ODE TO HOLE IN THE ROAD

When the hole was first thought of it caused such a stir

A hole in the road ? Why ? How much and where ?

The council debate raged to and fro for o’er three year,

Many thought the idea was daft, a bit queer.

But, at last it were decided - an ole we shall ‘ave

The Council knows best said t’Mayor, and agreed to the scheme

Madness said some, and so it did seem.



And so in due course, it came to pass, after two further year

The largest bloody hole in the road in the whole of South Yorkshire.

Nobody liked the hole. No decent shops in it, no lavs, no character or sole.

What did thee expect said t’ Mayor – its only a hole.



And now, ee you would never guess

They’ve dug up the hole and moved it to a new address!

Where is it now ? –Nobody knows and nobody cares,

What a terrible, terrible state of affairs.

If they had only left it there where it was – now just think on………

they could have dumped the new Town hall in it – that’s another thing that’s gone.

Steve Gos

I know what happened to the hole in the road - they cut it up into smaller holes and distributed them all over the City's roads...

stephstellar wrote:
I know what happened to the hole in the road - they cut it up into smaller holes and distributed them all over the City's roads...

I like that one.....I wonder which road got the fish tank, the toilets and Tommy the tramp ???

best thing about the 'ole in't road:

the Lazer Quest Fire escape was there, when it got blocked off, the LQ shut down :(

Hi. Does anyone remember the year the hole in the road was filled in?

[Edited by Tony Ruscoe - removed capitals - there's no need to shout ;)]

It would have been filled in around 1991/1992 for the supertram work.It was the demolished Kelvin flats that were used to fill in the hole, hope the fish got out first!
According to the front page of the Sheffield Star at the time an italian style piazzo (square) for the supertram stop would be built in its place. WHAT WENT WRONG!!!

I used to love looking at those fish when I was a kid.

Ah memories....

it's so famous! Rang up for insurance the other day, got put through to a call centre in Glasgow, and when the guy knew I was from Sheffield he asked about the hole in the road? He'd only ever visited the city once, when he was about 5 but he remembered it!

If it was here today, we'd probably be too scared to go in it! But still has good memories for me as a kid. Seeing the fish almost topped being the first to press the bell on the bus when your mum brought you into town!!!

I came to Sheffield late 93' and it was still there, but not for long. I seem to remember it being filled in soon afterwards.

Not that long ago, I was asked by a visitor to Sheffield for directions to the Bankers Draft. I pointed the guy in the right direction, and he said he'd got lost because his friend, who he was meeting, had told him to look for the Hole in the Road.

Of course, today, there are many holes in Sheffield's roads - most of them testimony to our council's lack of investment.

I remember where the Hole was, of course, but where did the passageways run to?

Where could you get into the underground world that was the Hole in the Road?

One of em popped out near the carpet Kingdom if I remember rightly.

BRING BACK THE HOLE! WHERES THE FISH TANK?!

I believe it actually had underfloor heating, too!

Plus you could get into shops via their basement entrances. You could get from the Haymarket, through C&A right over to the department store at the other side without having to go outside - handy in Winter!

There was a passage under Angel St which had the toilets in. You could tell where they where from 1/2 mile away.

When the hole in the road was first built, it was the last word in luxury, it had underfloor heating, access to all the major city centre stores. one could sit in the hole and see the blue sky and sunshine and people used to go there in droves, both summer and winter, sit there with flask and sandwiches, at the side of the tropical fish in the tank in the wall.

The ladies and gents toilets were a pleasure to use and everything was shiny and new with attendants to keep them smelling clean and fresh. You could walk under cover in the rain from High street, all the way down to King street and Bank street, without having to dodge the traffic.

Sadly, it was not long before the vandals started their usual campaign of destruction, intimidation, and filling it with filth, drunks and drug addicts sleeping rough across the benches and seats so that no one else could sit down. Then there were gangs of yobos,walking through the subway, linking hands therefore effectively blocking the way for anyone going about their business.

It finished up before the hole closed, with thugs taking sledgehammers down with them at night and smashing the toilet bowls and the sinks into pieces, when I was stood at the urinal one night a gang of young men walked in and brought their girlfriends in with them. Once again the ignorant,arrogant,stupid, dimwits in our society had ruined everything for the decent citizen.

I always wondered how they fed the fish? :?

Rain or shine there was always a man down there selling lighters, sometimes there was a man selling copied pirate tapes and occasionally there was a man selling sports socks.

