1902 tram ride movie though Sheffield

[Waldo 96]

Thanks for posting, it's a very interesting clip. You can almost tell the class of a person, just from their hat alone! Don't see so many flat caps, bowlers, and top hats these days.

[echo beach 581]

It's High Street, looking at York Street,

L/H corner is the bank (the building is still there).

R/H corner the Goldsmith's.

 

High Street

7 London City & Midland Bank.

.........York Street .........

9 &11 Sheffield Goldsmith's Co.

 

From the 1901 and 1905 directories.

 

Thanks for that me-and-pippo. I hadn't picked up that the Sheffield Goldsmith's premises were in High Street maybe prior to moving to Fargate in 1907 or it's perhaps a mix up with addresses?. I think, according to your directory, it occupied the same site where the Sheffield Newspapers building is now. Didn't help with the footage being out of sync with the rest!

 

echo.

[me-and-pippo 12]

Thanks for that me-and-pippo. I hadn't picked up that the Sheffield Goldsmith's premises were in High Street maybe prior to moving to Fargate in 1907 or it's perhaps a mix up with addresses?. I think, according to your directory, it occupied the same site where the Sheffield Newspapers building is now. Didn't help with the footage being out of sync with the rest!

 

echo.

 

They moved up to to Fargate, next to Chapel Walk, picturesheffield

[TheDrib 10]

Maybe the 5 year delay to the last scene, explains why we don't see a bicycle until then.

[hillsbro 30]

...Next it travels down Fargate and High Street until at 3:30 it reaches the top of Commercial Street/ Fitzalan Square....

I may be mistaken but I don't think Fargate features in the film until the very end, where the tram is waiting at the bottom of Fargate. At 2:48 the view changes from Pinstone Street to the lower part of High Street - on the left can be seen the old Fitzalan Market. This was where C & A was later built - note the distinctive row of six ground-level arches, with a pillar above the centre (here is a picturesheffield.com photo). At about 2:50 to 3:20 the camera pans to the left and back, showing the corner of Angel Street - the lower part of the decorative lamp post (see here) can be seen.

 

As me-and-pippo noted the Sheffield Goldsmiths' Company must have moved shortly before 1907 - here is a scan from the 1905 directory. So the tram must have stopped at the bottom of Fargate. At about 4:57 to 5:01 the distinctive 9-pane window of the London City & Midland Bank building can be seen on the left - here is an old photo. So Kemsley House, the old Telegraph & Star building, must date from after 1902. Note the smart bank messenger at 5:15 to 5:20, striding past in top hat & tail coat. I did the same job in the early 1970s and only got a peaked cap....

Edited October 22, 2013 by hillsbro

[beechnut 10]

.....At 2:48 the view changes from Pinstone Street to the lower part of High Street - on the left can be seen the old Fitzalan Market. This was where C & A was later built - note the distinctive row of six ground-level arches, with a pillar above the centre ...

Well done hillsboro - spot on as usual! . It's a wonderful film - as others have said, all the hustle & bustle of activity. It's always interesting to see street scenes in old silent films showing early-1900s people, traffic etc. but when it's your own home town it's fascinating - thanks to Nagel for the link!

[Texas 10]

I've watched the footage about half a dozen times, it never palls. I think this was shot on a special tram, see the official with the heavy moustache toward the end, he looks really on the organising ball. Lots of the locations are recognisable, even from when I was last in Sheffield, but I missed the church a couple of times which used to be on the Peace Gardens. What was 'Vinum' gloss soap? And what was that guy wheeling on the handcart? It had a triangular shape. I counted about five people not wearing a cap or a hat. And there were still Hansom cabs, on their way out, I suspect, given the amount of trams. The amount of horse**** is not as I thought it would be given the date and number of horses. And I only saw one dog. It's a great piece of film.

[not wanted 10]

I've not lived in Sheffield for nearly half a century but here are a few observations on the tram's route, based on buildings/places remembered and with the help of Google.

The journey starts in Heeley Bottom at the junction of London Rd and Queen's Rd. Lowfield Primary School, built in 1874, can be seen in the background. It's still there.

The next footage is on London Rd travelling towards Moorfoot. The tram is passing Alderson Rd and Randall Place on the right. A Vietnamese cafe currently occupies the same building on the right.

That is followed by a trip up the Moor. Atkinson's first shop can be spotted on the left at 1min 30secs. By 2:36 it has reached Moorhead (now Furnival Gate).

The column which was topped by a statue of Queen Victoria is glimpsed on the right and as Pinstone Street is entered the tower of St Paul's Church, demolished 1938 (the site was subsequently called the Peace Gardens) is silhouetted.

Next it travels down Fargate and High Street until at 3:30 it reaches the top of Commercial Street/ Fitzalan Square where a left turn takes it down Haymarket and into Waingate. The old Norfolk Market Hall (flattened in 1959) can be spotted on the right in the Haymarket, and the Royal Hotel (gone in 1913) is at the top of Waingate. A little further down on the left is the Old Town Hall.

At the bottom of Waingate a white building is glimpsed. That still exists and it was The Lady's Bridge pub.

The final scene is a bit of an anomaly because it shows the Sheffield Goldsmiths' Company premises. According to records it was sited at 11 Fargate/Change Alley from 1907. The images look like that place but it's out of sequence and 5 years later. Maybe it was added subsequently to the original film?

 

echo.

 

I've just sat and watched it and come to exactly the same conclusions

[Banker 10]

What an interesting film! But Hillsbro is quite right - Fargate doesn't feature at all. It goes from Pinstone Street (where the tower of St Paul's Church can be seen in the distance) to the lower part of High Street. The old photos linked by Hillsboro make this clear - the old Fitzalan Market opposite the Marples Hotel and the ornate lamp post at the top of Angel Street. Fascinating!

[beezerboy 12]

Have followed this very closely,but like others in N America have stated I cannot find a way to view the trip. However I thought some may like to compare the ride of San Fransisco tram in 1905 /or not.

 

[Mattenmurg 10]

Brilliant film, thank you for sharing. And thank you to those who have 'mapped' the journey.

[echo beach 581]

What an interesting film! But Hillsbro is quite right - Fargate doesn't feature at all. It goes from Pinstone Street (where the tower of St Paul's Church can be seen in the distance) to the lower part of High Street. The old photos linked by Hillsboro make this clear - the old Fitzalan Market opposite the Marples Hotel and the ornate lamp post at the top of Angel Street. Fascinating!

 

Hi Banker. I don't think I said that Fargate featured in the footage but inferred that logically the tram would have travelled down Fargate to reach High St from Pinstone St. It possibly could have turned left into Leopold St and then sharp right down Church St but, from memory, the direct route was the one used. Most of the journey on London Rd is not filmed but we can assume that the tram traversed it on its travels.

 

hillsbro. Thanks for the info on the Fitzalan Market. I never knew of its existence and those 6 arches did puzzle me somewhat. My memory only stretches back as far as the Norfolk market hall and the post blitz burnt out shells of Burtons at the top Angel St, C&A next to it and The Marples, across the road.

 

echo.

 

---------- Post added 23-10-2013 at 12:08 ----------

 

Have followed this very closely,but like others in N America have stated I cannot find a way to view the trip. However I thought some may like to compare the ride of San Fransisco tram in 1905 /or not.

 

 

beezerboy, That's a fascinating clip in comparison. The major difference is the much wider street in San Francisco and the multitude of cars on the road. Non are seen in the Sheffield film. I guess with the erratic driving habits illustrated it was shot before any 'Rules of the Road' were introduced.

 

echo.