I have been told that there used to be some sort of shopping area, around where is now HMV/Boots/Cathedral... which was filled in before the trams got put back in (around 1995?) Apparently you could see the sky from it, but it was lower than the normal street level. Sounds all very intriguing.. surely anyone who's lived here since before 95 or so should know whether it's true or not? :confused:

Do you mean the hole in the road !!!!!! it even had fish and hobos living in it:suspect:

Um.. well i don't know. Did this hole have shops it in? It might all just be that I have been lied to, but apparently it was just sort of a big hole with shops in... dunno how people didn't fall into it etc.? Any pics?

i think you mean the hole in the road as everybody called it. it was a small underground with a few shops and a large fishtank set in the wall ...... your not missing a lot it was usually full of drunks and tramps and stank of pee

As a kid I used to love descending the stairs into the labyrinth that was the hole in the road! I don't think I ever managed to exit via the stairs that I wanted!

Sounds amazing.. and weird... why was it underground? Did it lead anywhere. Do you think it's still there under the ground/tram lines. Are there any pictures of it anywhere?

take a look at this :thumbsup:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.firthparkgrammarschool.co.uk/sheffield/07.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.firthparkgrammarschool.co.uk/sheffield02.htm&h=213&w=350&sz=17&tbnid=pPCnILTgycN90M:&tbnh=70&tbnw=116&hl=en&start=4&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhole%2Bin%2Bthe%2Broad%2Bsheffield%26 svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_en%26rls%3DGEUA,G EUA:2006-06,GEUA:en%26sa%3DN

Defo hole in't road,
http://www.pulppeople.plus.com/Sheffield/holeinthe_road.htm

and this
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nimo118.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/img/CGScastlesq1990_jpeg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nimo118.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Site/New%2520Photos%2520Page.htm&h=66&w=100&sz=3&tbnid=WyCpiDawfu259M:&tbnh=50&tbnw=77&hl=en&start=16&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhole%2Bin%2Bthe%2Broad%2Bsheffield%26 svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_en%26rls%3DGEUA,G EUA:2006-06,GEUA:en%26sa%3DN

There are a few threads on the hole in the road.

This one (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=61423) has a few pictures on it, including the fishtank. :thumbsup:

It wasn't by Boots and the cathedral though.

It was at the top of Arundel Gate, so TJ Hughes would have had a door that let into it, as would Primark. Of course they went by different names at the time.... C&A? House of Frazer?

There was an underpass at the same time that lead from outside Boots to outside the Cathedral - that had a downstairs entrance to Boots in it too!

Not part of the 'Hole in the Road' (Castle Square was it's official name), but I can understand how someone may have confused it.

Incidentally, but apparently it was just sort of a big hole with shops in... dunno how people didn't fall into it etc.?
made me proper laugh! :D

K x

this is what it looks like now (http://www.sheffieldontheinternet.co.uk/castlesq.jpg) - It's always been Castle Square though

I have been told that there used to be some sort of shopping area, around where is now HMV/Boots/Cathedral... which was filled in before the trams got put back in (around 1995?) Apparently you could see the sky from it, but it was lower than the normal street level. Sounds all very intriguing.. surely anyone who's lived here since before 95 or so should know whether it's true or not? :confused:


Oh god,reading .this thread made me feel so old.I remember asking my grandma "what was it like in the olden days?"

[QUOTE=Kristian]There was an underpass at the same time that lead from outside Boots to outside the Cathedral - that had a downstairs entrance to Boots in it too!

Not part of the 'Hole in the Road' (Castle Square was it's official name), but I can understand how someone may have confused it.

True! It was just a back exit from Boots to the Cathedral. Served no other purpose.

Always seem to remember that the hole in the road had 98 newsagencies, 47 crockery shops (all selling crap), and 1001 beggars/tramps and vagabonds.
Not forgetiing 2 huge fish in the murkiest, dankest fish tank in the world. Much merryment to be had, running around the hole in the road, avoiding the mid 80's flak between Mod revivilists and "trendies", also dodging the streaming flows of either wino's drink or ****!

Happy Days indeed!!!!

Jim:thumbsup:

Yep, it was called "The Hole in the road"


I miss it :(


Can we dig a new hole in the road?! :hihi:


Try these links to see some pictures if you want?


http://www.pulppeople.plus.com/Sheffield/holeinthe_road.htm
http://www.sheffield-fm.co.uk/sheffield_photographs.htm

I used to walk through everyday on my way to and from school.

