2.1 Inherited City

The Rivers and the City

The fast flowing water of the Rivers Don and Sheaf were harnessed for production and industry at the time of Sheffield’s first settlement.

From the development of the earliest water powered mills, such as the corn mill at Beauchief Abbey founded in the 12th century, the number of mills along Sheffield’s river banks steadily grew. By the late 18th century all of the available mill sites were taken until there were over 100 water powered sites - the greatest concentration anywhere in the UK.

A complex system of interlinked goits and dams was established in an effort to produce maximum power to the numerous mills they had to supply.

The Don Valley was the choice location for many large steelworks, due partly to the improved connections offered by the opening of the Sheffield to Tinsley Canal in 1819 and the Sheffield to Rotherham railway in 1838. However, with the advent of steam power in the mid 19th century the number of water mills in active use decreased and the trend of abandonment of the Don began. This culminated in the 1980s with the decline of the Sheffield steel industry whereby the river lost its traditional function and became a forgotten part of the city.

The courses of the Sheaf and Porter were successively altered with the introduction of the water powered mills, until they were finally culverted in the 1860s to make way for the construction of the Midland Railway Station and the Sheffield to London railway line. The river which had given Sheffield its name was relegated to an underground pipe.

Today it is evident that the greatest natural assets of Sheffield have been neglected. The Don is cut off from the city centre by roads or tracts of industrial wasteland. The combined Porter and Sheaf now flow into the Don through a network of tunnels, emerging only occasionally to be hidden amongst derelict industrial buildings.

However, the river’s remaining weirs, goits and dams are an important legacy of the historic industrial infrastructure for which Sheffield is renowned. Kelham Island and its Museum, for example, are nationally significant reminders of the country’s industrial past.

River corridors in west Sheffield were developed as unique green corridors and parks in the early 20th century. Since the 1980s, attempts have been made to extend these features to the Lower Don and the canal corridors. In the past few years development has returned to the riverbanks for the first time in over a century, allowing for their reintegration into the city which they created. It is essential that this reconnection with the rivers continues to be fostered and their role in the history of the city celebrated.

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