Info about Meers Brook

[Da link went 10]

My grandmother lived in Albert Rd. It was a big house and she lived alone, my grandfather died before WW2 started. During the blitz an incendiary bomb dropped through the roof and ended up in the cellar and missed her bed by a couple of feet. My father brought her to live with us on Millmount road and she told us about the beautiful sky somebody had painted on her ceiling, the bright stars and full moon, I know, but that's what she said. She was of course off her rocker. She died not long after that, the bomb never fired, it lay in the cellar among the coal for months until my father, brave man that he wasn't, told me to go down there and throw the bomb into the stream, and that's what i did.

 

The bomb disposal squad would have found it no doubt because I went to the house to pick up some things and it had gone.

 

---------- Post added 06-09-2013 at 16:44 ----------

 

HI Duffems, No I,m not one of the Baileys although I new them all well, I lived in the old tannery (Arthington Buildings ) No 3 Downing family only me left now

Dave

 

---------- Post added 06-09-2013 at 19:18 ----------

 

 

HI Maxiesmum cant place you or the dog, but yes we were always paddling in the dam on the Sheaf, I served my apprenticship at Tyzack sons and Turners

from 67 to about 73. Dave

My father was a sythe grinder at Tyzack sons and Turners but because of the sand and metal in his chest he had to leave in the 50's. He started off in what is now an industrial museum at Beauchiff. If you ever saw the conditions they worked under it would make you weep.

[abroadhead 10]

If this is right, how can I or who can I ask to find out. I have tried Yorkshire Water, they have no idea and also the National Rivers they said much of the same thing.

 

For future reference for others, this sort of information on culverted watercourses is available.

 

Most smaller buried streams have been recorded by Sheffield City Council. I know, they have kindly provided me with maps for my research.

 

Yorkshire Water have a copy of these in digital form, which they can find on their computerised map system called "Odyssey". Finding a way in to get someone to find it for you can be difficult.

 

The Environment Agency teamed up with the Ordnance Survey to produce something called the Detailed River Network. This is a digital map of watercourses, including the routes of buried ones (i.e. more than you can see just from normal OS maps). The local office should be able to help you with this, though you may have to ask to visit them to see it, or get a print out.

[heeleybird 10]

Hi Maxiesmum Yes I remember the explosion well, it was one of my pals dad looking for a gas leak with a match (or so his son told us) it was the Ritchardson family about half way down. I lived in the flats at the bottom of Valley Road (the old tannery) born in 52 and grew up there till I wed in 73, any info I can help with to willing to reminis.

 

It was 6.30 on a cold January morning, no-one was aware at 21 Bradbury Street that a gas main had fractured with the cold and that gas had been seeping for some hours into the cellar at number 21. Like most families with cellar grates, the Richardson's cellar grate had been covered to stop heat escaping and the cold getting in, this would prove to be disasterous. At 6.35 the head of the family George Richardson was woken by his youngest son, Ian, who had woke and had smelled gas. As George went downstairs in this small two up two down property to investigate, a silent morning turned into what can only be described as hell. Clear air turned into a red glowing thick black choking soot riddled soup as a hundred years of roof muck and dust cascaded down onto the family of George, his wife Esther, their sons George William and Their youngest lad, Ian. Ceilings collapsed, slates and rafters fell onto the beds and a fiery glow took over as flames from below started to engulf what was left of the sitting room. George William was flung from his bed along with brother Ian, luckily landing on part of the bedroom floor that had not collapsed as they were immediately above the sitting room which was in turn above the cellar. George William quickly took control of the situation, guiding his younger brother Ian, and his injured mother (from the adjacent bedroom) to the safety of the rear yard and away from the flames. It seems a lifetime ago that this occurred but I can still see my father who's hair was burnt from his head hugging my mother. When my father had gone downstairs his first thought had been to open the back door, he then opened the living room door from the kitchen, the disaster occurred when he opened the cellar door. In his own words at the time he explained that he had opened the cellar door about three inches when the concentrated gas in the cellar, unable to get out of the covered grate, exploded in a blinding flash. His life was saved by the cellar door and the dining room door inwardly blowing off at the same time injuring my father but saving his life by enabling the fire to spiral around him. To put the record straight, and that is why I've wrote this, my father never attempted to search for a gas leak with a lighted match, the fire officer who attended the aftermath concluded that the ignition of the gas was by contact to a pilot light from an ascot water heater situated in the kitchen. Although not seriously injured my father went deaf shortly afterwards , attributed to the air compression but never proven.

[lazyec 10]

The Meers Brook runs down from the Gleadless Valley Estate and enters a culvert by the side of the Council Tip at Blackstock Road - it reappears near to the big house on Cat Lane and continues past the bottom of the gardens of all the houses on the L.H.S. of Northcote Avenue from Cat Lane.

 

It enters another culvert just before where the Meersbrook garage was, at the bottom of Northcote Avenue, behind the houses nos. 2 and 4.

 

It then travels down Albert Road as described in the other messages.

[TimeBandit52 10]

Hi heeled bird. Thanks for the update. Sorry my info was wrong. It was however Ian who told us this the following day. Hope you are all well. D. D.

[DUFFEMS 55]

Hi heeled bird. Thanks for the update. Sorry my info was wrong. It was however Ian who told us this the following day. Hope you are all well. D. D.

 

Hi,

The Downing name rings a bell, did your mother bring prescriptions into the chemist on the corner of Valley and Chesterfield Road, I know the Bailey family did as did the Street family also.

[playman 10]

The Meers Brook runs down from the Gleadless Valley Estate and enters a culvert by the side of the Council Tip at Blackstock Road - it reappears near to the big house on Cat Lane and continues past the bottom of the gardens of all the houses on the L.H.S. of Northcote Avenue from Cat Lane.

 

It enters another culvert just before where the Meersbrook garage was, at the bottom of Northcote Avenue, behind the houses nos. 2 and 4.

 

It then travels down Albert Road as described in the other messages.

 

So where is the source of it, two tributaries meet at the bridge over blackstock rd, the one flowing under the bridge goes all the way back and goes under leighton road where the far lees was and heads up towards gleadless town end, the other goes up spotswood , through the tunnel under gleadless rd and up through buck wood to arbourthorne but cannot think where it might start.

[cookingfat50 10]

hi meersbrook starts like from a small spring at the top of gleadless valley at the very top of herdings near were the twin tower blocks are that can be seen from many parts of the city and Derbyshire. the brook then makes it's way down he valley as it can't flow back, it works it's way down the valley throw the woods were as kids we would try to dam I but never could do it then it flows past bankwood school down towards Heeley ill it get to the bottom of heeley it then goes under the railway bridge where it meets the river sheaf and together they flow as one through to own pass ponds forge where it then joins the river don how do I know this because me and 2 mates followed it one day from it's beginning till it joined the sheaf hope this helps regards steve

[playman 10]

So the stream that runs down from constable rd and the back of ironside road must run into it at some point then, who defines which tributary is the source if there are several running into them because I would say this one would be the longest because it starts at norton somewhere.

 

---------- Post added 31-07-2014 at 10:45 ----------

 

I googled meers brook and yes it has the source in gleadless, it must be behind the carlton club somewhere, there must be a lot of springs in that area as the source of the shire brook raises in the cellar of the red lion at town end and there must be another that feeds the stream from constable rd down behind ironside rd and feeds the meers brook somewhere in the woods they flow through.

[me-and-pippo 12]

Looking at a number of maps that cover varying years, I would say theat the Meers Brook starts between Leighton Road and Gleadless Road, near to Gleadless Townend.

 

---------- Post added 31-07-2014 at 11:00 ----------

 

According to Google Maps, there are three Meers Brook's

[playman 10]

Cannot recall any stream near the tower block ( only one now), only streams I can think of are the one on constable and the one that runs down the side of leighton road, the one from constable runs down the valley below the herdings bus terminus, and the other one seems too far over the other side as it is the length of raeburn road from the terminus to leighton rd.

 

---------- Post added 31-07-2014 at 11:27 ----------

 

Cheers pippo for that map, looking at it brought back loads of memories, played or followed them all in some form many years ago, never realised that they all flowed into the meers brook, when you are growing up you do not seem interested where they come from or go to but just that they are there.

Cannot ever remember any of them drying up even in the most prolongued dry weather spells. Used to go through the tunnels from the buck wood branch, the first went under the bottom of the gleadless hill and the other under blackstock rd coming out in woodland at the edge of bankwood school before meeting up just after the bridge.

The other tunnel is at the side of what was the far lees.

[maxiesmum 10]

Heeleybird I remember that morning so well the explosion woke me and scared the hell out of me! I lived near the Nag where maxons is (Albert road entrance) I did speak to the son who lived at the house when the explosion happend a few years ago .........it was good talikng to him he explained the whole thing....................I think it was Ian.

 

---------- Post added 31-07-2014 at 19:33 ----------

 

HI Duffems, No I,m not one of the Baileys although I new them all well, I lived in the old tannery (Arthington Buildings ) No 3 Downing family only me left now

Dave

 

---------- Post added 06-09-2013 at 19:18 ----------

 

 

HI Maxiesmum cant place you or the dog, but yes we were always paddling in the dam on the Sheaf, I served my apprenticship at Tyzack sons and Turners

from 67 to about 73. Dave

 

I was born in 1954 so there is a difference in our age I lived at the top of what was was known as the "field" which ended up with garages on it! My name is Pat and my dog was Mickey.

 

---------- Post added 31-07-2014 at 19:40 ----------

 

For future reference for others, this sort of information on culverted watercourses is available.

 

Most smaller buried streams have been recorded by Sheffield City Council. I know, they have kindly provided me with maps for my research.

 

Yorkshire Water have a copy of these in digital form, which they can find on their computerised map system called "Odyssey". Finding a way in to get someone to find it for you can be difficult.

 

The Environment Agency teamed up with the Ordnance Survey to produce something called the Detailed River Network. This is a digital map of watercourses, including the routes of buried ones (i.e. more than you can see just from normal OS maps). The local office should be able to help you with this, though you may have to ask to visit them to see it, or get a print out.

 

 

are you John, Mick or Earnest? I am the same age as Emily!