Does anyone remember the Thorntons stand in there which sold broken/ seconds at really low prices? They were fantastic - just the ticket for the next leg of my journey.

Ah, the good old days - I'm feeling really old!

Sounds amazing.. and weird... why was it underground? Did it lead anywhere. Do you think it's still there under the ground/tram lines. Are there any pictures of it anywhere?

It was underground because it was a main road junction on the surface. The idea eas that pedestrians could get from one corner to the other without having to wait for a gap in the traffic. Also for weather protection.
Canadian cities like Toronto and Calgary have extensive underground passages (or had when I was last there) because it lets people walk round the shops without getting snowed on.

Sounds amazing.. and weird... why was it underground? Did it lead anywhere. Do you think it's still there under the ground/tram lines. Are there any pictures of it anywhere?

holly, it's not there any more; it was filled in with rubble from the demolished Hyde Park Flats.

The castle square tram stop is bang over where the HITR was.

Its concept was brilliant, keep the traffic flowing, above, and let the pedestrians walk, sheletered from the weather, and in safety, in these subterranean walkways. In my childhood, it looked great, brightly lit, clean... the window displays from shops like C&A, the Co-Op, and Walsh's, (later Rachams/ house of fraser, now TJ Hughes) were enticing. bang and olufsen had a shop with tellys and hi-fis, Bradshaws greengrocer had a shop or two under there, the YEB (yorkshire electricity board) had a shop entrance on the southern side, with gleaming displays of electric fires, washing machines and cookers.

It really was bustling. Most "romances" began with the legendary phrase "Ahlll meet yer at' fish tank in't' 'ole in't roo-ad at 'alf sevvun!"

The reality, by the 70s and 80s was:- lots of winos, the whole place stank of wee...

It became something of a muggers paradise. the council didn't maintain the lighting, so it became dingy, and unkempt. and definitley, by the end, it became quite a no-go area. I still miss it, too, to be honest, despite how unsavoury it became topward the end.

I loved travelling round the roundabout part, on the road, as a kid, when it was the run up to Christmas, as the displays of lights around the roundabout wall were lovely.


Sheffgirly...

Legend has it that the hole in the road still exists: - it's just spread out a bit, here and there, all across sheffield! lol ;)

PT

I used to walk through everyday on my way to and from school.

Does anyone remember the Thorntons stand in there which sold broken/ seconds at really low prices? They were fantastic - just the ticket for the next leg of my journey.

Ah, the good old days - I'm feeling really old!

That was my first thought when I read this thread. The Thorntons. Handy for choc on the way home. There was a fruit and veg shop at one time, a newsagents/sweet kiosk, a shop selling towels and teatowels, a shop that sold TVs and one that sold wallpaper.

Does anyone remember the Thorntons stand in there which sold broken/ seconds at really low prices?

They were called MIS-SHAPES. I loved them. :love:

this brings back so many memories for me.i used to spend hours with my mum lookin at that fish tank.bloody hell im actually feelin a bit emotianal thinkin about the city center as a nipper.:(

I can't believe I walk across castle sqaure pretty much every day and never even knew it was there!!

Its a fair point that people COULD fall through the middle, if they climbed on the wal couldn't they just jump in?!

I can't believe I walk across castle sqaure pretty much every day and never even knew it was there!!

Its a fair point that people COULD fall through the middle, if they climbed on the wal couldn't they just jump in?!

No-one ever fell/ jumped off the wall to my recollection, in the thirty-whatever years the HITR was there.

There was fencing, on the pavement- edge, which kept all but the most stupid of pedestrians off the roadway that ran around the top of the HITR, and there was a wall on the roundabout itself.

the ramps/ tunnnels and escalators, combined with the fencing, served petty well to filter everyone into the underground passageways.

PT

Ah well... obviously there weren't the same amount of trouble-makers around then; I reckon if it was there now there'd be no end of scallies trying to do it!

I can't believe I walk across castle sqaure pretty much every day and never even knew it was there!!

