Bradfield Dale facts for kids

Bradfield Dale is a beautiful valley about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) west-northwest of the city of Sheffield in England. It's located inside the north-eastern part of the Peak District National Park, just west of the village of Low Bradfield.

The valley has a stream called Strines Dike, which turns into Dale Dike further down. These streams are the beginning of the River Loxley. Bradfield Dale is home to two reservoirs, Strines and Dale Dike. A third one, Agden Reservoir, is in a smaller valley nearby, just above Low Bradfield. The dale is mostly farmland with scattered houses and farm buildings. It stretches for about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Low Bradfield up to Strines Moor.

Exploring the Roads of Bradfield Dale

Two main roads wind through Bradfield Dale. Dale Road runs along the north side of the valley, while Blindside Lane is on the south side. Higher up, around 310 meters (1,017 feet) above sea level, is Mortimer Road.

This road was named after Hans Winthrop Mortimer, who was a Lord and a Member of Parliament. In 1771, he helped get a special law passed to improve an old path between Penistone and Bamford. He wanted to fix, widen, and build bridges on it so that horse-drawn carts could use it easily.

The Great Sheffield Flood of 1864

The lower part of Bradfield Dale was the first area hit by the terrible Great Sheffield Flood in 1864. This happened when the Dale Dike reservoir dam broke. The valley below the dam was mostly countryside with very few homes.

However, the farm of John Empsall and his family, which was near the Annet bridge, was completely washed away by the rushing water. Luckily, the Empsalls, including their three children, and their lodger William Rose (who worked on the reservoir) all survived. They had been warned about the coming disaster just ten minutes before by a local person named Thomas Fish. The Annet bridge was destroyed by the flood but was rebuilt later.

Important Buildings in the Dale

Bradfield Dale has some interesting old houses. Hallfield House and Sugworth Hall are two of the best examples of homes here. Both are considered historically important by English Heritage. Hallfield House has been around since at least the 1300s. Sugworth Hall was first mentioned in documents in the 1500s, though it looks very different today.

Just north of Sugworth Hall, you can see Boot's Folly (also known as Sugworth Tower). It's a noticeable landmark on a hillside above Strines Reservoir.

Thornseats Lodge: A Grand Old House

Thornseats Lodge is a large, impressive house. It sits high up, about 320 meters (1,050 feet) above sea level, on the north side of the valley, off Mortimer Road. It's located above the dam wall of Dale Dike Reservoir.

The house was built in 1855 for a steel maker named Sidney Jessop. He used it as a base for grouse shooting on the nearby moorland. His more famous brother, Thomas Jessop, later owned the lodge and made many improvements to it. Eventually, Thomas's son William inherited the property.

In the 1930s, Sheffield City Council bought the building. They used it first as an orphanage and then as a children's home. In the 1980s, it was sold to a local businessman. Today, the lodge is empty and falling apart.

Historic Farm Buildings

Many of the farm buildings in Bradfield Dale are very old. Lower Thornseat farmhouse on Dale Road, for example, dates back to 1721. It's part of a small group of buildings that includes the Dale Dike reservoir keeper's house, a solid stone house from the 1870s.

Further down Dale Road is Walker House Farm, which has a special type of old barn called a cruck barn from the early 1600s. Woodseats Farm, on the northern slopes of the dale, also has a cruck barn.

Almost next to Walker House on Dale Road is Haychatter House. This building dates from the late 1500s and was a farm for hundreds of years. When the reservoirs were built in the 1860s, many workers came to the dale. Haychatter Farm became a pub to serve them, first called the Reservoir Inn and then the Haychatter Inn. The pub closed in 2003 and is now a private house.

Edgefield House, now called Edgefield Farm on maps, is one of the largest houses in the dale. It was built in a shady, north-facing spot off Hoar Stones Road. It was once the home of a famous Sheffield lawyer, William Tattershall. Near the road, there's a small, unusual historic building. It was built to protect people from a spring where a child sadly drowned in 1832.

The Strines Inn

The Strines Inn is the only pub left in the dale since the Haychatter closed. It's located at the very top of the valley on Mortimer Road, about 305 meters (1,000 feet) above sea level.

Some people say there was a building here in the 1200s, but it seems the current building dates from the 1500s. The upper part was added in the 1700s, and the section next to the road was built in 1860. The Worralls, a local important family, lived at Strines, and their family symbol is carved above the doorway. The building became a public house (pub) in the 1770s.

Images for kids

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  Haychatter House, once a pub, now a private home.

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  An old cruck barn at Woodseats Farm.