Crosspool
Encyclopedia
Crosspool is a suburb of the City of Sheffield
, South Yorkshire
, England
, located 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the city centre. It is a Middle class
residential area in an elevated position above the Porter
and Rivelin
valleys and stands at around 200 metres above sea level. Crosspool is situated on the A57 road
(Manchester Road) and is the last suburb on that highway before the City boundary and open countryside is reached.
and Buxton
and continued in later centuries as a packhorse route.
Throughout Medieval times the area was part of a deer hunting
park known as Hallamshire Chase. This was an area of thousands of acres set aside for the Lords of Hallamshire after the Norman conquest of England
. Lydgate Hall was one the earliest substantial buildings in the area as it existed in the early 1700s although it was substantially altered and extended in the early 19th century. It was the home of the steel
magnate Horation Bright (1827–1905) for the last 30 years of his life. The Hall was eventually demolished in the 1930s being replaced by housing on Lydgate Hall Crescent.
Although there was never a Crosspool village, the area was strategically placed as two roads left Sheffield through the area and there was a toll gate
as well as inns and a blacksmiths to serve the traveller. The main industry in the 18th and 19th century was farming although there was also extensive quarrying. The presence of several natural pools gave the area it’s name in the 1800s as travellers on the turnpike roads were said to have “crossed the pools” when they had passed through the neighbourhood and the name of Crosspool developed. The A57 road was built in 1820 and tolls were phased out in 1884 but housing development in the area was delayed because of Crosspool’s elevated position which developers thought would deter people from settling in the area.
Housing development eventually started in the 1880s but full scale building did not take place until after World War I
. In 1913 Crosspool became the first area of Sheffield to receive a public transport service by bus as the Sheffield Tramway
did not extend to the suburb. Crosspool suffered some bomb damage during World War II
when bombs were dropped on Den Bank, Shore Lane, Sandygate Road and Ringstead Crescent.
, Fulwood and Ranmoor
, and has sub-districts within it such as Tapton Hill, Sandygate and Hallam Head. It has a total population of 7,070 residents in a 2006/7 NHS
Neighbourhood Profile, just 1.3% of the population of the City of Sheffield. Other statistics bear out Crosspool's status as a middle class area with almost 87% of residents being owner-occupier
s of their houses compared to the Sheffield average of 60.2%. Almost 80% of Crosspool’s housing is either detached or semi-detached, again well above the average. 93.1% of Year 11 school pupils go on to further education compared to the Sheffield average of 86.8% while 38.5% of Crosspool’s adults have been educated to degree
level in contrast to the Sheffield average of 18.8%.
which since 2004 has been located inside a SPAR
store. The Crosspool Tavern, a popular public house
is also in this area. Other public houses in Crosspool are “The Sportsman” at Stephen Hill, “The Plough” at Sandygate and the "Hallamshire Hotel" on Lydgate Lane (currently closed, as of 2011). A new cafe opened on the Manchester Road in 2009. There are four schools in Crosspool for different age groups. Tapton School
on Darwin Lane has over 1600 pupils between 11 and 18 years old and is a specialist college for science and the arts. the Lower School of King Edward VII School
is also located on Darwin Lane and was known as Crosspool Secondary Modern School until 1969. Lydgate Junior School is situated on Manchester Road and has around 480 pupils between the ages of 7 and 11., while Lydgate Infant School is on Lydgate Lane. Tapton Hall
, a Grade II listed building is situated on Shore Lane, it was built in 1855 and has been the home of the industrialist Edward Vickers and the snuff mill owner George Wilson, today it is a conference and banqueting centre which is licensed to conduct weddings.
The main churches in Crosspool are the Church of St. Colomba and Stephen Hill Methodist Church both of which are located on Manchester Road near the centre of the suburb. Because of the pressure from housing developers present day Crosspool has been left with very few open spaces for recreation with the small park/play area on the north side of Lydgate Lane being created on re-claimed land when an extensive quarry was filled in the first half of the 20th century. A prominent landmark, also on Lydgate Lane, is the Crosspool transmitter, officially known as the Tapton Hill transmitting station, which stands on the site of a covered reservoir and is well seen from many parts of Sheffield. The 57 metre high mast takes advantage of Crosspool’s elevated position to provide TV pictures and radio signals for Sheffield by the “line of sight” method.
, the second oldest football club in the world have their home ground in Crosspool at Sandygate Road
, which is the oldest football ground in the world. Crosspool hosts the start and finish of the Hallam Chase, a 3.25 miles (5.25 km) race starting at Hallam cricket ground and going on a very hilly route to Stannington
church and then returning to the ground. The route has almost 250 metres of ascending and is run every year on Whit Tuesday
. The race which is organised by the local athletics club the Hallamshire Harriers started in 1863. Sebastian Coe the Olympic Games
gold medal winning middle distance runner was brought up in Crosspool, attending Tapton School and being a member of Hallamshire Harriers.
which was established in 2003. Reports of open meeting minutes, together with items of local interest, letters, and adverts are published in the 'Crosspool Clarion' magazine, delivered to over 2500 local households, and also on the crosspool.info website. Many events and village activities are held in Crosspool. Every year since 2003 a summer fayre has been held in July, along with car boot sales in June and September.
