Demolished mansion at The Ridge (Redmires Road), Lodge Moor S10

[Oingo 10]

Dear Comrades,

 

Before the houses and flats were build on The Ridge, a mansion house existed on the site. I would like to know more about this house, mentioned in the threads below:

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14864

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=69988&highlight=ridge

 

http://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic/11470-strange-structure-at-hallam-head/?hl=ridge

 

Goldenfleece mentions that a bomb hit the mansion. I can't see this on the map here http://s119.photobucket.com/user/cat631/media/SheffieldBombsSW.jpg.html , nor can I find the casualties.

 

Nearly 10 years on from Snowboarder's post, would anyone have any more information/pictures or this building or details about its fate? Do you remember it? Would love to hear more.

 

Thanks.

[goldenfleece 11]

Dear Comrades,

 

Before the houses and flats were build on The Ridge, a mansion house existed on the site. I would like to know more about this house, mentioned in the threads below:

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14864

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=69988&highlight=ridge

 

http://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic/11470-strange-structure-at-hallam-head/?hl=ridge

 

Goldenfleece mentions that a bomb hit the mansion. I can't see this on the map here http://s119.photobucket.com/user/cat631/media/SheffieldBombsSW.jpg.html , nor can I find the casualties.

 

Nearly 10 years on from Snowboarder's post, would anyone have any more information/pictures or this building or details about its fate? Do you remember it? Would love to hear more.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Back in 1983 I lived at Number 8, The Ridge, and was doing extensive research into the history of the site occupied by The Ridge, which was built in 1975. My research was based at the Sheffield Archives, which had an original PLAN of the former house on the site, known as THE RIDGE. I did take a copy of this plan but cannot locate it now, but I imagine you can still obtain this at the Archives. At the time I had to do an application to the Planning Office, as records of old house architects drawings were kept there but were in the process of gradually been archived by the central library.

 

There is no record of Bomb damage at the Sheffield archive. the information about bomb damage came from a local elderly man who lived near the Three Merry Lads, a Mr.Ward, whom I interview in February 1983. Mr Ward had lived at the same house most of his life, and was well known in Lodge Moor at the time because he had a stunning memory of local events dating back to the 1930's. I doubt Mr Ward is now still with us, he was in his late 70's I believe back in 1983. It was Mr Ward who told me of the bomb damage that partially destroyed the house during the Sheffield blitz. Now it was possible that he was confused, but the rest of his information was very detailed and seemed genuine.

 

From my original notes I made in 1983, the house was built in 1909, for a local businessman named A.S Ward, the same surname as the elderly gentlemen I just mentioned. I thought they might in fact be related, but this was not the case. The house was a fairly modest mansion by usual standards, in fact was very like the house next door to the site (there are two period large detached houses between the Ridge and Hallam Grange Rd. More details follow, bear with me....

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 12:54 ----------

 

Just been perusing my journal from 1983 and while I don't have the name of the "hermit" from Lodge Moor whom I talked to, he lived at Number 1, Lodge Moor House. I can't remember which house it was now actually but it was very close the Three merry Lads. He had photographs about the area dating back to the early 20th century in a private collection.

 

It is quite easy to trace out the boundaries of the site of the original house and garden. The wall down the side of Hallam playing fields adjacent to the path that leads down from Redmires Rd is one side, whilst the other side bordered to the neighboring properties, the two large houses I mentioned above. I enevr did find out the dates those two houses were built, but I think they were from the same period as the 1909 'mansion', or shortly afterwards anyway.

 

Sheffield archives hold a close up map of the house 'elevation' showing its exact position in relation to the surviving gate posts at the top of the Ridge road now. The gate posts are in the bushes next to the top of the Ridge, on the left as you look at the Ridge from Redmires rd. Those are the original 1909 gateposts. The house itself occupied the area just in front of the current apartment block at the top of the Ridge, and the houses below, being numbers 8, 10, etc of the Ridge were in its garden, or 'rockery' area as I established at the time. from digging in my own garden at the time I uncovered evidence of earthworks of previous landscaping of the old house.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:00 ----------

 

The gentlemen at Lodge Moor I interviewed seemed adamant the house was damaged, and he was talking about the same period at the blitz. Possibly he got confused, as my notes log a "gas explosion" in the house, and a fire that damaged it beyond repair in the 1940's. The gentlemen was then looking through his photographs and old maps and trying to recall how long the house stood for in a derelict state. he calimed it stood until the 1950's when it was largely demolished, and the site was waste land until 1974, when it was purchased by GLEESONS builders, who further cleared and landscaped the site ready for a housing estate to be called THE RIDGE, after the old mansion that was on the site.

