Reminiscences of Rotherham
by G. Gummer, J.P.
« « prevAn incident in the last General Election reminded me cf these bygone days. At a public meeting in Bridlington called for the purpose of condoling with Mr. Briggs, the defeated Liberal candidate, and giving him a good send-off on his return to Sheffield, one of the speakers (formerly a prominent tradesman in Rotherham and an ex-Councillor), anxious to revive the drooping spirits of his party. prefaced his reloarks by singing John Brown’s body lies mouldering in the grave, with the chorus of Glory glory, Halleluja, What this song or hymn, once the favourite of the Hallelujah lasses, had to do with the defeat of Mr. Briggs I have not yet ascertained.
SHEFFIELD FLOOD, MARCH 11th 1864
There are many persons still living who will, so long as life remains, remember this date. Dale Dyke reservoir, containing over 114 million gallons of water, had for many weeks been the cause of grave anxiety. The pressure of this body of water, over 100 feet high and a mile in length, on a bank not yet consolidated, made the engineers think and think hard.At midnight on Friday, the 11th of March, 1864, the centre part of the embankment gave way, and this enormous volume of water, set at liberty, rushed down the valley with a thundering noise, carrying with it mills, houses, and several hundreds of Sheffield’s inhabitants. Before the morning of the 12th this dreadful inundation had spread itself over the Valley of the Don, the lower portions of Sheffield suffering severely, The damage done amounted to over half a million of money
Fortunately, Rotherhain, although suffering, escaped without loss of life. The town was agog with excitement. Thousands gathered on the bridges and the river banks to witness the sight. Huge pieces of timber, furniture, household goods of every description, horses, pigs and other animals were carried past in rapid succession by the flood.
BABY IN CRADLE
The most pitiful and heartrending sight was that of a cradle containing a baby, which fortunately, someone retrieved lower down the river, the baby being rescued alive.Receiving the alarm early in the morning, the occupants of the houses in Bridgegate were warned. In a few minutes the water had risen in the cellars to a great depth. The eating house of Mr. Levick, which stood on the site now occupied by the County Borough Hotel, and the cellars of the Angel Inn were inundated quite early. Bridgegate became impassable, and a deal of damage was done before the water subsided. Several bodies were recovered at the bottom of Bridgegate, some of them respectably attired.
OLD MANUFACTURERS
In the sixties we were largely participating in the industrial activity brought about by the Great Exhibition promoted by Prince Consort. The variety of its manufactures largely helped to keep Rotherham busy when many towns were feeling the effects of bad trade. The fact of it being situated in the midst of a district abounding in mineral wealth has also been of advantage to the town.At or about this period Rotherham claimed to be the centre of the stove-grate industry, having six firms each employing a goodly number of hands. Their products were pronounced among the best in the country. Effingham Works had only been built a few years. I recall that they were said to be— within a few feet—the same length as the 'Great Eastern' , a steamship much talked of in those days, and the largest afloat. Other firms were those of William Corbitt and Co., who produced the highest quality stoves that could be procured; George Wright and Co. of Burton Weir; Owen and Co., of Wheathill Foundry; Morgan Macauley and Waide, ot Batus Foundry; and the Masbro’ Stove Grate Co., belonging to Messrs. Perrot. A little later, I believe in the early seventies, two other firms started—namely, W. H. Micklethwait, of Clough road, and John and Richard Corker, of Ferham Works.
The heads of these firms, in their early days, were men who knew their business, and most of them had a practical acquaintance with every detail.
James Yates, head of Yates Haywood and Drabble, a fine tail man, probably six feet in height, with a long flowing beard, originally a journeyman-pattern maker, by thrift and industry built up one of the best businesses of its kind in the country. I believe his partner, George Haywood, also owed his success to his own industry. To meet » next
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