Its a fair point that people COULD fall through the middle, if they climbed on the wal couldn't they just jump in?!

yes you could run across the road, jump over and jump down into it
mind u it was a good 30 /40 foot high?

these threads always bring back memories of sheff back in the 70s / 80s for me

hollyo the majority of the big shops in it just had the back doors there to get into the shops, they also had the normal front doors aswell
there was only 1 or 2 shops that were there properly like newsagents, chocolate shop, cobblers etc

there was 4 or 5 subways that came off it, all had a left and right subway so you could exit all over the area
ie:- high street, down near the courts, just above castlemarkets, fitzallen square, near the crucible etc without crossing any roads

It wasn't by Boots and the cathedral though.

It was at the top of Arundel Gate, so TJ Hughes would have had a door that let into it, as would Primark. Of course they went by different names at the time.... C&A? House of Frazer?

The one at Coles Corner, ie Boots/Cathedral was just a subway under the junction of High Street/Church Street. The gas showroom (where HSBC is now) also had an entrance/exit in the subway as well as Boots. Does anyone else but me remember the "magic tap" suspended in the showroom window with water running from it but no visible plumbing?

The Underpass outside Boots was built when the Tories were in power in the late 60's. They promised lots of bus shelters as well.
By the time it was built, they were out of power, Labour was back in and Arundel Gate was being pedestrianised, making the underpass pointless.

Let this be a lesson to all of us. NEVER vote Tory!!

i think the poster means the old high street subway, which had an underground entrance to boots.

you went in this way to avoid the hairspray and get to the thin lizzy records.

but while we're on the subject, these are two of my pics of the hole in the road....

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b171/sheffieldarchives/HOLEINTHEROAD.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b171/sheffieldarchives/HOLEINROADii.jpg

:)

I have been told that there used to be some sort of shopping area, around where is now HMV/Boots/Cathedral... which was filled in before the trams got put back in (around 1995?) Apparently you could see the sky from it, but it was lower than the normal street level. Sounds all very intriguing.. surely anyone who's lived here since before 95 or so should know whether it's true or not? :confused:

Hi HollyO.
yes , the hole in the road did have some shops as i worked in one, - C & A MODES- which had lower ground floor or basement, this was called the "clockhouse" a youngster shop and the menswear department was even lower than that as there was another set of steps to enter the mens dept. In the subway we had windows which displayed the goods on offer in C& A.

i think you mean the hole in the road as everybody called it. it was a small underground with a few shops and a large fishtank set in the wall ...... your not missing a lot it was usually full of drunks and tramps and stank of pee
It was a major attraction when first built, especially the fish tank, I was as shocked by its demise as I was that of Redgates (see other thread)

Sounds amazing.. and weird... why was it underground? Did it lead anywhere. Do you think it's still there under the ground/tram lines. Are there any pictures of it anywhere?
It did have some shops, but thinking about it they may have just been display windows.

Actually apart from the shops and the fish tank, it wasn't vastly different to the one presently at the bottom of London Road (well somewhere around there.)

I remember countless times we ran up from the hole in the Road at the side of what used to be the Marples pub to the number 4 bus stop and the bus driver thinking it hilarious to drive off as we ran towards him. We then used to run down to the next bus stop across from the markets in the time it took the bus to drive up Commercial Street, round the hole in the Road and back down Commercial Street. We made it 9 times out of 10:D

I was explaining to the boyf just how much ground you could cover underground, when you think where the subways started and ended. I ran thru it on many a night after work from Fitzalan Square/Marples to Angel Street or High Street, and there was nothing worse than hurling yourself up an escalator to see your bus pulling away ... And thinking back, to be honest, I was never intimidated or frightened of going thru there on my own. Today I'd probably be petrified :suspect:

This makes me feel very old!!!! Years ago in the early 70s when I was a teenager I was in the school band(Hi to any Newfield school band members reading this) we stood in the freezing cold playing Christmas carols to "entertain" the shoppers. Poor them. Any ex Newfield stalwarts remember Mr Pye the Music teacher sadly no longer with us?

It is weird looking at photos of Sheffield from only 30 years ago so much has changed since then, the city centre is definitely looking much nicer these days, the Moor could do with a bit of a spruce up though.

Any other oldies remember going down the Moor on a double decker to see the Christmas lights? :)

Nicked from another thread: (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2524&highlight=ode+hole+road)

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.

Daft question, but how did they fill in the hole anyhow ? did everyone bring their junk and chuck it in ?:hihi:

Yeah i remember the Hole in the Road, it was a good meeting place i.e the fish tank. You could get access to C & A shop and there were other little shops under there.