 

Now I contacted GLEESONS archives at the time but they had apparently destroyed all their own records of the site, keeping only plans and site photography for five years only. I asked to talk to the original surveyor who worked for them, who surveyed the site in 1974, and I managed to get finally an email response from someone who remembered only that there foundations and cellars of an old house still extant in 1974, and that these were filled in and covered over. There was also a large pond that was overgrown, roughly where the garden of Number 6 The Ridge is now, which was filled in and landscaped, although boundary rockery still exists (or it did in 1983) in the said garden. The gateposts were retained, but the access road known now as THE RIDGE was not made down the original driveway of the former house, but slightly to the right, for reasons unknown.

 

The person I spoke two promised me personal photographs of the 1974 state of the site prior to building, but these never arrived.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:02 ----------

 

I would love to help do more research on this, and certainly there MUST be some photographs of the house somewhere. certainly the archtects plans did exist as microfilm in 1983, so I imagine they still do. It shows the full house layout and architect details, builders, etc.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:04 ----------

 

Further conservations I had with the surveyor at GLEESONS, who was on site right from day one in 1974, mentioned that the cellars of the mansion had survived as "vaulted wine cellar", running under the house and under the garden as well. Although no pictures were sent to me, I was told that these were NOT removed, but simply filled with gravel and rocks and levelled off.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:05 ----------

 

There was also an old Victorian sundial in the garden area of the demolished mansion, and the remains of a 'summer house'. These were obviously completely removed. I tried in vain to find any one in the area who lived adjacent to the site in the early 1970's, but most of the neighbours (excluding the new build The Ridge of course) had no knowledge of the site and described it only as vastly overgrown waste land.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:07 ----------

 

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=The+Ridge,+Sheffield&hl=en&ll=53.374444,-1.546106&spn=0.00108,0.00284&sll=47.73855,12.508828&sspn=39.964706,93.076172&oq=the+ridge+sheffield&t=h&hnear=The+Ridge,+Sheffield,+United+Kingdom&z=19

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:09 ----------

 

Satt view of the above map shows clearly the area once occupied by the old mansion, you can see the old wall boundary down by the side of the school playing field, anmd the large old houses to the left of the 1975 apartment block. The house stood where this long apartment block is now.....with an access drive way sweeping to the right and emerging on redmires East of the entrance to the Ridge new road.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:10 ----------

 

You can also see one of the gateposts, and in the trees right of this I believe is the other one, or remains of some front boundary wall (there was in 1983 anyway)

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:12 ----------

 

The area that slopes down to the garden of numbers 6 and 8 The Ridge are the remains of the former garden rockery of the house.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 13:13 ----------

 

"In the house where I used to live at Lodge Moor I awoke one night at 2am as my dog was growling at me, for no apparent reason. I found I was unable to move, literally could not move a muscle, and felt really ice cold, and something was hovering over my bed, like a black vacumn type 'feeling' shape that seemed to be trying to absorb me. It was the most horrible feeling I have ever had, and lasted about 60 seconds before the black 'shape' faded away and I could then move....I leapt out of bed and turned on all the lights and the dog had stopped growling and was normal again......but I was on edge for about a week.....and there were many other similar incidents at that house over 10 years that defied explanation, such as people dressed in old clothes arriving at the house who then just...well er.....disappeared. SOunds a bit crap I know, but thats how it was...remember it vividly....

 

May not be related but my house, which was new in 1975, was built on the site of an old mansion that was bombed out in the 2nd world war attack on Sheffield, and one or more of the residents had been killed..they did not have air raid shelters in Lodge Moor apparently.......the cellars are under the garden and were not fully filled in. We dug through once when putting up fence posts, and found part of a vaulted old wine cellar half full of gravel and stone....." (posted by me in 2005)

Edited August 20, 2013 by goldenfleece

[Oingo 10]

Thanks Goldenfleece. Fascinating! Will digest more tonight.