God! I really used to love seeing those fish! I used to be happy on a saturday afternoon when my mum dragged me into town at the thought that we could go and see the fish! The innocence of your younger years! Ehhh.... Does anyone know what happened to the fish?:o :evil:

Originally posted by WintersMist
Does anyone know what happened to the fish?:o :evil:

Last seen heading back to their home planet muttering something about thanks for the dolphins

I thought they had been to court to file a case for a salt and batter-y.........*groan* sorry, had to do it.
I also wondered how the hell they fed the fish, but I have been in formed it was through that door at the side.
I remember the hole in the road fondly, also I remember the shops that they had built into it, like the newspaper stall and the newsagents, I also remember the old Bus station that was at the bottom of snig hill, my dad used to work on the buses at that time, so a lot has changed over the years, I was born in 1970 so have seen the various changes.

I assume that the 'hole in the road' was filled in around march time 1993 as the bridge for the tram has 1993 on the side of it.

_____________________________________


Yeah but across from the fish can you remember the guy who used to sell them 'MAGIC EYE' posters, i was stood looking at one for ages and could not for the life of me see anything. Apparently I was supposed to be looking at the Statue of liberty:lol: i just saw dots and wavy lines:o

http://www.novaonline.co.uk/img160.jpg

the pic above details:

The 'Hole In The Road' in Sheffield in 1971. Now the former shopping arcade has been filled in and the Supertrams ride over the top of it.

Anyone remember when they put the Piranha's in the fish tank? It must have been around the early seventies. They were only there for a few weeks (I think), but my god, you should have seen the teeth. They would have seen to the idiots that annoyed folk in the last years it's life.

It's a darn shame that it's gone.

Originally posted by Kry10
I thought they had been to court to file a case for a salt and batter-y.........*groan* sorry, had to do it.
I also wondered how the hell they fed the fish, but I have been in formed it was through that door at the side.
I remember the hole in the road fondly, also I remember the shops that they had built into it, like the newspaper stall and the newsagents, I also remember the old Bus station that was at the bottom of snig hill, my dad used to work on the buses at that time, so a lot has changed over the years, I was born in 1970 so have seen the various changes.

Ah, Bridge Street Bus Station! That was where I use to catch my bus home form work when I lived on the Shiregreen - either the number 47 or 48.

Can anyone remember when they were the 150 and 151?

Originally posted by Sam Miguel
Ah, Bridge Street Bus Station! That was where I use to catch my bus home form work when I lived on the Shiregreen - either the number 47 or 48.

Can anyone remember when they were the 150 and 151?

Sure can remember. Only thing I could never work out is why they had such a high number. Seemed a bit odd. Until they went over to one man operation they always seemed to get the oldest and grottiest buses. After that they got some new ones. I remember the smell of fresh vinyl on the new Daimler Fleetlines that went on the route in 1970/71. It was pungent. I used to take the bus from Rock Street to Shiregreen lane to go to school at Hinde House (150 out and 151 back). Anyone remember the experiment with the exact fare coin box in 1973?

I can remember that experiment. You put your money in a slot and the ticket came out with a sort of printout of your coins on it.

Originally posted by Andy
I remember where the Hole was, of course, but where did the passageways run to?

Where could you get into the underground world that was the Hole in the Road?

They basicly came up outside cooplands highstreet (escalttors), TJ Hughes (hence now has a crossing), C&A (or what ever it is now) and that fabric shop. You could also get in via an entrace that used to be next to the ABC Cinema which is where the hotel is next to Argos, the entrace used to be where those two meet.

I remember they used to be one at the CO-OP as well it used to have an Owls shop (i think it was could be Blades).

Yeah it was certainly a Owls shop. I remember it well.

Bring back the Hole in the Road!

I miss the fish :(

Big mistake... instead of filling it in they should have protected it from the yobs - it was worth saving!

The Hole in the Road was filled in using stuff that was dug out of the channel tunnel.
I used to meet my girlfriend at the fish tank, before we went over to the Dove and Rainbow (1977/78)
It was a lovely place in the early days, but I think by 1990 it had run its course, and certainly women used to avoid it as it was a bit threatening.

I think they should have kept the hole in the road it was a magnificent bit of Sheffield.

I have family in Surrey and they would tell everyone back in Surrey about the hole in the road, even their neighbours came to visit us just to see this "mystery hole". They all loved it, I did too, BRING IT BACK!! :(

Does anyone remember the record shop that was in one of the subways branching off the hole in the road. I think it was called "Wolf" or something.