This makes me feel very old!!!! Years ago in the early 70s when I was a teenager I was in the school band(Hi to any Newfield school band members reading this) we stood in the freezing cold playing Christmas carols to "entertain" the shoppers. Poor them. Any ex Newfield stalwarts remember Mr Pye the Music teacher sadly no longer with us?

It is weird looking at photos of Sheffield from only 30 years ago so much has changed since then, the city centre is definitely looking much nicer these days, the Moor could do with a bit of a spruce up though.

Any other oldies remember going down the Moor on a double decker to see the Christmas lights? :)

Hi there, i was there and remember Mr Pye, do any of these names ring a bell with you, all schoolmates - Georgie Grant, Michael Searle, Simon Wong, Cynthia Brooks, Tania Bloomer - i wasn't in the band though but have been in the music bizz since :cool: Previous to Newfield i went to Carfield Junior, lived on Upper Valley Road - nice area really, used to get a few golfballs from the golf course next door! I saw a kingfisher in Cat Lane Woods on my way to school at Newfield once, how idylic. Ahhhh. :P
Zye Hill :D

Amazing following this thread about the city centre and the ace Hole-In-the Road - it did feel a bit crap seeing it get filled in - memories are, The Sharp Cuts a brill rockabilly band that kept me down there for some time, proper good they were .... 3 pair of white towelling socks for a quid, 3 for a quid lighters and of course THE FISH - bought Nicolette's "I want to wake you up" in 90's from the record shop in the hole in the road, and had my ears pierced at the hairdressers down there. Yeah it went to rack and ruin and it was sad they couldn't save it. with the FAB lighting there is now they could have made it a real feature - make it look like a spaceship landed, from the outside (and have proper CCTV for safety inside, so it was a nice place to meet and shop for everyone again, 'cause it was once....) :)

Its concept was brilliant, keep the traffic flowing, above, and let the pedestrians walk, sheletered from the weather, and in safety, in these subterranean walkways. In my childhood, it looked great, brightly lit, clean... the window displays from shops like C&A, the Co-Op, and Walsh's, (later Rachams/ house of fraser, now TJ Hughes) were enticing. bang and olufsen had a shop with tellys and hi-fis, Bradshaws greengrocer had a shop or two under there, the YEB (yorkshire electricity board) had a shop entrance on the southern side, with gleaming displays of electric fires, washing machines and cookers.

It really was bustling. Most "romances" began with the legendary phrase "Ahlll meet yer at' fish tank in't' 'ole in't roo-ad at 'alf sevvun!"

PT


PLain Talker - you are spot on - whenever I read anything about the Hole in the Road it always seems to come out with the negatives - the winos, tramps etc. but I remember when it was first opened in the 60's it was great - I met many a girlfriend at the fish tank. It was also a good palce to meet your mates on a Saturday - and like you said all the shops were decent - not the crap discount stores etc..... and someplace to shelter from the rain if you were doing the Castle Market, Fitzalen Square, High Street, Fargate, Pinstone Street, Moor marathon that mothers seemed to take part in when they went 'shopping'

I have been told that there used to be some sort of shopping area, around where is now HMV/Boots/Cathedral... which was filled in before the trams got put back in (around 1995?) Apparently you could see the sky from it, but it was lower than the normal street level. Sounds all very intriguing.. surely anyone who's lived here since before 95 or so should know whether it's true or not? :confused:

The hole in the road with the fish and boots the cemist and the drunks i remember it well everyone used to meet up there the fishtank was enormouse i have always wondered what happended to the fish ?
i went there on a school trip and got lost lol then when i was older i used to meet my mates there it was a shame they covered it up wish they would bring it back:hihi:

..and there was the door where all the bus drivers and conductors used to disappear!!! It used to really excite me as a kid, where did they go??? A few years later I went to work on the buses, and found out......a waiting room with a dodgy tea machine, Yuk!!!

does any body remember the buskers in the late 70's early 80's i used to go in the hole in the road yes there was shops and a fish tank also doggy blokes selling fake jewelry and buskers there was one band in particular that was very good they had crowds filling all the entrance they where a rockabilly band on chap used to play the big bass spinning it and jumping all over it can anyone remember there name

Hi gosh I feel old now too. There was a pictures near by too I used to go with my brother every sat morning.

yes think it was the abc pictures

yes think it was the abc pictures

yes the ABC was just down Angel Street, and had a Saturday morning matinee, called the "Minors Matinee", in the 1970s, when I went, it cost a shilling (5 new pence!) to get in.

