Sheffield years ago

I was born in Sheffield in 1939, and left for Canada in 1965. Never been back, and by the sounds of what I am reading on this forum, I never will return. There were no good or bad areas when I was growing up, just posh and poor! Buses were frequent, as were the original trams! I had relatives living on the Manor estate, Crookes, Walkley, Arbuthorne (sp) and Darnall. None of them had any problems with vandals. You could walk down any street, at any time night or day, no problems. There were a few pubs that had reputations, so we stayed out of them! Duh!! Hooligans got a swift kick in the arse by the local bobby, an even harder kick from the old man (dad), We had no TV, video games, no X box or stuff like that, just an owd bike that saw many years of service. Millhouses and Hillsborough parks were beautifully kept, and we respected the work that the 'parkies' did! Foxhill was brand new when we went there to live, 1940, but I suppose all that has changed? For the worse, by the sound of it. I do miss a few things about my birth place, but I suppose things always look better in hindsight?

You'd be right that its changed in Sheffield, some for the better and some for the worse, mainly the latter.

All the grimey steel works on the east end have disapeared now, so as all of the smog that went with it, not to mention the jobs.

Now well, its got drug problems and all the other unsocial clientel that infest our estates these days and the 1960s in Sheffield as you knew it no longer exists.

I was a child in the 60s and lived in Pitsmoor which was newly built then, there were PC Ward, a nice copper for the period but he was always in the area dealing with wrong doers and they were'nt that many.

Every one had a job and Pitsmoor would be empty during the day as we were at school, the dads were at work and most of the mums to then it would come to life late afternoon when all the kids came out of school and played outdoor games, knocked on the odd door and ran away were you dad found out later and you got a scutch.

Everthing was cleaner but the slums had started to disapeare and you could get the 150 bus to Firthpark and sit on top of Wincobank hill and try and spot the east end which was somewhere below the cloud of smog that permantly stood above Attercliffe and below Wincobank.

Did you know the Pye Bank area before the 60s oldtimer.

I would be interested in what it was like there pre 50s, we came from Fowler Street and lived on Grove Street.

I am to young to remember it but do you know what was around the old Pye bank school before the housing was built in 1963.

We lived in Ecclesfield before moving to Canada in 1979 and remember as a child how lovely it was. I returned several times to visit my parents but the worst time was during Thatchers reign when everything had gone downhill and my poor father, dying from Cancer looked out on his beloved rose gardens in the seniors complex to see them overgrown and neglected. The place was in a mess, curb sides were left uncut (councils job, I guess) but what amazed me was that the people who did keep nice gardens still didn't manage to move their mower to the curb. I would have thught that if you had any pride you would have mowed the curb grass too. I remember my father did when we were growing up. I never understood that.

I'm an artist and paint now, trying to recapture those lovely days of Ecclesfield and it's history. I haven't been back for a while but will make the pilgrimage one day.

You guys might be interested in this site http://www.picturesheffield.com/. It's packed with old photos of Sheffield.

Cycleracer, a rather belated answer. I don't remember where Pyebank is! Give me an idea. As for Pitsmoor, I have a question. As far as I can remember, wasn't Pitsmoor the area between Neepsend and Corporation Street (where the public baths were)? I thought that area was older than the early '60's. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me?

Pyebank is the area to the right as you go down Burngreave Road towards Andover St, Nottingham St, Rock St where the old Irish social club was. Pitsmoor area is around the area opposite the old Mojo Club on the brow of the hill of Burngreave Road. I vaguely remember the baths at the bottom of Corporation St.

There are some people who try to bring down Sheffield on this BB but I bring friends from Holland here regularly and they love it. I for one love the Dutch cities so Sheffield has something for them (apart from the proximity to the Pennines) which I don't see because it's on the end of my nose. The Dutch spirit of architecture could be something the city planners could embrace though. There is indeed a total lack of progressiveness in the city's hallowed chambers of power.

Originally posted by oldtimer

......but I suppose things always look better in hindsight?

I think they were better in many ways. Kids weren't subverted by TV - I didn't see a TV until I was twelve and that was just to watch the coronation in a neighbour's house. A lot less crime and most petty crime was driven by genuine hardship not drug abuse.

Soft fruit was seasonal - I still don't feel comfortable with tomatoes and strawberries in December. Meat from the butchers was properly hung and tatsted like it was supposed to. Yesterdays's bread was half the price of today's bread...these days in can be on the supermarket shelf for several days and they still charge full price for it.

Parents weren't so fearful and anxious about their kids. From eight years old I used to take off on my own for hours on end in the school holidays with just a sandwich, an apple and a tanner (thruppence for tram fares and thruppence for emergencies) in my pocket. People were friendly and didn't treat you with the automatic suspicion that you were up to no good.

The downside was that in winter especially Sheffield could be a dark and dingy place and there were many bad smogs...but strangely asthma wasn't anything like the problem it is today. Kids used to die of other things - I had two classmates die from pneumonia when I was in secondary school.

You were on the opposite side of town to me, Oldtimer. We lived in Highfields..near the start of Abbeydale road.

GB

My parents took me to live on the Manor Estate when I was three years of age and my Mother said that it was a beautifull Estate in those days, there were Avenues of trees, wooden fences, well kept gardens, lovely homes, people were houseproud, they cared about the place where they lived.

However, all that changed in the sixties when the council decided to move problem families on to the Estate, and when I left there in the seventies it was a horrendus place to live, packs of dogs roaming all over the Estate, attacking anyone walking down the street, rubbish strewn all over the place, yobos looking at you through your own windows whilst sat in the chair, any flowers you planted would be pulled up and destroyed as soon as you went out, anything you left in your backyard would be stolen, I was glad to get away.

Yep, the Badger estate in Woodhouse was the same - started out great then you started getting problem families.

Going back to Pitsmoor, that was exactly the same and it was'nt built until 1963.

That went down hill in the early eightys through exact same reasons of the Manor estate.

Oldtimer your memory is not lapsed, Pye bank was built upon Woodside, Fowler Street and Grove Streetwhich was adjacent to the old Pitsmoor road,now Pye Bank Road.

See http://www.picturesheffield.com and that will remind you of that area as it was.

Hello you lot - have a look at the following:-

http://www.citysnapper.org/

http://www.spick.co.uk/

http://www.sheffnet.net/ghost.html

http://www.hendersonsrelish.com/content/relish.htm

http://www.idigsheffield.org.uk/

http://www.ourselvesourplace.org.uk/

http://ayup.co.uk/gallery/gallery.html

http://www.thefullmonty.freeserve.co.uk/sheffield_books.htm

http://www.sheffieldfhs.org.uk/Pub_con/Printed-Booklets.htm

http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/cs1ma/flood/book/contents.html

Got a few more but let me know when you're ready for them.

yea your right oldtimer up past the baths and outside the baths the star walk used to pass when all sheffield turned out to watch them .