Originally posted by Bushbaby
I used to meet my girlfriend at the fish tank.

So did I. But we went to the Old Brewery Tap (early 80's).

Originally posted by superCol
Sure can remember. Only thing I could never work out is why they had such a high number. Seemed a bit odd. Until they went over to one man operation they always seemed to get the oldest and grottiest buses. After that they got some new ones. I remember the smell of fresh vinyl on the new Daimler Fleetlines that went on the route in 1970/71. It was pungent. I used to take the bus from Rock Street to Shiregreen lane to go to school at Hinde House (150 out and 151 back). Anyone remember the experiment with the exact fare coin box in 1973?

They were called VIDEMAT machines. They took a picture of your money as the ticket. In actual fact it was more like a brass rubbing!

Originally posted by NutroniC
I assume that the 'hole in the road' was filled in around march time 1993 as the bridge for the tram has 1993 on the side of it.

_____________________________________


Yeah but across from the fish can you remember the guy who used to sell them 'MAGIC EYE' posters, i was stood looking at one for ages and could not for the life of me see anything. Apparently I was supposed to be looking at the Statue of liberty:lol: i just saw dots and wavy lines:o

http://www.novaonline.co.uk/img160.jpg

the pic above details:

The 'Hole In The Road' in Sheffield in 1971. Now the former shopping arcade has been filled in and the Supertrams ride over the top of it.



It's a little known fact, but the date on the bridge to 'tram mountain' is actually wrong! It was put up in either 1991 or 1992. I remember looking at it and thinking they were getting a bit ahead of themselves!

It was a cool place, my mates and I would use it as a meeting point as we got older and as a youngster I loved the fish tank,My favourite fish was the big silver one, I'd look for it every time.
And then it would be up through Walsh's to get to High st, of course you could have used the exit ramp but walsh's was warmer.

I've got a place mat from the late '70s showing an artists impression of the hole in the road.

You can see it here:

Hole in the road (http://img1.photobucket.com/albums/0903/sheffmax/Things/?action=view&current=Hole_in_the_road.jpg)

Wow max that brought back a few memories. Thanks

Looks like a few dinners have been had on that;)

Yep, I have to say Max. That is excellent.

Aw... THANKS MAX!!!

That could really be worth something in a few years! :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Bushbaby
The Hole in the Road was filled in using stuff that was dug out of the channel tunnel.


HAHAHA LOL LOL LOL :) ive not read anything as good as that in ages!

Originally posted by Lickszz
Does anyone remember the record shop that was in one of the subways branching off the hole in the road. I think it was called "Wolf" or something.

Yes, it was a great record shop, even rivaled warp on division st!

Also, wasn't there an entrance to Dixons or Curry's in the Hole in the road?

Originally posted by chri5
Yes, it was a great record shop, even rivaled warp on division st!

Also, wasn't there an entrance to Dixons or Curry's in the Hole in the road?

no, there wasn't a currys/dixons in the HITR, but there was an electrical shop called (IIRC) Bunker and Pratley.

I remember being able to get into the YEB building from under the HITR, and I also recall that, on the Bankers Draft side of the subway, you could access the BD bank building from the subway itself.

I liked the display windows under the subway, from Rackhams (TJ Hughes) and such as the co-op,(before the vandals etc forced them to be boarded up).

True Story!
A friend of mine fell down the HITR escalators that were outside Rackhams, when she was eight-and a half months pregnant. (about 1985/6this was)

She just passed out, bang! (not sure exactly why, but she did) She was only a fortnight off delivering her baby.

She fractured her jaw in 3 places (at the top, middle and bottom of the escalator, I think... Joke!!) and had to have her jaw wired.

She made a dreadful mess of herself, and she was grazed, and black and blue where she'd bounced off the sharp metal treads of the escalator.

The awful thing was, the accident triggered her labour to come on early, She ended up delivering the baby with a wired-up jaw. (jeesh! can you imagine...? horrendous!!!)

Thank God, the baby was unharmed. (the waters around baby acted as a sort of cushion, and protected it...)

Plain Talking

Originally posted by chri5
Also, wasn't there an entrance to Dixons or Curry's in the Hole in the road?

I am 100% sure there was an electrical shop called Tandy accessable from the hole in road.

Originally posted by John
I am 100% sure there was an electrical shop called Tandy accessable from the hole in road.

