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Can Anybody Ever Remember The Smog In Sheffield?

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Fully agree with RJRB that domestic fires caused a lot of the air pollution. Up to the fifties and, prior to central heating being widespread, virtually every house had at least one coal fire lit. Victorian houses were built with fireplaces in all living and bedrooms. Even earlier many people cooked on an open fire or in the adjacent range oven.

Evidence of the effects of smog could be seen in the blackened buildings in the immediate post war era which were subsequently cleaned to reveal their original colour.

I don't think the topography of the city helped either with it being virtually surrounded by hills. I remember being stood at Owler Bar in the '50s and looking down at what should have been a magnificent view of Sheffield only to be faced an aerial shot of an ominous blanket of smog which obscured the city.

 

echo.

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It was awful. The whole area smelt of rusty nails and workmans armpits.

 

Opines?

 

yes I can remember those dark days even in the middle of summer, we lived at pitsmoor in the 50s and it was terrible all the building were black as soot the only time it cleared for a short while was when the steel works closed down for wakes weeks were if I remember right were the last week in august and first in September when lots of she fielders buggered of to skeggy or Cleethorpes, mablethorpe, and last Blackpool were favourite places to get away to till you came back to hear the furnace's, and forges, started up a couple of days later it was back to normal

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I remember the 49 bus on Wordsworth Ave with the conductor walking in the gutter with his hand on the fender of the bus and the driver with the side window open so he could see the conductor and not stray into the middle of the road

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I miss Rampents threads. :(

 

Said same to Gazza mate, is he banned sine die :(

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In my sixties now......

Born and lived in Hillsborough through the fifties, sixties, and the seventies.

Strange....I have no recollection of smog despite living close to hill foot steel, Daniel Doncasters, and the Neepsend power station.

 

I'm in my sixties too and don't remember any smog - lived on the Stradbroke and lower Manor/Woodthorpe - mainly recollect sunny afternoons and lots of snow turning the streets into picture postcards. 93 bus regularly got stuck coming up off the Wyburn to Manor Park.

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Do people remember the big gas cloud that was regularly released from Orgreave?

 

Found a pic on Geograph: http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/73/69/736980_c2b619c8.jpg

I remember it alright in the late sixties early seventies my present wife and I were house hunting,we fixed our sights on a Wimpey house!.They had built an estate just up from Orgreave,we visited at different times of day to get a feel for the place!.One day the gas cloud was released,that did it,there was a bad smell most of the time no matter what,so we ended up at Aston cum Aughton Wimpey estate instead!.We picked a dormer bungalow off plan £50 deposit,total price £3,995,the mortgage £20 per month,I thought blimey I,ll never pay that off,how times haved changed!:roll::hihi::hihi:

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lived at top of danville st pitsmoor it used to look down on attercliffe and brightside,when wind was in right direction we got all the smog from steel works.no wonder people suffered from chest infections and died in their forties

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My early childhood was spent in the late 40s/ early 50s in the Park district. It was hard to escape the smog. We used to call it fog because we didn't know any better.

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Even the smog was better:)

 

remember the smog I dont remember what i had for breakfast think it was bacon but it mat have been cornflakes:confused::confused::confused:

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I well remember coming back from dancing class about 1956 & waiting for tram at Barnsley Rd/Norwood Rd junction. When it came smog was so bad I struggled to see the tram even though it was only a few yards away!

 

I had the similar smog experience at the same junction at about the same time (1956 or 57)

 

I was on a 98 Southey Green bus going back to town late one night. When we got to the end of Norwood Road, the driver was concerned about pulling out into Barnsley Road and being hit side-on by a tram. The conductor and a bunch us got off the bus, went out in to Barnsley Road, spread out and listen. When we couldn't hear anything, the conductor waved the bus forward, he made his turn on to Barnsley Road and we all got back on.

 

We had to do the same at the bottom of Spital Hill.

 

Regards

Edited by Falls
correction

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Lived in Grimesthorpe all my life (66 years) plenty of smoke and smog, we just got with it. Must of blown some where else.

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The worst one I remember was RED. You couldn't see the other side of the street. That was in Pitsmoor.

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