The community tries to preserve and improve Crosspool’s access to the countryside, village atmosphere, and general character of the area.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the city centre. It is a Middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
residential area in an elevated position above the Porter
Porter Brook
The Porter Brook is a river in the City of Sheffield, Englanddescending over 300 metres from its source among the sedge grass on Burbage moor behind a small farm on Hangram just inside the Peak District National Park in the west of the city at Clough Hollow, near the village of Ringinglow...
and Rivelin
River Rivelin
The River Rivelin is a river in South Yorkshire, England.It rises on the Hallam moors, north west of Sheffield, and on the outskirts of Sheffield joins the River Loxley . The Rivelin Valley, through which the river flows, is a three and a half mile long woodland valley which includes the popular...
valleys and stands at around 200 metres above sea level. Crosspool is situated on the A57 road
A57 road
The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Salford and Manchester, then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass , around the Ladybower Reservoir, through Sheffield and past Worksop...
(Manchester Road) and is the last suburb on that highway before the City boundary and open countryside is reached.
History
The area of Crosspool is a fairly recent creation, and unlike some Sheffield suburbs Crosspool does not have any ancient history as a village stretching back over the centuries. W. Fairbank’s “Map of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York” published in 1795 shows it as a thinly populated unnamed area sprinkled with a few buildings. From the early centuries AD the Long Causeway ancient track passed through the area, this originated in Roman times as a highway connecting the forts at TempleboroughTempleborough
Templeborough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The area takes its name from the remains of the Roman fort found there which were mistakenly believed to be that of a Roman Temple.-Roman fort:...
and Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
and continued in later centuries as a packhorse route.
Throughout Medieval times the area was part of a deer hunting
Deer hunting
Deer hunting is survival hunting or sport hunting, harvesting deer, dating back to tens of thousands of years ago. Which occurred though out Europe Asia and North America There are numerous types of deer throughout the world that are hunted.- New Zealand :...
park known as Hallamshire Chase. This was an area of thousands of acres set aside for the Lords of Hallamshire after the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. Lydgate Hall was one the earliest substantial buildings in the area as it existed in the early 1700s although it was substantially altered and extended in the early 19th century. It was the home of the steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
magnate Horation Bright (1827–1905) for the last 30 years of his life. The Hall was eventually demolished in the 1930s being replaced by housing on Lydgate Hall Crescent.
Although there was never a Crosspool village, the area was strategically placed as two roads left Sheffield through the area and there was a toll gate
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
as well as inns and a blacksmiths to serve the traveller. The main industry in the 18th and 19th century was farming although there was also extensive quarrying. The presence of several natural pools gave the area it’s name in the 1800s as travellers on the turnpike roads were said to have “crossed the pools” when they had passed through the neighbourhood and the name of Crosspool developed. The A57 road was built in 1820 and tolls were phased out in 1884 but housing development in the area was delayed because of Crosspool’s elevated position which developers thought would deter people from settling in the area.
Housing development eventually started in the 1880s but full scale building did not take place until after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1913 Crosspool became the first area of Sheffield to receive a public transport service by bus as the Sheffield Tramway
Sheffield Tramway
Sheffield Tramway was an extensive tramway network serving the English city of Sheffield and its suburbs.The first tramway line, horse-drawn, opened in 1873 between Lady's Bridge and Attercliffe, subsequently extended to Brightside and Tinsley...
did not extend to the suburb. Crosspool suffered some bomb damage during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when bombs were dropped on Den Bank, Shore Lane, Sandygate Road and Ringstead Crescent.
Demographics
Crosspool is a suburb with vague boundaries and it merges with the adjacent neighbourhoods of CrookesCrookes
Crookes ward—which includes the districts of Crookes, Steelbank, Crosspool, and Sandygate —is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the western part of the city and covers an area of 3.9 km2...
, Fulwood and Ranmoor
Ranmoor
Ranmoor is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, England. It is an affluent suburb in the Fulwood ward of the city. It mostly developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it features a number of large houses that were built for the city's steel magnates, as well as, most notably, a large...
, and has sub-districts within it such as Tapton Hill, Sandygate and Hallam Head. It has a total population of 7,070 residents in a 2006/7 NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
Neighbourhood Profile, just 1.3% of the population of the City of Sheffield. Other statistics bear out Crosspool's status as a middle class area with almost 87% of residents being owner-occupier
Owner-occupier
An owner-occupier is a person who lives in and owns the same home. It is a type of housing tenure. The home of the owner-occupier may be, for example, a house, apartment, condominium, or a housing cooperative...
s of their houses compared to the Sheffield average of 60.2%. Almost 80% of Crosspool’s housing is either detached or semi-detached, again well above the average. 93.1% of Year 11 school pupils go on to further education compared to the Sheffield average of 86.8% while 38.5% of Crosspool’s adults have been educated to degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
level in contrast to the Sheffield average of 18.8%.
