The Tolling of The Bell - St Barnabus Church Highfield November 1907

 

For those that are not familiar with the church, St Barnabus Church is in the Highfield district of Sheffield. My grandfather Sydney Hemsworth was a choir boy there at the time of this outrage and would later marry there on 23rd September 1923.

This article is in fact a letter from Curfew Bell and appears in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 20th November 1907

Clearly Curfew Bell is vexed by the bell and he does have a point inasmuch as a single tolling of the bell serves no purpose at all. In fact when he likens it to the bell heralding an execution it sounds rather macabre 

The church was redundant in 1990 and after having been a sheltered  retirement home for the elderly is was converted into 28 self contained flats. It was sold for  £1,825,000 in 2023.   

 

Broken with Pain - The Harrowing Life of Agnes Bland Sheffield November 1907

This advertisement appeared in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 20th November 1907 in which Mrs Agnes Bland age 39 years old recounts her ailments that are really getting her down. So much so that she wonders if she will ever attain good health ever again.

But she has sought solace in Doan's Backache Kidney Pills which appear to be doing the trick. 

The reason why I was drawn to this advertisement is that I am related to Agnes - she is my great grandaunt - my great grandfathers younger sister. If these conditions is hereditary (have a genetic basis) it looks as though I may be reaching for mi Doan's.

(Note Agnes lasted another ten years dying in November 1917 at the age of fifty. She is buried in Walkley Cemetery.) 

 

5 Durham Road Sheffield - An Update

On 14th December 2024 I posted a blog relating to an incident that occurred in July 1960 at 5 Durham Road Sheffield . In the blog I speculated about the housing on Durham Road at the time and I have just found a postcard depicting the houses in question

 It is of course dominated by Westville J G Graves Mail Order Dept but on the opposite side are houses which would include no 5, the scene of the Pridmore tragedy. 

The scene is possibly from the turn of the twentieth century.  

The area nowadays is totally dominated by the buildings of the University of Sheffield which are uninspiring to say the least.  

 

 

Henry Henderson 1850 - 1930 - The Founder of Hendo's Relish - Sheffield - An update

 I have just posted an update to the article I posted to the site last year relating to Mr Henry Henderson - the founder of Hendo's Relish and in my opinion one of the finest condiments that have ever been invented.

The 1921 Census has the "retired drysalter" living at 1 Kenbourne Road Sheffield

Name Henry Henderson
Gender Male Marital Status Married
Age 71 Years 4 Months Relation to Head Head
Estimated Birth Year 1850 Birth Place Walkeringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Residence Street Address 1 Kenbourne Rd, Sheffield Residence Place Ecclesall, Yorkshire (West Riding), England
Occupation Drysalter Occupation Code 770/0 Employer Retired Employer Code 629
Parliamentary Division Sheffield Pb, Ecclesall Div. Registration district Ecclesall Bierlow Registration District Number 509
Sub registration district Ecclesall South Sub Registration District Number 4
Enumeration District Name Sheffield Cb Enumeration District 1 Schedule 33 Schedule Type Code E
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship
Henry Henderson 71 Years 4 Months Head
Eliza Ann Henderson 60 Years 5 Months Wife
Beatrice Henderson 37 Years 3 Months Daughter
William Henry Smithson 54 Years 10 Months Visitor
Annie Smithson 53 Years Visitor

But whilst I was researching this entry there was a link to the Find A Grave website and there was a rather impressive memorial to the Henderson family 

It is situated in Section S of City Road Cemetery, Sheffield and the grave number is Grave Number 9724. Section S is adjacent to the memorial wall and just along from the Crematorium

Mr Chamberlain's "Squalor in Our Time" - Sheffield late October 1927

 This article is from The Guardian dated 27th October 1927and relates to a visit made by the Minister for Health Mr. Neville Chamberlain when he visited "some of the worst slums in Sheffield" and was accompanied by the Lord Mayor and no doubt other local dignitaries.

Sadly the article does not reveal which districts Neville visited but there were no shortage of filth and deprivation to chose from. Needless to say he offered no solutions to this blight on humanity. He did however offer an upbeat note on Sheffield's inter-war housing estates that where being built on the outskirts of the city. And so he should have. Compared to the slums these were absolute palaces  

But a couple of things puzzle me inasmuch as he visited on a Wednesday and was bedevilled by rows of drying shirts. I was always told by my gran that washday was always a Monday. Perhaps it rained on Monday and Wednesday was the first "dry day." And when I put a shirt out in late October it takes forever to dry unless it is blowing a bit!  And trying to keep a shirt clean amongst all that muck and grime beggars belief.  

 

Sheffield's Slum Millionaire - Mr William Fox Tibbetts (1842 - 1927)

This cutting is from the Daily Mirror dated 18th June 1927 and relates to the estate of the late Mr William Fox Tibbetts, a Sheffield Solicitor who left an estate valued at £1,522,687 which is nearly £67 million at todays prices. The death duties on the estate equate to between £22 million and £26 million at todays prices. 

I hope Rachel from Accounts is not reading this as it may give her an idea which would not bode well for any of us.