There were another couple of cinemas nearby, (well more, really!)

There was the Classic, in FitzAlan Square, the Odeon on Flat Street (Became a bingo club!) there was the Cinecenta (IIRC) above Presto Stores on the Pond Street Gallery (Under the Fiesta:- became the 7-screen odeon a few years ago)

Yea thats the one ABC used to q for age's

does any body remember the buskers in the late 70's early 80's i used to go in the hole in the road yes there was shops and a fish tank also doggy blokes selling fake jewelry and buskers there was one band in particular that was very good they had crowds filling all the entrance they where a rockabilly band on chap used to play the big bass spinning it and jumping all over it can anyone remember there name

Th band you are on about was called 'The Sharp Cuts'

It did have some shops, but thinking about it they may have just been display windows.

You used to be able to access Tandy and I think The YEB directly from T'ole in t'Road.
The first thing you saw in Tandy was the "As Seen" stand, loads of faulty Electrical goods at a vastly reduced price, one of my mates saved loads of money there by mending his purchases.

Sounds amazing.. and weird... why was it underground? Did it lead anywhere. Do you think it's still there under the ground/tram lines. Are there any pictures of it anywhere?

'Cos most subways tend to be underground.:hihi:

yes the ABC was just down Angel Street, and had a Saturday morning matinee, called the "Minors Matinee", in the 1970s, when I went, it cost a shilling (5 new pence!) to get in.

There were another couple of cinemas nearby, (well more, really!)

There was the Classic, in FitzAlan Square, the Odeon on Flat Street (Became a bingo club!) there was the Cinecenta (IIRC) above Presto Stores on the Pond Street Gallery (Under the Fiesta:- became the 7-screen odeon a few years ago)

you forgot studio 567 on the wicker :P

Th band you are on about was called 'The Sharp Cuts'
i remember the sharp cuts...just :P

The first time me and hubby went out together we met at the fish tank.

ya thanks for that whitehorses it was the sharp cuts

you forgot studio 567 on the wicker :P

yeah but 5-6-7 was a ways over by the bottom of the wicker, so not that near as it goes TBH...?

Gosh it shows how long it is since I was in Sheffield - I didn't even know it had been filled in - working "dahn south" - a fate worse than death.

Seeing the photos almost brought tears to my eyes and yep, I arranged to meet at least one girl by the fish tank. And now I hear Redgates has gone! What is world coming to? I think the rot set in when they blocked off the bottom of The Moor!

Nicked from another thread: (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2524&highlight=ode+hole+road)

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.

great poem, but if i remember rightly their was some lavs, and i think their was a small hairdressers as well:)

I remember the Hole In The Road only too well. It was the 1980s when I first went through it, and it was beginning to deteriorate by that point. But it was, architecturally, very significant. It was so unusual. I think the fact that it was filled in in 1995 or so is quite ironic. It will be ever tied up in our memories with those good days of the 1970s and 1980s. It made a major difference to the city centre, and although I don't hanker after the poor homeless guys down there, or the dirt or the whiffs - it is sadly missed. And imagine not being able to have a fag around there. :hihi:

I Can remember buying a tea for Cyril the tramp, who used to park himself at the side of the tea machine on cold evenings "Do you want a tea Cyril? yes tea two sugars" long gone now I suppose?

i saw it being built and saw it being filled in how time marches on

There were defo some lavs, in the early/mid 80's whilst caught short i broke my rule about using public toilets and found, bizarrely a sex pistols L.P. in there!

Also i can imagine the toilets got a lot of action as it was a cottaging hot spot back in the day! I worked at the Lazer Quest in the late 80's early 90's and when we were depositing money at the bank over the rd in the night box the place was teeming with fellas!

There were defo some lavs, in the early/mid 80's whilst caught short i broke my rule about using public toilets and found, bizarrely a sex pistols L.P. in there!