 

---------- Post added 22-08-2013 at 22:02 ----------

 

Hi Goldenfleece,

 

A great response, thank you. I will have to make my way down to the archives one day.

 

Regarding the Pond at what is now number 6 The Ridge: I lived on Hallam Grange Crescent for a period, long after the Ridge Flats were built. Heard a rumour long ago that the frogs which are found at the bottom of HGC gardens year after year are a legacy of a pond that used to be around there.

 

I cannot see the gate posts, but I can see one single older post almost by the road side (almost under the tree in between the layby and the top of the Ridge) which looks much older than 1909. There is also another post on the same side of the road about 200 yards further down.

 

Again, fascinating. Thank you very much. Would welcome any more information about the family or the fate of the place if anyone has that.

[Priller 10]

The house wasn't demolished completely until '72 or '73 I think. I remember sneaking into the "ruins" during break/lunchtime from Hallam Junior school about this period. Naturally this was highly forbidden and dangerous, but at that age (9ish) you're kind of oblivious to all that. My memory is sketchy (40+ years ago) but I do remember it was a fairly complete building of at least 3 floors and some roof remaining, maybe with a dormer or two. The building was damaged commensurate with an explosion. Large sections of wall and roof were down and you could see into many of the rooms on several floors. I also recall peering through a large hole in floorboards into a deep cellar (I was outside the remaining structure but on what must once have been internal floor) and realising that there were only tenuously secured boards supporting me. It looked a long way down but the room(s?) below looked as if they had been well finished at some time. I found this thread when I too wondered about the place. My older brother (+2 1/2 years) may remember some details better. I kknow he snuck in there too with at least one of his contemporaries.

[Oingo 10]

Dear Priller,

 

Great to hear your experience, fascinating. Cor, you wouldn't be able to get beyond the fence of Hallam nowadays! I would be very interested to hear your brother's memories of the place.

 

I hope the links I post here bring back some memories - although they are earlier than your visit. These are from 1950 and 1951.

 

The four links below are all safe:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx24/oingo1/BFA_zpsl3zfutmm.jpg

(which is the zoomed in portion of http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw037108?search=fulwood&ref=12)

 

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx24/oingo1/BFA2_zpscquigzgx.jpg

(which is the zoomed in portion of www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw031395?search=bell%20hagg&ref=1)

 

For the Britain from Above site, you need to sign up for an account (free) to get zoom function - this is a brilliant website for old Aerial photos.

 

I took a trip to the Sheffield archives some while ago and found some interesting information, as well as aerial photographs. The 1966 photographs (likely taken from a Canberra or similar rather than a small plane as are quite high altitude) show the old mansion house and grounds.

 

I also pulled the bitz records to check for this rumoured bomb striking nearby the Ridge. To be honest I was sceptical as there was no red dot on the Sheffield Telegraph map and I couldn't find information anywhere. However after searching and searching (Redmires Road, Lodge Moor, Hallam etc etc) I found a report card for Sandygate Road which states that 3 bombs (incendiary) fell (1) "150 yds awa opp. Golf House" (2) "opp. Pitchford Lane" (3) "Junc. Coldwell Lane". Accounting for the drop in the lay of the land this looks to be a stick of bombs. 2 and 3 are easily plotted, but 1 is not so easily plotted as just give a distance in yards. 150 yards back is to one of the new houses by the bus layby (although i'm sure 150yds isn't quite accurate). I think, given the description of 1 as opp. the golf house this means it is on the side of the road that the Ridge is on and, looking at the other two bomb locatons and the order they are listed, the 150 yrds must be in the direction of Lodge Moor rather than Crosspool. No damage is shown on the cards so the bomb could have for instance have fallen in Hallam School Field or similar, but I think we can say for certain that a bomb did drop on 12-12-40 on or very near the house. Given that the house looks reasonably tidy in 1950 and 51 (Britain from Above), the Gas explosion (Goldenfleece) option seems more likely.

 

Goldenfleece - apologies not for having emailed the images to you. I can't find the aerial ones from the archives on my PC! I will get these uploaded too if I find them.

[goldenfleece 11]

Only JUST found this reply........great information there. Forum never updated me about a response.