Tunnels under Sheffield

[nuf_said 10]

Originally posted by Lucy81

and i also belive there are some in hillsbrough under the barracks that were used to store weapons, and of course there is the dundgeons in the garrison, i presume there is tunnels under there also,

L (",)

 

The 'barracks' was indeed riddled with tunnels.

 

They were very small (about 30cm wide and 30cm high and made of brick. These fed water which came in via a spring at the top gate (near the officer's quarters - Sheffield Insulations) into very large underground vaults (also made of brick). These vaults were about the size of railway carriages. The purpose was to store water for fire fighting. I have an old army survey drawing showing them all - there were 3 vaults under what is now the two level car park and there were 2 very large vaults under Morrisons store.

 

There were no tunnels under the guard house - now the Garrison Hotel.

[nuf_said 10]

Originally posted by BoroughGal

Just to say that I've heard this one too... that there's a tunnel from the Barracks to the old Boys Club across the road - which was some sort of medical block or something...? The staff at the Boys Club (now the 393 Club) MAY be able to offer some assistance....? Or possibly staff at Morrisions - they aint going to be tied by the same issues with regard to confidentiality, surely?

 

Army survey drawing doesn't show a tunnel to the Old Boys Club. I did hear that the OBC was used by the Barracks but possibly not as a medical block. The Barracks had its own hospital within the grounds. It was the tall building nearest to the North end where the new bus stands are.

 

The Commanding Officer's house stood outside the walls where the buses are now (and previously a petrol station). I heard rumour he had a tunnel back into the Barracks, but the survey fails to show that.

[nuf_said 10]

More tunnels:-

 

Apparently Kelham Island Museum used to be a generating station for the power which drove the original trams. In the basement is a tunnel which slopes down under the river / goyt which you cross to get to the entrance. I was told this used to take the cables into the town centre - somewhere near Castle Square. It was blocked off with a brick wall some way in. There were hundreds of old army helmets stored in there.

[muddycoffee 10]

My Grandma used to live Next to meersbrook park in the 70s in a large house on brook road. In the cellar of most of the local houses, was a door which led to a huge air raid shelter under the grass, in the park, alongside brook road, just near the buildings which used to be the ruskin museum or whatever it was. I used to go in the park when I visited, and in this field, were boarded up windows set into the ground.

 

If you walk along brook road now down from the school and past beeton road, you notice that the road is in a bad state at certain positions. This I believe, is where the tunnels under the road have collapsed.

 

In addition to this, I have been in many cellars of old terraced houses in the woodseats area. And it is very common to find a doorway which has been bricked up with more modern bricks. Again this was to allow people to escape to the next door house during the bombings in WWII.

[nonprodigal 10]

has anyone ever heard of any rumours of tunnels leading from under the old Infirmary next to where kelvin flats used to be?

I did go into the old infirmary before it was redeveloped but never dared going right down into the cellars due to lack of a torch so don't know if the rumours are true or not.

id be very interested to know if anybody else has heard of tunnels round there.

[Tony 10]

There were tunnels underneath the infirmary that simply linked the two main buildings to avoid wheeling patients on beds through the grounds for operations, x-rays, etc.

 

I can't imagine for a minute why they would go off site so I wouldn't think they did. Interestingly they were supposed to be VERY haunted.

[abbie_au 10]

My Grandad,( sadly missed) would be almost 90 by now. He used to tell all sorts of stories when we were kids.... one story i remember well was that of a stunt they used to get up to as kids. In Darnall at the bottom of Prince of Whales Rd, on the right , there was a huge church. ( I vaguely remember this being knocked down in my time).As a kid, my Grandad and his mates used to go into tunnels here, lift up a huge manhole cover that was under there, drop it and listen for the loud echoing bang. The people in the church would run out thinking that there was an air raid or something.......watched by the 'boys' who by this time had climed out of the tunnels.......

[gillmarx 10]

according to my old history teacher there are tunnels linking the old manor lodge to the old manor castle which if i am not mistaken used to stand somewhere around the esso petrol station on blonk street (lady's bridge) the bridge was called lady's due mary queen of scots being transported from there to the lodge and back again daily throughout her inprisonment.

