Serious flooding in 1990 led to the construction of the first screen, and it was then refurbished in 2010, so that it could be continuously monitored by the [[Environment Agency]].<ref>River Sheaf Walk, interpretation board at Granville Square</ref> The Sheaf Screen was replaced by a larger, automated version in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sheffields-river-sheaf-screen-gets-3m-upgrade |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524095953/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sheffields-river-sheaf-screen-gets-3m-upgrade |archive-date=24 May 2021 |url-status=live |title=Sheffield's River Sheaf screen gets £3m upgrade |date=28 May 2020 |publisher=Environment Agency}}</ref>

The river continues below ground to the edge of the station, where it is joined underground by the [[Porter Brook]], which emerges from its own culvert to flow beside the station car park before passing under the station from the west.  The two rivers meet under platform 5a, currently under a wooden access cover but the Sheaf & Porter Rivers Trust intend to replace this with a lightwell and information signs.

The river surfaces briefly by Pond Hill, before passing under the Ponds Forge district. It flows through a series of huge tunnels. A decaying concrete section of culvert follows until the Sheaf joins the Don under Castlegate bridge, opposite Blonk Street bridge, named after Benjamin Blonk, who was the tenant of Castle Orchards Wheel from the 1750s to the 1770s.{{sfn |Ball|Crossley|Flavell |2006 |p=191}}

==Water quality==
The [[Environment Agency]] measure water quality of the river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of [[invertebrate]]s, [[angiosperm]]s and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/help/glossary |title=Catchment Data Explorer Glossary (see Biological quality element; Chemical status; and Ecological status) |publisher=Environment Agency |date=17 February 2016}}</ref>

The water quality of the Sheaf was as follows in 2019:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Section !! Ecological Status !! Chemical Status !! Length !! Catchment !! Channel
|-
| {{waterqual_title |desc=Sheaf from Source to River Don |asset=GB104027057750 |accessdate=12 October 2017}}
| {{waterqual_mod}}
| {{waterqual_fail}}
| {{convert|18.4|mi}}
| {{convert|20.33|sqmi}}
| heavily modified
|}
The river is only rated moderate for ecological status due to the fact that the channel has been heavily modified by human activity. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, perfluorooctane sulphonate and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/help/usage#chemical-status |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314040920/https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/help/usage#chemical-status |archive-date=14 March 2024 |url-status=live |title=Chemical Status |publisher=Environment Agency |year=2023}}</ref>

== Future ==
Sheffield City Council, the Environment Agency and Sheaf & Porter Rivers Trust are currently working on a vision for the former [[Castle Market]] site. This involves removing the structurally decaying concrete culvert at the end of the River Sheaf, daylighting the section and replacing it with a new city centre park.<ref>{{cite news |title=Grant will help Sheffield river see daylight for first time 'in a century' |work=The Star |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/grant-will-help-sheffield-river-see-daylight-first-time-century-444844 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114082541/https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/grant-will-help-sheffield-river-see-daylight-first-time-century-444844 |archive-date=14 January 2020 |url-status=live |date=24 March 2017}}</ref> The Sheaf & Porter Rivers Trust are also campaigning for improvements to the River Sheaf Walk and Cycleway. This follows the course of the river for much of its length, but there are some significant gaps, and the Trust is working to ensure that the routes for the missing links are protected in the planning process.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sheafportertrust.org/sheaf-walk-missing |archive-url= |archive-date= |url-status= |title=The future of the Sheaf Walk |publisher=Sheaf & Porter Rivers Trust |year=2021}}</ref>

In September 2014 [[Sheffield City Council]] announced plans for flood defences on the River Sheaf and its tributaries costing £12&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-29245851|title=£55m flood scheme plans backed|date=17 September 2014|work=BBC News|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book 
  |first=Sidney Oldall |last=Addy
  |title=A Glossary of Words Used in the Neighbourhood of Sheffield. Including a Selection of Local Names, and Some Notices of Folk-Lore, Games, and Customs 
  |year=1888
  |publisher=Trubner & Co. for the English Dialect Society
  |location=London 
  }}
*{{cite book
  |first1=Christine |last1=Ball
  |first2=David |last2=Crossley
  |first3=Neville |last3=Flavell
  |title=Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers: Second Edition
  |publisher=South Yorkshire Industrial History Society
  |year=2006
  |isbn=978-0-9556644-0-3
  }}
{{refend}}

===References===
{{reflist|2}}

{{Waterways in Sheffield}}
{{Rivers of Yorkshire}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Sheffield|Sheaf]]
[[Category:Ouse catchment|2Sheaf]]