There was a Tandy under there not sure where though but I do remember it being there, and it was only under the hole in the road.

I wonder what the address was, was it just Castle Sqaure? As it was before and after the hole in the road.

Don't why its called a square when its not.

Jubby

yes there was a tandy, it took over from bunker and pratleys, which was next door to blaskeys (decor 8), then fads, the wallpaper shop. My mother worked there for years, so have very fond memories of Castle Square (Hole in the road).

Originally posted by jubby
There was a Tandy under there not sure where though but I do remember it being there, and it was only under the hole in the road.

I wonder what the address was, was it just Castle Sqaure? As it was before and after the hole in the road.

Don't why its called a square when its not.

Jubby

Yes tandy was on the same side as Marples just further up and you could access it from the underground and I think it was on 2 floors because I am sure I remember looking for some leads upstairs.

Anyone remember the name of that record shop in the hole in the road because i have forgotten the name of it.

Is that the one a few posts above? Wolf?

Originally posted by jubby
There was a Tandy under there not sure where though but I do remember it being there, and it was only under the hole in the road.

I wonder what the address was, was it just Castle Sqaure? As it was before and after the hole in the road.

Don't why its called a square when its not.

Jubby

ISTR that it used to be the Cattle Market.

Yes, Tandy was it (not Dixons or Curry's), on the Marples side, but I'm sure you could get in to it above groung too?

I've only lived in Sheff a couple of years, so really interesting to see how it used to be.

Looked up a photo on picturesheffield:
http://www.hpac.org.uk/cgi-bin/hpac.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.id=989

It doesn't look half as nice as it does in the placemat! (more like a big zit!)

Originally posted by ncrossland
I've only lived in Sheff a couple of years, so really interesting to see how it used to be.

Looked up a photo on picturesheffield:
http://www.hpac.org.uk/cgi-bin/hpac.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.id=989

It doesn't look half as nice as it does in the placemat! (more like a big zit!)

Yeah, but that's the aerial view, and all that is visible is the
concrete canopy/circle that went above the central sort of Atrium. (the area in the "place-mat" picture)and at that angle, and that view does make it look bleak. concrete doesn't always look aesthetic, let's be fair(!)

the council used to decorate the road side of the circle, with flower/ shrub plantingin containers during summer and there were xmas decorations and lights around it in winter, which looked pretty as you travelled around the road (the circle acted as a roundabout) by bus or car.


Plain Talker

Originally posted by chri5
Yes, Tandy was it (not Dixons or Curry's), on the Marples side, but I'm sure you could get in to it above groung too?
Yes, as far as I can remember you could access it from the road.

Originally posted by andy1702
They were called VIDEMAT machines. They took a picture of your money as the ticket. In actual fact it was more like a brass rubbing!

No, no, Andy. The other one. The Vidamat machines were widely used on the number 4 (long gone) and some other routes. Must admit they were great. Put 18 decimal ha'pennies in and get a ticket two foot long!

In 1973 they put a coin hopper next to the driver on the 150/151 route and then put an inspector at the front of the bus with a bag full of change. Huh.

Sorry, I've been away from Sheff for some 20 years. I suppose these things are standard now. It was funny then though watching the antics of the inspector giving change so that you could buy a ticket to Firth Park with a ten bob bit. OK. it's not funny.

I can remember working in hole in road when I was a bus inspector in 70's and 80's, the bus enquiry office was down there.The great fun memory was watching the girls in mini skirts going up the escalator at the side of Rackhams. Naughty but nice!

Towards the end of its life, ole in't road had a few shop frontages in it, one of which was an "Oxfam" type charity shop, run by two old dears.
One day, on display in the window, was a large vibrator, which was tagged as being a "neck massager" and was going for £1.50
I still wonder to this day if they knew what it actally was...

Sheffield 'roads', and the 'Hole in the Road' are the subject of this week's 'Speaking of Which' which was partly inspired by this thread.

Cheers.

Click the link below to view

I think the hole was good ... it was the **** heads and muggers and other low lifes ... if only they had still been in the hole when it was filled in.

Similar threads merged.

they had to take the hole in the road out, because it couldn't compete with all the pot holes in sheffield!!! lol

anyone remember the old roundabout????. of course we all know it was filled in to make way for the excellent supertram but who remembers going 'under the road' past the wino's????. quite a few shops in there as well. who used to dare go through there at night and risk getting mugged????

