Friends of Ruskin Park

Walkley's community park in Sheffield

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Mick Dowse ( ex resident of Walkley, now living in Canada) has sent us some old photographs and maps of the area. His description is below.

In 1855 Walkley was mostly fields, bordered by Heavygate Road and Whitebourne lane to the South and West and Upperthorpe to the east. South Rd did not even exist. Map of the area in 1855 (old-maps.co.uk) Mick Dowse sent a map dated from 1910, this shows the streets that are still present today. It also shows the streets cleared to form the park, Bloor St, Elton St. and Harworth St.. This is Mick's description of the area.
Bloor Street in 1978. Click For a larger image.	The house my family lived in when I was born was located at the top of what was, Bloor St. Originally it was home to the Walkley Liberal party, a large stone built house at the top of a row of terraced houses. Just before the war it was turned into two individual residences. Ours, number three, was the larger of the two. There was a living kitchen, and a formal sitting room with bay window overlooking the street, and a large formal staircase to the upper level. Here there were two bedrooms, and a bathroom, although the toilet was still outside, across the back garden. A high stone wall surrounded the side and back of the property.
The photo shows where our house would have been at the top of the street on the right hand side. This was taken in 1978, as the street was demolished, but no construction had yet begun on the park.
Directly across Daniel Hill Street is the Blake Pub. On the opposite corner, is an off licence and grocery store, this was owned by a family by the name of Whitehouse, my mother worked there during the war. Bloor Street was flattened, along with Harworth, and Elton streets to the west, to make what is now Ruskin Park.			Junction of Daniel Hill & Blake Street Click for larger image
Photographs of the construction of Ruskin Park
Bloor Street Looking North		Bloor Street Looking Over Neepsend
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