Also i can imagine the toilets got a lot of action as it was a cottaging hot spot back in the day! I worked at the Lazer Quest in the late 80's early 90's and when we were depositing money at the bank over the rd in the night box the place was teeming with fellas!

there were at least two sets of loos, that I remember. One up near Rackhams' entrance (near the bus information stand?) and another, down in the bit that ran under Angel Street between Cockaynes and the Co-Op. (You had an exit up by C&A, and another by the Co-Op chemist)

this brings back so many memories for me.i used to spend hours with my mum lookin at that fish tank.bloody hell im actually feelin a bit emotianal thinkin about the city center as a nipper.:(

as a fire officer, I was involved in checking forthcoming plans of new building projects. This one was a new large traffic island with the centre area dug out to basement level, opened to the sky,and having access to shops around the island, all having window displays and doorways at this basement level, including a large fishtank display. It was quite a forward looking idea but, for various reasons filled in.

There were defo some lavs, in the early/mid 80's whilst caught short i broke my rule about using public toilets and found, bizarrely a sex pistols L.P. in there!


IT WAS MINE!!!!

heh

as a fire officer, I was involved in checking forthcoming plans of new building projects. This one was a new large traffic island with the centre area dug out to basement level, opened to the sky,and having access to shops around the island, all having window displays and doorways at this basement level, including a large fishtank display. It was quite a forward looking idea but, for various reasons filled in.

part of my childhood thought it was brill safe way of crossing road in the 70s

hi i know this thread has been going years but ive only just read it tonight and wow has it brought back memorys. i loved the hole in the road. running through it and hiding from my mum and dad in all the walk ways. loved the fish and it was the best meeting place cus everyone knew where it was. and the best thing was waiting to see where you would end up and which entrance/exit you would come out of.
also found this if anyone is intrested in looking.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/articles/2008/10/17/the_reel_monty_dvd_feature.shtml

thanks to the person who started this and to everyone who has commented. brought back great memorys (made me feel old to tho) haha

i saw it being built and saw it being filled in how time marches on

old git! lol :hihi:

I can still remember walking through THITR too and using the lower ground enterances of C&A, can still remember the smell of P**S from down there too!:hihi:

its all happening i see

Ahhh, the memories! Great looking back at some of the piccys throughout this thread. I'm feeling substatially older now than I did before I started reading through this!!!!

In the late 70's early 80's I worked for sheffield recreation dept. and it was my first job of the day to feed the fish in THITR.

There were defo some lavs, in the early/mid 80's whilst caught short i broke my rule about using public toilets and found, bizarrely a sex pistols L.P. in there!

Also i can imagine the toilets got a lot of action as it was a cottaging hot spot back in the day! I worked at the Lazer Quest in the late 80's early 90's and when we were depositing money at the bank over the rd in the night box the place was teeming with fellas!

My sister worked in there, the place that is now the bankers draught! Loved that place.

In the late 70's early 80's I worked for sheffield recreation dept. and it was my first job of the day to feed the fish in THITR.

... so can you tell us the exact size of the tank - was it around 15' x 4' and around 2' wide ? - and where was the access point to get in , as no doors were near the actual tank ?

... so can you tell us the exact size of the tank - was it around 15' x 4' and around 2' wide ? - and where was the access point to get in , as no doors were near the actual tank ?

I cant remember the exact size, but i think it was about 3' wide, the door was on the right hand side of the tank, there wasn't a lot of room inside because of all the water pipes and filters.

I was very concerned to find out they were filling the HITR & wanted to know what would happen to the fish so I wrote to the council to ask about the fish, even got a response to say they relocated them to the Town Hall. I remember thinking the fish tank was huge. I'd have been 8 when they closed it down, so I only remember it when it was dark & dodgy, with people selling dodgy wares packing up mid sale & running at the sound of a police siren or someone's warning shout.

The door for the access to the fish tank was concealed in the ridged wooden panelling.

I remember the tank as being about 3 metres (10 feet?) or so long, and about four feet high. I can't estimate the length front-to-back as the glass was deceivingly thick.

In the late 70's early 80's I worked for sheffield recreation dept. and it was my first job of the day to feed the fish in THITR.

Did you have that job of looking after the fish until the end when the hole was filled in.
Where did you get in to feed the fish it looked all very enclosed?

I was very concerned to find out they were filling the HITR & wanted to know what would happen to the fish so I wrote to the council to ask about the fish, even got a response to say they relocated them to the Town Hall. I remember thinking the fish tank was huge. I'd have been 8 when they closed it down, so I only remember it when it was dark & dodgy, with people selling dodgy wares packing up mid sale & running at the sound of a police siren or someone's warning shout.