I got attacked by a gang of black guys once after a night at ROXY. Was forced to make a hasty retreat up a broken escalator. Escaped with just a bruise and hurt pride.....

i remember going there on the night wednesday brought the league cup back to sheffield. there where a bunch of wednesdayites having a go and winding up a female unitedite. although i am a wednesdayite i was pretty sympathetic for the poor girl

Was it just my overactive imagination or was there a really large fish tank in the wall and the tiling on the walls were glazed?

ahhhhhhhhhhhh the legendary fish tank. forgot about that. yeah the fish in there where huge. must have been old. wonder where they ended up????. in some lucky sods house on thier dinner plate probably!!!!!!!

Mod: Merged with the other Hole In the Road thread

Originally posted by Bushbaby
The Hole in the Road was filled in using stuff that was dug out of the channel tunnel.


I'd heard that they filled it with Kelvin Flats or some other flats that were knocked down in the city....?

Originally posted by Michael_W
stephstellar wrote:


I like that one.....I wonder which road got the fish tank, the toilets and Tommy the tramp ???

i remember being in the "hole" with my grandma about 73ish some man utd fans threw an house brick through fish tank glass...

I remember the Hole in the Road, vaguely.

I do remember a fountain though in the city centre...Was that near were Dixons is now?

does this get the record for the reserruction of the oldest post!

good to see that topics remain interesting after all this time!

im sure the record shop in the hole was k and d records i can remember buying xtcs making plans for nigel from there

These are great memories. In its day, when people didn't feel like smashing their city up, it looked great. Flowers in the middle, the fish tank that brought so much joy to every child who visited the HITR; the windows and entrances to the shops which in a sense predated Meadowhall.

Does anyone remember the vending machines that were inserted into the walls? I think they served tea and coffee, cigarettes and sweets. And wasn't there a newsagent? It was a forward looking design, complete with some of the only escalators situated in an outside environment.

Unfortunately, the place deteriorated. It became a huge dustbin, papers and rubbish at the foot of the broken escalators, windows boarded up due to vandalism. It became synonymous with down-and-outs and the it began to stink like a toilet (or a post office on a Thursday).

Shame, but I guess it was the correct decision to fill it in, if only to put the rubble from Kelvin Flats somewhere!!

Keep the memories coming...,

Hey my Uncle supplied the fish for the tank as he had and still has his own tropical fish shop. I used to love seeing them and so did my kids. My daughter[who's 19 this year] even says what a shame something so unique had to be destroyed but I suppose that's what you call progress. Gwen.

Originally posted by Miss_smiley
Was it just my overactive imagination or was there a really large fish tank in the wall and the tiling on the walls were glazed?
sorry to disapoint you ordinary sized fish, magnified glass.Gwen.

Originally posted by Sam Miguel
I can remember that experiment. You put your money in a slot and the ticket came out with a sort of printout of your coins on it.

I can't believe this is mentioned. I've got a memory of using one when I was about 5yrs old (1978/9) but nobody of my age group believes me!

Someone mentioned they were like a brass rubbing. I seem to remember that the coins were printed backwards on the ticket as though they fell into ink, and then flipped?

Thanks guys

K x

You co uld say that the Hole In The Road was a symbol of urban life in the U.K.It had all the things that people mentioned-----and also at the beginning , two clean , usable toilets , a little office cum canteen for transport personnel and convenient entrances to the shops round there.
It perhaps had other things that I've forgotton.
Then it deteriorated into a hell-hole. The Yobs did this just as they spoilt life on places like Park Hill flats and still do in other places, too numerous to mention.
But what did the authorities do to stop it ? Have we lost the power to police ourselves ?
After all we manage to find money to go on international jaunts but can't even control a few Brain -Deads.What's worse than the Yobs wrecking the Hole In THe Road is Society not getting angry enough to take action.
The "Hole" COULD have been a pleasant place. Any continental city would have valued it but we seem so dumb in this country that we just sit back ,gape , and let the Yobs do as they wish.
Because this has all happened ,nationally and locally ,under all the mainstream parties , it's no wonder that a lot of people are turning to , let's say , more vigorous parties .Yeah , the "Hole "was a symbol alright !.

