Not to be confused with the floods in Sheffield in 2007.

The Great Sheffield Flood was a flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

 that devastated parts of Sheffield

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...

, England, on 11 March 1864, when the Dale Dyke Dam broke.

Collapse of Dale Dyke Dam

The newly-built dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

, at Low Bradfield

Low Bradfield

Low Bradfield is a village within the in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated within the boundary of the city of Sheffield in the upper part of the Loxley Valley, 6¼ miles west-northwest of the city centre and just inside the northeast boundary of the Peak District National Park...

 on the River Loxley

River Loxley

The River Loxley is a river in the City of Sheffield South Yorkshire, England. Its source is a series of streams which rise some to the north-west of Sheffield on Bradfield Moors, and converge at Low Bradfield...

, broke while it was being filled for the first time. An estimated 3 million m³ (700 million imperial gallons) of water swept down the Loxley Valley, through Loxley

Loxley, South Yorkshire

Loxley is a village and a suburb of the city of Sheffield. It is a long linear community which stretches by the side of the River Loxley and along the B6077 for almost four kilometres. Loxley extends from its borders with the suburbs of Malin Bridge and Wisewood westward to the hamlet of Stacey...

 village and on to Malin Bridge

Malin Bridge

Malin Bridge is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, England. It is located at grid reference and stands 2½ miles north-west of the city centre where the rivers Loxley and Rivelin meet...

 and Hillsborough, where the River Loxley joins the River Don. The flood continued south down the Don into Sheffield centre, around the eastward bend of the Don at Lady's Bridge

Lady's Bridge

Lady's Bridge is the oldest bridge across the River Don in the City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the central section of the city, linking the Wicker to the north with Waingate to the south.-The first bridge:...

, then to Attercliffe

Attercliffe

Attercliffe is an industrial suburb of northeast Sheffield, England on the south bank of the River Don.-History:The name Attercliffe can be traced back as far as an entry in the Domesday book -Ateclive- meaning at the cliffe, a small escarpment that lay alongside the River Don...

, past the sites of today's Don Valley Stadium

Don Valley Stadium

The Don Valley Stadium is a stadium in Sheffield, England and is the home of Rotherham United F.C.. The stadium is an athletics stadium which has hosted major UK Athletic events and the 1991 World Student Games. Sheffield Eagles RLFC and Parramore Sports FC also use the stadium. It was designed by...

, Sheffield Arena and Meadowhall Shopping Centre and on to Rotherham

Rotherham

Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...

.

Aftermath

The subsequent enquiry found that the flood had wrecked nearly every bridge as far as Lady’s Bridge, destroyed 800 houses, and killed 270 people - bodies were later found as far down the Don as Mexborough

Mexborough

Mexborough is a town in the metropolitan borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, situated on the north bank of the River Don west of its confluence with the River Dearne...

. The conclusion was that the dam construction was defective, and that a small leak in the wall grew rapidly until the dam failed completely.

The claims for damages formed one of the largest insurance claims of the Victorian period.

Armageddon Online ranks this as the 20th most deadly flood in history, worldwide.

See also

• Floods in Sheffield 2007
• List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom

External links

• Great Flood at Sheffield 1864
• Newspaper article from 1864
• http://www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/cs1ma/flood/flood.html
• Sheffield Flood - insurance claims archive
• Sources for the Study of the Sheffield Flood Produced by Sheffield City Council's Libraries and Archives
• Documentary film telling the story of the Great Sheffield Flood 1864