Buildings and landmarks
Present day Crosspool is centred on the area around the junction of Manchester Road, Sandygate Road and Lydgate Lane where there is a selection of shops, food take aways and a post officePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
which since 2004 has been located inside a SPAR
SPAR
Spar , trades from approximately 12400 stores in 34 countries worldwide and is the world's largest independent voluntary retail trading chain. Spar was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan Van Well and now, through its affiliate organisations, operates through most European...
store. The Crosspool Tavern, a popular public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
is also in this area. Other public houses in Crosspool are “The Sportsman” at Stephen Hill, “The Plough” at Sandygate and the "Hallamshire Hotel" on Lydgate Lane (currently closed, as of 2011). A new cafe opened on the Manchester Road in 2009. There are four schools in Crosspool for different age groups. Tapton School
Tapton School
Tapton Secondary School, is a Comprehensive school located in Crosspool, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is a state school, sited next to another secondary, King Edward VII School, and near to Lydgate Junior School, Lydgate Infant School and Notre Dame High School. Tapton School has...
on Darwin Lane has over 1600 pupils between 11 and 18 years old and is a specialist college for science and the arts. the Lower School of King Edward VII School
King Edward VII School (Sheffield)
King Edward VII School is a secondary school and language college located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. KES, named after the reigning monarch, was formed in 1905 when Wesley College was merged with Sheffield Royal Grammar School on the site of the former on Glossop Road...
is also located on Darwin Lane and was known as Crosspool Secondary Modern School until 1969. Lydgate Junior School is situated on Manchester Road and has around 480 pupils between the ages of 7 and 11., while Lydgate Infant School is on Lydgate Lane. Tapton Hall
Tapton Hall
Tapton Hall is a Grade II listed building situated on Shore Lane in the Crosspool area of Sheffield, England.-History:The present day Tapton Hall was built in 1855, however a building known as Tapton House existed on the site before that...
, a Grade II listed building is situated on Shore Lane, it was built in 1855 and has been the home of the industrialist Edward Vickers and the snuff mill owner George Wilson, today it is a conference and banqueting centre which is licensed to conduct weddings.
The main churches in Crosspool are the Church of St. Colomba and Stephen Hill Methodist Church both of which are located on Manchester Road near the centre of the suburb. Because of the pressure from housing developers present day Crosspool has been left with very few open spaces for recreation with the small park/play area on the north side of Lydgate Lane being created on re-claimed land when an extensive quarry was filled in the first half of the 20th century. A prominent landmark, also on Lydgate Lane, is the Crosspool transmitter, officially known as the Tapton Hill transmitting station, which stands on the site of a covered reservoir and is well seen from many parts of Sheffield. The 57 metre high mast takes advantage of Crosspool’s elevated position to provide TV pictures and radio signals for Sheffield by the “line of sight” method.
Sport
Hallam F.C.Hallam F.C.
Hallam Football Club are a football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who currently play in the Northern Counties East League Division One...
, the second oldest football club in the world have their home ground in Crosspool at Sandygate Road
Sandygate Road
Sandygate Road is a football and cricket stadium in the Sheffield suburb of Crosspool, South Yorkshire, England. It is home to Hallam F.C. and Hallam C.C....
, which is the oldest football ground in the world. Crosspool hosts the start and finish of the Hallam Chase, a 3.25 miles (5.25 km) race starting at Hallam cricket ground and going on a very hilly route to Stannington
Stannington
Stannington Ward—which includes the districts of Loxley, Stannington, and Worrall, and also the small villages of Dungworth, High Bradfield, and Low Bradfield—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the western part of the city and covers an area...
church and then returning to the ground. The route has almost 250 metres of ascending and is run every year on Whit Tuesday
Whit Tuesday
Whit Tuesday is the Christian holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost Monday, the third day of the week beginning on Pentecost. Pentecost is a movable feast in the Christian calendar dependent upon the date of Easter.In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Whit Tuesday is known as the "Third Day of the...
. The race which is organised by the local athletics club the Hallamshire Harriers started in 1863. Sebastian Coe the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medal winning middle distance runner was brought up in Crosspool, attending Tapton School and being a member of Hallamshire Harriers.
Community
The community has a vibrant local community which co-ordinates itself through a community forumwhich was established in 2003. Reports of open meeting minutes, together with items of local interest, letters, and adverts are published in the 'Crosspool Clarion' magazine, delivered to over 2500 local households, and also on the crosspool.info website. Many events and village activities are held in Crosspool. Every year since 2003 a summer fayre has been held in July, along with car boot sales in June and September.
The community tries to preserve and improve Crosspool’s access to the countryside, village atmosphere, and general character of the area.