So many of us remember the fish tank!
I too looked forward to seeing it if I was dragged to town with my Mum. it was always the last visit in order to keep me in check...
"Any whining & no fish tank" :thumbsup:




How many of us must have stood next to each other at the time, never dreaming we would be reminiscing its' demise on a medium only dreamed of in science fiction?:rolleyes:

I agree wholeheartedly, sheffexpat. It has become so commonplace now that we accept it as the norm. I get really angry when I read that the council is planning to throw away millions of pounds in 'renovating' a notorious housing estate in Sheffield. It's not the places that need renovating (which, once done will soon sink back to what it was like before) but the people, the minority who ruin it for everyone else.

Like you say, why can't they be policed? Why can't they be stopped? No, we just bow our heads and walk away. It is however comforting to know that on this particular thread, something as simple as a civic fish tank has given so much pleasure to so many 'ordinary folk' and that its memories continue to do so.

Whilst I'd hazard a guess that I'm younger than yourself (35) I can recall visiting the Hole In The Road in a day when people had pride in such places, where flowers didn't get ripped out or trodden on, where grafitee (or should that be 'street art') wasn't plastered on all and sundry and when Public Toilets could be left open because the only reason people wanted to use them was 'to spend a penny' and not as a place to shoot up or smash up.

Then again, it's today's 'anybody but myself to blame' culture...,

Originally posted by Ousetunes
Whilst I'd hazard a guess that I'm younger than yourself (35) I can recall visiting the Hole In The Road in a day when people had pride in such places, where flowers didn't get ripped out or trodden on, where grafitee (or should that be 'street art') wasn't plastered on all and sundry and when Public Toilets could be left open because the only reason people wanted to use them was 'to spend a penny' and not as a place to shoot up or smash up.

Then again, it's today's 'anybody but myself to blame' culture...,

PT stands up and gives ousetunes a resounding round of applause!

Now, we always had the odd one or two people who would vandalise and take drugs, but I cannot remember vandalism, graffiti and destruction in my childhood and youth as being anywhere near as bad as it is today.

only twenty or thirty years ago, you could walk down a street, and be able to see the stone-or brick-work for graffiti:- today it seems like everyavailable surface is the canvas for some "artist" who is a legend in his own lunchtime.

PT

Originally posted by GHaywood
I used to love looking at those fish when I was a kid.

Ah memories....

Yeah me too!

up untill I was about ten years old my mum used to take me down there to see them! can remember it very well all those knackered old escerlators that led to it, and shops I remeber a fruit and veg shop, fads, a tiny newsagents and others I cant remember. Cause the fish were the highlight! I wonder what happened to them in the end? ahhh

I also remember being taken to see santa down there too! You followed a path round a tacky snow scene till you got to a ticket type window with santa inside, very strange!

Anyone else got fond chilhood memories of the ol' Hole? Quite miss it actually shame they filled it in!

Alex xxx

I remember the shops there, there was a thorntins toffee shop there which I loved,, and by the way my dad helped construct the hole in the road[ he was an engineer for the cityQUOTE]Originally posted by alchresearch
I believe it actually had underfloor heating, too!

Plus you could get into shops via their basement entrances. You could get from the Haymarket, through C&A right over to the department store at the other side without having to go outside - handy in Winter! [/QUOTE]

http://www.hedgerow.co.uk/images.php?class=shef&cat=hpl&pictureRef=10591

Just found an incredible site with images of Sheffield - http://www.firthparkgrammarschool.co.uk/sheffield01.htm (click the > at the bottom to go through the pages). Didn't realise how old the castle markets building was and how good some of the eyesores looked when they were build...

Does anyone remember the bands that used to busk in the hole in the road.? The Sharp Cuts were a kind of rockabilly skiffle band with fifties hairdo's and then there was Don Valley and The Rotherhides who were a kind of rockabilly skiffle band with fifties hairdo's.

Originally posted by Alex C.
Just found an incredible site with images of Sheffield - http://www.firthparkgrammarschool.co.uk/sheffield01.htm (click the > at the bottom to go through the pages). Didn't realise how old the castle markets building was and how good some of the eyesores looked when they were build...

Thanks for the link - truly fascinating.

Did you notice the dearth of grafitti? Likewise bus-lanes? Didn't everywhere look tidier, that you can feel a sense of civic pride? Goodwin Fountain with its jets at full-force, not the pathetic dribble it became in the 1980s when it was half-filled with water, half-filled with rubbish.

Same goes to the fountain near the railway station, whose surrounding bedding plants were a spray of colour, full and bright making the whole area feel nice to be in.

The night picture of the Hole-in-the-Road (now it seems, much lamented), with the roof lights all working. Forward to the aerial shot of the same place in the 1990s, dirty, ugly-looking and that's without going underneath.