[Plain Talker 11]

the manor lodge and the manor "castle" (I presume you meant the manor house?) both stand/stood on manor lane, you may be thinking of Sheffield Castle, which stood on an area borderd by the river at blonk steet/ lady's bridge. and went up the hill where waingate /haymarket is now, as far as at least FitzAlan square.

 

I am very interested in the study of history, particularly the Tudor times, and, from what I understand, MQoS's imprisonment in sheffield Manor was not what we might think of as Imprisonment.

 

She had a considerable amount of liberty during her long stay; she was permitted to ride out on horses, and to go hunting, she had an entourage to attend to her, as befitted her royal status. It wasn't "bread and water, in a dank, cold dungeon" such as a commoner would have had to endure. she was well fed (at the expense of her "gaoler", the lord of the manor!) and well looked after.

 

At the time of her stay, the manor castle had recently undergone remodelling, the plans of which, give the impression of a building that looked very much like Hampton Court Palace. (including a gatehouse, with a twin tower design that faced over the east end of sheffield. A structure which would have been intensely impressive, and grand.)

 

So, Sheffield Manor of the late 16th century would have been "state of the art", the epitome of Luxury, innovation, and newness for the time.

 

as for tunnels... I seriously doubt that they are anything but old mine workings. I doubt that they are anything significant...

 

there are always rumours about tunnels cropping up, here and there, I heard one rumour that said that the pedestrian subway that used to exist at Manor Top (MT) had a nuclear shelter beneath it.

 

"in the subway, you can see the door! was the excited cry from one of my more gullible friends.

 

the subway is long-gone, and, I assume, any hint of a Bunker, of any kind. The person that told me this was adamant, it existed.

 

I was sceptical, to say the least.

 

They said, "it's true! Honest! It's for the Territorial army base at MT!"

 

My reply (well, the printable bit..! )

was along the lines of "Yeah, right. they are going to run to something five minutes' run away when the four minute warning goes off! it would make much more sense if this (doubtful) bunker were to be situated* inside* the army base.. no?"

 

PT

[JonnH 10]

Originally posted by Tony

I recall that it was built to withstand a nuclear blast, so everything you say would make sense. Tankersley is pretty much as far away from population / industry centres as you can get whilst still being right next to the main UK road artery.

 

If there was anything else going on in there I think we would have heard rumours. After all, Sheffield people work there and I'm sure that there are SF members who are totally aware of its workings as a bank computer centre, nuclear blast shelter or alien spacecraft research centre.

 

There may well be provision to use it as a local bunker, but generally I think its there because banks take security very seriously, and so they should.

 

I did my school workexperience at the Midland Bank's (now HSBC) Data Centre back in 1994. I worked in the actual data centre for a while (under close supervision ).

The Air Vents you can see from the rear of the site cycle air to and from the data centre.

the security in that place back then was quite frankly near-futuristic

Apparently the building was built to withstand a so-many megaton nuclear device. And of course they have generators, you reckon they'd rely on National Grid with all those computers and stuff?

[NatalieSheff 10]

dont know whether anyone has mentioned them and i cant be bothered to read ALL the posts, but Holt House on Abbeydale Rd has got tunnels too, lots of boiler rooms apartently were connected. my gramps was caretakers and knew of lots of scary going ons there. think its being mentioned b4 on here? by one of the spritiual type people/ghost hunters.

what did they fill the hole in the road in with?? all cement?? imagine Time Team in couple hundred years. bet that tramp is under there with those fish!!

[algy 11]

Originally posted by gillmarx

according to my old history teacher there are tunnels linking the old manor lodge to the old manor castle which if i am not mistaken used to stand somewhere around the esso petrol station on blonk street (lady's bridge) the bridge was called lady's due mary queen of scots being transported from there to the lodge and back again daily throughout her inprisonment.

Sorry, but the castle stood where the castle market is, they excavated some of the site last year, and Lady's Bridge got its name because at one end there used to be a chapel , rather like the one in Rotherham, dedicated to the Virgin Mary:thumbsup: