09/02/2024
Many of us will have seen the height chart on The Fat Cat pub at Kelham Island. This serves as a vivid reminder of Sheffield's history with floods, marking significant events like the floods of June 2007 and the catastrophic Great Sheffield Flood of March 11, 1864. This historical marker provides a tangible connection to the city's past, illustrating the scale of these events in a place that has witnessed the evolution of Sheffield over the years.
The Great Sheffield Flood of 1864, caused by the collapse of the Dale D**e Dam, was one of the most devastating man-made disasters in British history, leading to the loss of over 240 lives and widespread destruction of homes, businesses, and infrastructure. The floodwaters swept through the Loxley Valley, Hillsborough, and into the heart of Sheffield, including areas like Kelham Island, leaving a mark on the city's landscape and memory.
I was well aware of the flood thanks to stories from my mom, chats over a pint of beer with local amateur historians like John Clarke and the exhibit at the Weston Park Museum. These are the sorts of things which have had crucial roles in preserving and sharing the stories of the flood, ensuring that new generations understand the impact of the event and the resilience of Sheffield's communities.
Sheffield, for centuries has been renowned for its rich industrial heritage and more recently vibrant cultural landscape. However, beneath its bustling streets and abundance of parks there's a history marked by tragedy. The Great Flood of 1864 stands as a sombre reminder of the forces of nature and the price of progress. This catastrophic event not only reshaped the city's geography but also its approach to engineering and urban planning nationwide.
In the mid-19th century, Sheffield was burgeoning as a hub of industry and innovation. The city's population was rapidly growing, fuelled by its booming steel and cutlery manufacturing, estimates put the population at around 60,000 in 1801 and growing to over 220,000 around the time of the disaster. Such growth necessitated a larger, more reliable water supply to meet the increasing demands of both residents and factories. Thus, the construction of a series of reservoirs on the city's outskirts began, with the Dale D**e Dam being one of them.
The Dale D**e Dam was an ambitious engineering project aimed at creating a vast reservoir to serve Sheffield's burgeoning needs. Located on the Loxley River, its construction involved cutting-edge techniques and materials of the time. However, the project was fraught with challenges, including difficult terrain and the need for precision in ensuring the dam's integrity. The dam's design was entrusted to engineer John Gunson. The construction utilised local stone and earth, embodying the era's pinnacle of civil engineering knowledge. Workers toiled in challenging conditions, manually excavating and shaping the landscape to create the dam's embankment, which was to stand 29 meters high and approximately 400 meters across.
On the evening of March 11, 1864, Engineer William Horsfield had taken shelter by the dam during a storm. He happened to cast his eye across the retaining wall of the dam and noticed a crack had developed. He estimated the crack to run across the embankment for around 50 yards. Message was sent and Sheffield Waterworks Company immediately dispatched staff from surrounding areas to quickly inspect the crack. However, it proved difficult for them to properly investigate as darkness had fallen. The decision was made to open up valves allowing some of the pressure to be relieved. Assuming progress had been made many of the workers left the site at around 10pm. In the meanwhile, Sheffield Waterworks Company had requested their chief engineer, John Gunson, travel from the city centre to inspect the dam. Gunson and the remaining workers could now see that the crack had grown to the width of a man’s hand. Realisation dawned. One of the team remarked “if we don’t relieve the dam of water there will be a blow up in a half an hour.”
An immediate plan to blow a weir was set, with the hope that the releasing of some of the water’s pressure would help avert the potential catastrophe. However, the explosion didn’t happen despite several attempts to light the fuse. It is thought that either the gunpowder had become wet, or the train of gunpowder wasn’t applied correctly in the darkness.
Chief engineer John Gunson again inspected the area. As he looked up, he saw the first signs of water flowing over the embankment and down the crack.
