anyone tell me when they stopped useing gaslamps in sheffield,and are there any still left standing anywhere

Originally posted by deadgobby
anyone tell me when they stopped useing gaslamps in sheffield,and are there any still left standing anywhere
i dont know when they stop using them
i still call em gas lamps used swing ont arms wen i was a kid

There's one at the top of Cemetry Road by the roundabout.

There are still a few Victorian methane burning lamps about eg one at Brincliffe.
I think the traditional gaslamps were replaced in the very early 60's........not very atmospheric or pretty but you could see more than the resticted pool of light under each lamp...the old ones would be a muggers paradise these days.

There's one on Langsett Rd at the top of Frog Walk....I think it's a methane one.

I remember as a kid that nearly all gaslamps had a bike tyre hanging from one of the arms at the top!

Langsett Road, Frog Walk? The Frog Walk I know is at Sharrowhead - and there is a gas lamp there - is there another frog walk?

ooops......I meant Swamp Walk....always get those two mixed up!

I was told ages ago that the surviving gas lamps use the methane from the sewers and drains, there's one by the Cremorne pub on London road and the one at Brincliffe used to be painted odd colours by one of the radio hallam DJ's.

Is'nt that one outside the old jessop hospital? I have never really gone past at night so would'nt know if it is working or not.

Gaslamps, boy now we're talking old.

There's one still standing outside the old Walkley Junior School at the top of Burnaby Street. It's right next to the play ground there.

...at least it was last time I was back home...

There's an old gas lamp situated at the rear of the new tesco, just off west street.

It is a bit special to me, as it marks the spot where my dad's house was when he was a kid. :D

It's now council car parking. :(

There was a cafe on the top of Broomhall Street, called the Rickshaw (IIRC). my dad's parents lived in a private flat above the cafe. The lamp was right ouside the caff!

I overlook it's site, as I sit in my office at work!

(And yes the lamp at the top of Frog Walk, off Cemetery Road is still there... I live a few yards from it!)

PT

There is an old one near to Malin Bridge School, opposite the Hillsborough Social Club.

There used to be a methane gas lamp at Darnall on the junction of Price of Wales Rd and Main Road, but was lost in the early 1990's when they widened the junction. Used to amaze that it burnt 24hrs a day.

They were 3 or 4 on my road at Longley up to about 7 years agobut they were converted from gas to electric.

When I was a little lad, a man with a long pole used to go down Bellhouse Road in Shire green, he used to reach up to the gas lamp open a door with a hook on the stick and ignite the gas with a wick burning in a tube also on the pole..I think he only did this on problem lamps with faulty pilot lights...Another lamplighter I remember was at High Green, I used to see him on Thorncliffe Row where several gas lamps lit up the Stone terraced houses. This was when I used work at Newton Chambers in the late 50's

Originally posted by mega_monty
There used to be a methane gas lamp at Darnall on the junction of Price of Wales Rd and Main Road, but was lost in the early 1990's when they widened the junction. Used to amaze that it burnt 24hrs a day.

Those old methane burners served a very useful purpose. A council worker once had a lucky escape at that junction. He was burning white paint markings off the road when there was an explosion and all six of the BT cast iron manhole covers were thrown about thirty feet into the air. These covers weigh about a hundredweight each. I believe one missed a bus by just a few inches and another landed on the back of a passing lorry.

There used to be a one on the corner of Tipton Street and Jenkin Road.

They are called Gas Destructor Lamps because they burn sewer gasses.

Try this site: http://www.yorks8128.free-online.co.uk/G/GasLamps/GasLamp0.htm

I may be wrong, but I was led to believe that the gaslamps that were situated around Sheffield were to release methane from the underground as a safety precaution

Originally posted by Trekker
Gaslamps, boy now we're talking old.

Even if i remembered them i wouldn't admit it !

Well Miss Poppins Age is a state of the mind and remember I've got there, you havn't yet

Originally posted by sharkw
Well Miss Poppins Age is a state of the mind and remember I've got there, you havn't yet

Sharkw, I'm an oldie too, i was just kidding .

sorry poppins getting fickle in my old age

I noticed one just tosay, on Foxhill road just a few roads above the service station, (where I was taking my car for the MOT) it looked like it still had the old gas workings inside, as some vandal has smashed one of the panes. Hope this adds another to your collection. (my car passed by the way):clap: :thumbsup: :clap:

Seem to remember one on Frog Walk , near the wooden bridge that goes over the Porter.
I'm sure I met Miss Poppins there once , about 1958?

Always remember one at Bents Green near junction Ringinglow Road and Trap Lane in the late 50s. Watched a bloke light it once whilst waiting for a bus home from my gran's. That's when I learned what the bar across near the top was for. He used ladders did this bloke!

The lamps that are connected to the sewers run on ordinary town gas (not sewer gases / methane). They are usually at the high points in the sewer run, left on all the time and, because of the chimney effect, tend to draw air / smells from the sewers. They were installed because Sheffield's sewers were so poor that noxious gas used to collect very easily.

Originally posted by nuf_said
The lamps that are connected to the sewers run on ordinary town gas (not sewer gases / methane).

That doesn't make sense, why would you pump town gas down a sewer ?

Sewer gas lamp destructors burnt off noxious gases like methane, the lighting of the streets was just an ancillary benefit from the process.

Town gas Lamps ran on just Town gas (derived from coal at coking plants) which was piped to the lamps.

Originally posted by mega_monty
That doesn't make sense, why would you pump town gas down a sewer ?

Sewer gas lamp destructors burnt off noxious gases like methane, the lighting of the streets was just an ancillary benefit from the process.

Town gas Lamps ran on just Town gas (derived from coal at coking plants) which was piped to the lamps.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. No you don't pump gas down the sewer. The gas lamp works off the normal town gas main like all the others - but it has a connection down into the sewer down through the coolumn - usually the base of that lamp post is fatter than normal. The flame draws up air from below (chimney effect) and this air is being drawn up from the sewer thereby creating an air movement in the sewer and venting it.

There isn't enough calorific value in the 'methane' / stink in the sewer to light the lamp itself.

There is one on School Road Crookes just after the juction with Glebe Road. Big green thing that burnt off methane.

Originally posted by sheffexpat
Seem to remember one on Frog Walk , near the wooden bridge that goes over the Porter.
I'm sure I met Miss Poppins there once , about 1958?

As I remember it from the late 40s, Frog Walk was pretty spooky :D

My Dad used to take me that way to the General Cemetery....a lot of my ancestors are buried in there.

i've been wondering if anyone knows who is responsible for the upkeep of the lamps, and if the council are obliged to keep them connected if they are doing all this work on the sewerage system.
I have been trying to map the location of all existing lamps in Sheffield.
You may be interested to know that there are 2 lamps of the same make in Whiltey Bay! My parents who are from there hadn't noticedc them! amazing what you see when you really look!

Gas lamps along Ecclesall Road were replaced by electric either in 1937 or 38.

As I remember it from the late 40s, Frog Walk was pretty spooky :D

Nearly sixty years on, the Frog and Toad walks are STILL a bit spooky, even in daylight.

they are very gloomy, the overgrowth of the trees and the high, dark stone walls make them a bit forbidding.

PT

Dont know if its still there but there used to be one outside the Cremorne on London Road .... been a while since I've been there so I dont know if its there or not.

Plian talker — I’m sure you’ll probably know this but not all Posters will. Toad Walk was originally The Old Walk, which became T’owd Walk and subsequently, because of its proximity to Frog Walk, Toad Walk. I’ve mentioned in other Postings that before and during the war my parents were caretakers at the Bottom Snuff Mill which as you will know is quite close by.

Why would you want to know when people stopped using gimp masks?:huh:

Sorry - just re-read the title.:hihi: :hihi:

I think there are one or two on Brincliffe Edge Road in Nether Edge. They would be situated at the top of the sewer line if the other poster was right about them helping to remove sewer gas.

The last time I travelled along Brincliffe Edge Road was a nostalgic trip to see a house — number 14*— where my parents lived for a short while. Must admit, I never noticed gas lamps but I’ll keep me eyes open the next time I visit. Gaslamps when I was a kid gave off a bit of welcome heat in winter. I was mortified when they were along Ecclesall Road by electric, but at least they gave more light.

I’ve mentioned in other Postings that before and during the war my parents were caretakers at the Bottom Snuff Mill which as you will know is quite close by.

Peter, - going a bit off topic, but can you remember if there was a timber yard at the top of Frog Walk on Cemetery road ?

In the late forties we would often walk to Endclife Park up Sharrow lane and along Sharrow vale. The field at the side of Wilson's dam always fascinated me, it was like an oasis and I'm sure we occasionally saw sheep or perhaps goats in that field.

I remember the old gas lamps on attercliffe in the early 70s.Altho they were obviously not connected to the gas when a rope was tied to them they made a great swing:hihi:

I have genuine one in my garden, but now is lit by electricity. Bought it from the council years ago.

The gas lamps on Infirmary Road and Langsett Road survived until 1965. We were always a bit behind the times...

Peter, - going a bit off topic, but can you remember if there was a timber yard at the top of Frog Walk on Cemetery road ?

In the late forties we would often walk to Endclife Park up Sharrow lane and along Sharrow vale. The field at the side of Wilson's dam always fascinated me, it was like an oasis and I'm sure we occasionally saw sheep or perhaps goats in that field.


Yes Greybeard,there was a timber yard there. I remember when we
were schoolkids at bonfire time,we would go there and were allowed
to collect wood shavings and small pieces of off cuts for our fire.
I can remember too the lamplighter,he would come round in the evening
to light the lamps,and again in the morning to put them out. I think
it would be about the middle thirties when they were converted to
electricity,and would turn on and off automatically by a timer.