As I had never heard of  Mr William Fox Tibbetts and was fascinated to find out how and when he accumulated such wealth I put his name in a well known search engine and found this excellent article on Sheffielder,net written by David Poole 

It certainly answered all my questions but at least this blog clarifies how much William left in total. A staggering amount for the time and yet he remains more or less unknown  

The East House Murders New Years Day Sheffield 1960 - An Update

This is the first post of the year and also number 700 since the blog was started in November 2010. It is also a landmark inasmuch as it is the first time that I have appeared in a podcast. 

The East House Murders was one of the earliest articles I posted to my site and also the latest in terms of date. I have always adhered to the "forty year rule" and do not publish articles of a contemporary nature, The simple reason being is that it makes life easier. In fact the only living person that appears on my website is its owner!      

In the summer of 2023 I was contacted by the grandson of one of the policemen who arrested the perpetrator after the murders. He had read the article on the website and wanted to find out more about the events that led up to the murders and also the aftermath.

He asked for an interview  and I was delighted  to assist in the project.

The outcome can be found on the BBC Sounds site. I am very pleased how the project turned out and hope that the readers of this blog will find the podcast interesting and informative. And it does have a pleasant surprise at the end!

There Won't Be Mail in Crookes This Xmas (2024 Version)

 Well it has been over 14 years and 699 blog posts since View From A Hill was founded in November 2010. The other day I looked back at the first posts and was astounded to find that on 7th November 2010 I posted a blog "There Won't Be Mail in Crookes This Xmas" . 

It was a prediction that was made 14 years ago that Royal Mail would become a source of plunder for the monied classes and so it has proved with the news that Royal Mail is now owned by a reclusive Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. His EP Group now owns Royal Mail after the UK government approved the takeover of the postal service's parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), in December 2024. The deal was worth £3.6 billion. 

"The takeover marks the end of over 500 years of public ownership for Royal Mail. The government retained a "golden share" in IDS, which gives it the power to approve any major changes to Royal Mail's ownership, tax residency, or headquarters. The government also requires EP Group to maintain the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which means Royal Mail must deliver letters six days a week and parcels Monday to Friday." 

Křetínský has promised to invest in Royal Mail's modernization and transformation. He has also said that he's considering ways to allow UK citizens to invest in the company."

Ah a billionaire's promises  - I think we have been here before and in nearly every case it has ended with the workers and taxpayers picking up the tab for corporate greed,

The mail this Xmas has been its usual patchy self - days without letters and cards and then a bundle arrives tied with an elastic band. Some of these have taken 7 - 10 days to arrive and not 2 - 3 as promised by the Royal Mail. The company get fined for late delivery by the so-called regulator  Ofcom but they just raise their postal prices to pay the fine.

"Pay More Get Less" a slogan for today

And with that observation all that remains is to wish my readers a happy and prosperous New Year! 

   

  

  

Sir Wilson Mappin (1848 - 1925)

Several years ago I posted an article to the site relating to the life and achievements of his father Sir Frederick Thorpe Mappin "Sheffield's Grand Old Man (1821 - 1910)" 

Sir Wilson Mappin was his third son and like his father a noted benefactor to the city of Sheffield. His home Thornbury is now a private hospital.

This obituary is from the Sheffield Daily Independent dated 9th June 1925

  

The Real Santa Claus - A History For Readers Young And Old

 This is from the Leeds Mercury dated 2nd January 1913

Christmas at Bramall Lane Sheffield 1974

I came across this advertisement when I was looking at some old Sheffield United programmes. This was taken from a home game against Burnley on Saturday 16th November 1974. It was my 21st birthday but sadly the match ended in 2 - 2 draw. Disappointment but that can be the case when you watch the Blades.

Anyway I had to have a wry smile at this advertisement

Fifty years on in 2024 it is a different world. To visit the club shop now either in person or online, the first and only requisite is to have substantial disposable income at your disposal as none of the products are inexpensive.  And it is not just Sheffield United, it is every football club that has pricing that at times can be eye-watering.

The Sheffield United shoulder bag that is advertised above cost £1.75 in 1974 and allowing for inflation it would be in todays money £12.75.  A visit to the aforementioned Sheffield United shop today for a  Sheffield United shoulder bag would set up back £18.00. 

The 1975 SUFC calendar priced at 60p is the equivalent of £4.37 in todays money. The 2025 calendar for SUFC £9.99. mmm

And 50 years on something does not change - the Blades are playing Burnley at home on Boxing Day. Does disappointment await! 

 

  

Lizzie Siddal - Tragic Story of Model with Sheffield family

This is from the Sheffield Weekly Gazette dated 1st February 2007. Many years ago I was going to post an article on Lizzie to the site but as you can see in the text, a book has already been written about her and there is plentiful information now online.

But what I did not know was that lizzie was related to William Ibbitt, 1805-1869

"A designer and chaser by trade, but now known for his large coloured prints of the town and

districts of Sheffield which are striking and on the whole accurate."

A couple of his paintings are featured below and often feature in Sheffield history books.

 

Wardsend Bridge 1855

View from Crookesmoor