Just before midnight the Dale D**e Dam's embankment failed, Releasing an estimated 3 million cubic meters of water down the Loxley Valley towards Sheffield. Some of the earlier workers had told their friends while making their way home about the Dam but once the Dam had given way no warning was fast enough.
The floodwaters swept away houses, factories, and bridges, causing unimaginable devastation in their wake. The first and youngest victim was a 2-day old baby boy, the child of a tailor named Joseph Dawson. They lived in Lower Bradfield. Dawson’s house was located at the end of a row of houses at the bottom of the valley, just 20 yards from the river’s bed. The newborns body found several days later downstream Indiscriminately left behind by the now subsided body of water.
In the Loxley valley which was heavily industrialised, the flood destroyed mills, grinding wheels, warehouses as well as inns and properties. A report written soon after lists 4 mills, 17 workshops/warehouses, 3 shops, 39 houses and 2 beer houses totally destroyed; a further 17 mills, 11 workshops/warehouses, 15 shops, 376 houses and 22 beer houses were partially destroyed. Over 4,000 houses were flooded.
In the days following the disaster, a remarkable wave of solidarity and resilience emerged among the survivors and the wider community. Immediate relief efforts were organized to provide shelter, food, and medical care to those affected. The Sheffield Waterworks Company faced intense scrutiny and legal challenges, leading to compensation claims from the victims and their families. Public and private funds were raised to aid the recovery process, including contributions from Queen Victoria. Shortly after a special Act of Parliament, compensation of £273,988 was paid for damage to property, injury to persons, and loss of life – one of the largest insurance awards of its time though far less than the original estimate of £455,164. Some of the claims included:
* A cutler at Owlerton who was probably a ‘little mester’ had a stock which included pressed buffalo horn, different types of blades, scales, files, springs, and tools – tongs, glazers, shears, hammers, a scale press and a glue pot.
* Steel & Garland were stove grate and range makers whose losses included drawings, lithographs, five hundredweights of emery paper, reams of tissue paper, finished ormulu, ‘inside cheeks’, and a lime box which had contained bright stove bars; they suffered damage to the black leading and the bronzing shop
* A local Photographer Listed few items of interest but recorded a steel engraving of the Prince of Wales’ favourite greyhound!
Sheffield's industrial sector faced a daunting task of recovery. With the damage leading to a temporary halt in production and an economic downturn in the city. However, the disaster also catalysed a period of innovation and rebuilding. Industries that were affected invested in newer, more efficient machinery and technologies as they rebuilt, leading to improvements in productivity and the diversification of industrial output beyond traditional cutlery and steel production.
The tragedy also led to significant advancements in engineering practices and safety measures for dam construction. The Floods Act of 1875, for instance, was introduced to prevent similar disasters, mandating rigorous oversight and regular inspection of reservoirs.
To commemorate the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864, several memorials and initiatives have been put in place over the years:
A memorial stone marks the site of the original Dale D**e Dam wall, which was the starting point of the flood. This area, along with various footpaths, allows visitors to explore and reflect on the impact of the disaster.
An audio and walking trail, known as The Great Sheffield Flood Trail, has been developed to guide visitors through the path of the flood from Dale D**e Reservoir down the valley to seven cemeteries where victims are interred. This trail provides a poignant journey through the areas most affected by the flood, offering insights into the lives of those directly and indirectly impacted by the event. It's a collaborative project that connects cemeteries in Sheffield, highlighting the stories of the flood's victims.
If you are wanting to find out more about this disaster on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th of March 2024, at the Sheffield General Cemetery there will be a guided tour and an opportunity to discover the stories of Great Sheffield Flood victims buried at Sheffield General Cemetery.
To book your place: https://gencem.org/event/the-great-sheffield-flood-tour-of-sheffield-general-cemetery/
Please meet at The Gatehouse, Cemetery Avenue, S11 8NT. The Samuel Worth Chapel will be open for our Great Sheffield Flood exhibition and sound installation, cafe and book shop from 11-4pm.