What a load of bull, they had no tank at the Town Hall.

The council in their wisdom stocked the fish tank with a wonderful variety of fish. One of which was a black predatory species. That fish eventually consumed all the others and grew to enormous size. Not sure what it lived on after it ate the other fish........ but the the missing persons list was expanding at the time ;)

What a load of bull, they had no tank at the Town Hall.

That may have been so, but I received a letter from the council telling me that was what was going to happen. I don't remember if I ever followed up on it, I assume as a child I was just happy to hear they were relocating the fish.

I remember going for a sandwich at the cafe at house of frazer and you could see right into the middle of the hole in the road

Just found out some pictures of THITR from Aug 1993

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/andyrad/Sheffield%20places/hotraug1993.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/andyrad/Sheffield%20places/hotraug19932.jpg

I remember going for a sandwich at the cafe at house of frazer and you could see right into the middle of the hole in the road

the cafe is still there in the TJ Hughes building.

The view is not of the hole in the road, any more, though, it's of the tops of the supertrams!

It was a great place to be full of sleighs of people

My Dad has found another superb picture!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/andyrad/Sheffield%20places/HITR.jpg

My Dad has found another superb picture!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/andyrad/Sheffield%20places/HITR.jpg

Im taking this is your footage?, bet it was one of them big bulky cameras back in them days. Great footage and too see how things changed:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxF7Jmgih5o

yes your right, it was a big bulky camera.

Im taking this is your footage?, bet it was one of them big bulky cameras back in them days. Great footage and too see how things changed:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxF7Jmgih5o


yes good find! and look at my dad finding out how to use SF! :hihi: Hi Dad!

there was also a fag kiosk that used to sell the cheapest fags in sheffield but my memories of it are mostly THE FISH TANK i used to get on me mums nerves cos a never wanted to move when i got there even though we used to keep tropical fish at home at the time but i used to be fascinated with this one fish the big ghurahmis lol

when i was a kid my mum used to take me to the hole in the road they used to be a large fishtank, add shops and sometimes the someone selling copy t-shirts at the time nike,addias,ect, all ways busy

A short clip here of the hole in the road from 1973..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5XUIDbrxlw

Do you mean the hole in the road !!!!!! it even had fish and hobos living in it:suspect: I remember this ! I used to walk through it loads of times and fell up the escalators plenty of times.

I find it very hard to look back on this landmark with any affection at all. I remember it only as a urine-stinking, tramp and lowlife infested rathole with occasionally-working escalators and a fish.

Are my expectations too high?:suspect:

I great idea to what it was like before, as normal ruined by stinking humanity

i used to work in the hole in the road at gt news and scummys take away ..great times .

Um.. well i don't know. Did this hole have shops it in? It might all just be that I have been lied to, but apparently it was just sort of a big hole with shops in... dunno how people didn't fall into it etc.? Any pics?

Many buildings in the vicinity of the Market Place were damaged or destroyed on the night of 12 December 1940 when German aircraft bombed Sheffield. The bomb sites were cleared but most remained empty for many years. In 1968 many old streets were cleared to make way for the new Arundel Gate, a dual carriageway road that terminated at a large roundabout built on the former market place. Underneath the roundabout a network of underpasses and shops was built (with a central area open to the sky), this formed a complex that was officially designated Castle Square but became affectionately known locally as "Hole in t' Road" or Hole in the Road). Although considered by many to be a major city landmark, like many constructions of its time, it did not age well and was very dilapidated by the early 1990s. It lasted from 1967 until 1994, allegedly being filled in with the rubble from the recently demolished Hyde Park Flats.

4 roads met at the " Hole in the Road" and there was 8 ways down consisting of steps, slopes and even esculators on the High st there was shops underneath even a large fishtank that some say the fish was pirahnas but i cant confirm that . It was a meeting place for almost everyone .

When we got ****** we would go and watch the fish for ages on the way home, surprised the tank never got smashed.

I worked at Corkers fruit and veg shop at their Hole-in-the-road branch for a short while, and I hated it being 'underground' ! And I remember there was always a long queue at the cigarette kiosk in the centre due to the cigs being cheaper than anywhere else......

