Weird underground shopping area (The Hole In The Road) -

HollyO · 01-03-2006, 15:50

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?

pinkace · 01-03-2006, 15:52

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

HollyO · 01-03-2006, 15:54

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?

kneetrembler · 01-03-2006, 15:55

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

themagicwand · 01-03-2006, 15:55

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!

HollyO · 01-03-2006, 15:56

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?

kneetrembler · 01-03-2006, 15:59

take a look at this

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...UA:en%26sa%3DN

gazelle · 01-03-2006, 16:00

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

kneetrembler · 01-03-2006, 16:02

and this
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...UA:en%26sa%3DN

Meaks · 01-03-2006, 16:30

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

This one has a few pictures on it, including the fishtank.

Strix · 01-03-2006, 16:33

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?

Kristian · 01-03-2006, 16:37

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,

Quote:

Originally Posted by HollyO

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!

K x

Strix · 01-03-2006, 16:38

this is what it looks like now - It's always been Castle Square though

whisper · 01-03-2006, 16:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by HollyO

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?

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

surfinjim · 04-03-2006, 02:28

[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

sheffgirly · 04-03-2006, 03:30

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

I miss it

Can we dig a new hole in the road?!

Try these links to see some pictures if you want?

http://www.pulppeople.plus.com/Sheff...inthe_road.htm
http://www.sheffield-fm.co.uk/sheffield_photographs.htm

SallyW · 04-03-2006, 09:06

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!

jfish1936 · 04-03-2006, 09:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by HollyO

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.

Plain Talker · 04-03-2006, 11:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by HollyO

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

Yellowrose · 04-03-2006, 22:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by SallyW

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.