The original Christmas lights on Fargate. Impressive, something to be proud of, 'the best in Yorkshire' we claimed. And we were right.

The Peace Gardens with Norfolk Street running alongside, before the debacle that was the town-hall extension, which we managed to get rid of only to find something uglier and more bland.

Talk about opportunities lost. Still, a nice trip. Thank you.

The hole in road was demolished not due to supertram but due to eec regualtions regarding vehicle weights. If you remember a lot of bridges were being strenghened to cope with heavier lorries the HIR wouldnt have survived.

There was a bsu enquiry office and a bus drivers rest room / inspectors office.

The idea of the concreate canopy round the hole was so that you could walk round in the rain and keep dry,

The hole in the road, fabulous place in the daytime, truly scary place at night. I (and I am sure many others) took to risking life and limb jumping over the various barriers on the surrounding dual carriageways rather than face the dangers of what lay beneath at any time after the shops had shut. As early as 1983 it had its problems, a drinking buddy of mine was stabbed and killed going through there on his way from the Wapentake to Rebels on a Friday night.
It is such a shame to think that with the right sort of re-development to get more folks going through it at all hours (a few select bars - continental style etc) it could have remained the wonderful landmark we all fondly remember.

The fish tanks always facinated me, but then I am a cat, so they would.. meow!

Altogether now # Meeemmmmmmmmmorrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeesssss

I read somewhere - probably in The Star - that an old bloke used to feed and look after the fish and he took them home with him when they emptied the tank.

Oh, and memories of the Videmat machines on the buses .... I can remember chucking loads of change in to get a massive ticket :hihi: They were on the 20 route around the early 80s cos that's when I would have used them. I've actually got a pic somewhere of a Sheffield bus in its proper (blue and cream) colours with the Videmat sign on the front, taken at a rally in Cleethorpes in the 90s.


Does anyone remember the magic tap in the subway entrance to the British Gas showroom on Coles Corner/Fargate (now HSBC)?

Oh, and memories of the Videmat machines on the buses .... I can remember chucking loads of change in to get a massive ticket :hihi: They were on the 20 route around the early 80s cos that's when I would have used them. I've actually got a pic somewhere of a Sheffield bus in its proper (blue and cream) colours with the Videmat sign on the front, taken at a rally in Cleethorpes in the 90s.

the videmats were still in use in the early eighties? I cant remember them being in use before I left school in 1980! I remember them being in use in the early seventies, and into the late seventies, but i cannot remember them being in use by the time i was working. I, too, remember the fun of collecting as many ha'pennies as I could, for my fare, and trying to get the longest ticket

I do remember the introduction of the "Wayfarer" ticket machines which utilised a pre-pay card, these were in use mostly on the number 60 route. this would have been mid eighties.

PT

can anyone remember the hole in the road and the big fish tank/

that thread has already been done.

im not sure where it is, but just search for it and you'll find it. :thumbsup:

Hell yeah!!!!
It's gotta be one of, or the best, former landmarks of Sheffield.

It would have been filled in around 1991/1992 for the supertram work.It was the demolished Kelvin flats that were used to fill in the hole, hope the fish got out first!
According to the front page of the Sheffield Star at the time an italian style piazzo (square) for the supertram stop would be built in its place. WHAT WENT WRONG!!!
It was later 93 or 94, I was working for Terrier and recall it being filled and then driving over what was pretty rough surface before High St was shut to traffic down hill ready for tram lines to be built.

Pity really as the lines could have formed a bridge over the Hole.

rbrt

think the tandy shop was infront of the loos.there was a key cutting place and a GT news also.well no one knows where the fish went then.

there used to be a thorntons kiosk that sold miss shapes, entrance to c & a,i think there Blaskeys wallpaper shop ,a wedding shop, just by the old exit that brought you out by the co op,i remember getting bridesmaid dresses ther for my sisters wedding in 1974!

i cant remember much about the hole in the road other than sitting in front of the huge masses of fish, my mum used to sit me there while she magically whipped round and did her shopping. i was a real weirdo then cos i would just sit and stare at these fish. i had never been so amased in all my life
:confused:

The hole in the road, as a teenager born in Sheffield this hole was a great meeting place for new girl friends wherever we met either The Hartbeat,Bowling AlleyTop Rank etc it was always meet you at the fish tank at whatever time or day.
But can you all remember the Christmas Tree that always came from Norway and the top could be seen from the road above, and the plastic Raindeers around the circumferance at the road level.
In 1968/9 myself and my friends had been to a party in Taptonville and arrived back in the town centre around 2 in the morning and decieded to ride the Raindeers at the top of the hole. (I am not proud of it but it was once a year) we were well under the effects of the Christmas spirit, but the local plod were not in the same frame of mind. We spent 3 hours at Water Lane before we were allowed to make our way home, no charges were brought and not one of us dare say why we were so late home.
So in my opinion the most stupid decesion that Sheffield Council ever made was to fill the hole for the stupid SUPERTRAM.
I was shocked when I came back to Sheffield to find the hole gone in 95
Sheffield without the hole in the ground is like a Polo Mint without the hole, which is what a Trebor Mint is.
Bring Back The Hole

think the tandy shop was infront of the loos.there was a key cutting place and a GT news also.well no one knows where the fish went then.

Trying to cast my memory back...

there were at least two lots of loos,

on the house of frazer (walsh's) side, there was the underground entrance to, well. HOF, and the escalatorfrom high-street...

then on the YEB side there was :-
the underground entrance to YEB, a fruit and veg shop (bradshaws or something...), bunker and pratley (SP?)a tv/ electricals shop (which became a shop for bedding and towels, and there was the bridal shop . toward the main space there was the thorntons, and a shoe repairs, and IIRC a newsagent, opposite the SYT offices where you could get timetable and bus info. (and some loos i think) the lower ramp led to the side of the Marples pub, and Fitzalan Sq

there were lots of window displays. for c&a, co-op and others...

on the C&A/ co-op side there was the entrance to the clock-house dept at C&A, and a ramp, up to the co-op, or "down" past c&a to fitzalan SQ
between the co op and schofields there was a tunnel with some loos, and on that row there were three or more shops, two of which I can definitely remember.. a hairdressers, and a shop that sold "china"/pots, cups, plates etc.

the ramp went left, to some escalators which led to the old bank (Now bankers draft pub) or a ramp. that led to the right to Schofields and the ABC cinema.

Not that long ago, I was asked by a visitor to Sheffield for directions to the Bankers Draft. I pointed the guy in the right direction, and he said he'd got lost because his friend, who he was meeting, had told him to look for the Hole in the Road.

Of course, today, there are many holes in Sheffield's roads - most of them testimony to our council's lack of investment.

For investment I think we should perhaps read INTELLIGENCE.

For investment I think we should perhaps read INTELLIGENCE.

For INTELLIGENCE I think we should maybe read "BackBone"

Waggin’ It

“It’s Thursday - It’s Double Physics – An’ I’m Waggin’ It!”

Leap off a 53, into t’Rag Market, drink a cuppa tea stood up.

Cadge a woodbine off the toy seller

Stroll to Fitzalan Square, Pond Street Nora shouts at me.

Giggle, dodge into Wigfalls, droolin’ over a Ferguson Stereo,

5 quid down, ten bob-a-week

Up to Cockaynes, look at teapots – Nice!

Cross to Walsh’s 3rd floor café for a toasted teacake,

Lookin’ down on JCBs diggin a colossal hole? Why?

Snake down Chapel Walk into Canns,

Listening to Marvin in a perspex booth – Sweet!

Hop on a bus, up Fargate, down to T’Moor.

Past Ray Allan’s Closin’ Down Sale (Now in it’s 4th year)

Skip off wi’out payin and wander into Redgates.

Wow! A giant Meccano Helicopter – Great!

Play one-man Subbuteo – today I’m Brazil

Step out, blinkin in the sunlight, peek at my watch

Ouch – Only five past ten!

Could be a long day….Cole Brothers next?

Where did th Hole go to and why was it filled in. It was a feature of Sheffield in the late sixty's and as an expat people ask where has it gone. Visitors from far and wide allways link Sheffield with the hole. I was in Stornaway on the Western Isles and I was asked where I came from and on reply Sheffield I was told "the big hole in the ground in the town centre"
Who decided to fill it in and why

there's a whole thread on it somewhre, with pictures and everything :thumbsup:

<<<<< use search ;)

hole in the ground...tch
HOLE IN THE ROAD :P

heres the thread http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2524&highlight=hole+road

Don't worry about doing the search sandie- cos it's all merged in now.

there's a whole thread on it somewhre, with pictures and everything :thumbsup:

<<<<< use search ;)
Thanks for that Strix