I have been told that there used to be some sort of shopping area, around where is now HMV/Boots/Cathedral... which was filled in before the trams got put back in (around 1995?) Apparently you could see the sky from it, but it was lower than the normal street level. Sounds all very intriguing.. surely anyone who's lived here since before 95 or so should know whether it's true or not? :confused:

arnt u from sheffield then :huh: thought everybody new about it:roll: r u 2 young

I have been told that there used to be some sort of shopping area, around where is now HMV/Boots/Cathedral... which was filled in before the trams got put back in (around 1995?) Apparently you could see the sky from it, but it was lower than the normal street level. Sounds all very intriguing.. surely anyone who's lived here since before 95 or so should know whether it's true or not? :confused:

dint u live in sheffield

Canadian cities like Toronto and Calgary have extensive underground passages (or had when I was last there) because it lets people walk round the shops without getting snowed on.

They were still there 2 years ago when we went …………. We were told it was just too cold to be on the streets in the winter.

During the first skateboard craze of the late 70's/early 80's there were no shops open in town on Sundays so the town centre was practically deserted, this made it a great skate park, including THITR. On a good day we could get on our boards at the City Hall, go down across Leopold St, down Fargate onto High st, round the corner by House of Fraser (TJ Hughes), double back down the ramp, straight through THITR, come up the ramp next to The Marples, across Fitzalan Sq. down Commercial St. Up the ramp onto Park Sq roundabout (before the trams were there). Across the roundabout on the long sweeping path. Jump off your board at the underpass and walk up the steps arriving at Granellis. Job Done.

it`s also featured in the film( the full monty ) at the start of the film it shows you how Sheffield centre used to look like! i miss it though, when it was quite and Sundays say, you could shout and hear the best echo ever

here it is in all its glory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5XUIDbrxlw

During the first skateboard craze of the late 70's/early 80's there were no shops open in town on Sundays so the town centre was practically deserted, this made it a great skate park, including THITR. On a good day we could get on our boards at the City Hall, go down across Leopold St, down Fargate onto High st, round the corner by House of Fraser (TJ Hughes), double back down the ramp, straight through THITR, come up the ramp next to The Marples, across Fitzalan Sq. down Commercial St. Up the ramp onto Park Sq roundabout (before the trams were there). Across the roundabout on the long sweeping path. Jump off your board at the underpass and walk up the steps arriving at Granellis. Job Done.

The town was very alternative on Sundays and all sorts of things went unreported such as gypsy horse auctions,free concerts and pavement artists.

As you've probably gathered, it was the Hole in the Road and was just a massive subway. The hole was the central area and was open topped. There were lots of entrances to bid stores in there ie C&A, Rackhams, Schofields etc and there were also individual shops in there.
It had it's advantages but many drawbacks, ie drunks colonising the benches and I had a friend who was attacked in one of the less busy parts of it one evening (the main reason for getting rid of the majority of subways in sheffield). I do have fond memories of looking at fish in the big tank built into the wall though and it was a convenient way of getting from one place to another if it was peeing it down.
I'm sure people have added links to their responses to this post, I just googled Hole in the Road, Sheffield and got lots of images up.

Dragging this old thread back to life as my Dad has just purchesed this fantastic framed pic on THITR

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/andyrad/Sheffield%20places/hotr.jpg

yes the hole in the road did exist and it sort of had shops in there but they were only shop frontage as i remember and had to be entered from the road there was a tv shop were people would gather if it was showing football or any thing good the hole also had flowers in tubs in the centre plus it had a huge fish aquarium built into the wall with some huge fish in it i wonder what ever happened to those fish???

yes the hole in the road did exist and it sort of had shops in there but they were only shop frontage as i remember and had to be entered from the road there was a tv shop were people would gather if it was showing football or any thing good the hole also had flowers in tubs in the centre plus it had a huge fish aquarium built into the wall with some huge fish in it i wonder what ever happened to those fish???

Actually there werea cartload of shops under the HITR. they weren't "just shop fronts" the YEB had a showroom that opened onto the HITR, C&A also did. There were decorating shops (Blaskeys), a pottery/ household shop, a couple of barbers, some Kiosks such as Thorntons Chocolate Kabin, and a couple of newsagents and a grocers (Bradshaw's), and a shoe repairers. Walsh's had an entrance in the underground, but that was an access to the escalators, up to the lower floor. The Co-Op also had a pharmacy off the subway.