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River Don, Yorkshire
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For other rivers of the same or similar name, see Don River.
River Don
Doncaster - Don Footbridge & View to Newton.jpg
A footbridge, looking towards Newton
Location
Country England
Physical characteristics
Source
? location Pennines
? coordinates 53.519�N 1.762�W
Mouth
? location River Trent/River Ouse
? coordinates 53.697�N 0.867�WCoordinates: 53.697�N 0.867�W
Length 70 mi (110 km)
The River Don (also called Dun in some stretches) is a river in South Yorkshire and
the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It rises in the Pennines and flows for 70
miles (110 km) eastwards, through the Don Valley, via Penistone, Sheffield,
Rotherham, Mexborough, Conisbrough, Doncaster and Stainforth. It originally joined
the Trent, but was re-engineered by Cornelius Vermuyden as the Dutch River in the
1620s, and now joins the River Ouse at Goole. Don Valley is the local UK
parliamentary constituency near the Doncaster stretch of the river.
Etymology
The Don derives its name from D�n (or Danu), a Celtic mother goddess. The river
gave its name to the Don River, one of the principal rivers of Toronto, Canada.
Geography
The Don can be divided into sections by the different types of structures built to
restrict its passage. The upper reaches, and those of several of its tributaries,
are defined by dams built to provide a public water supply. The middle section
contains many weirs, which were built to supply mills, foundries and cutlers'
wheels with water power, while the lower section contains weirs and locks, designed
to maintain water levels for navigation. The Don's major tributaries are the
Loxley, the Rivelin, the Sheaf, the Rother and the Dearne.
Along the Sheffield�Rotherham stretch of the river are five weirs that punctuate a
local walking and cycling route, the Five Weirs Walk. A further walk, the Upper Don
Walk, is being developed that will make it possible to walk or cycle from Sheffield
city centre up to Oughtibridge.
Contents
1 Etymology
2 Geography
3 History
3.1 Navigation
3.2 Flooding
3.3 Catchment
4 Hydrology
5 Water quality
6 Settlements on the River Don
7 Course
7.1 Industrial sites
7.2 Five Weirs Walk
8 Bridges
8.1 Bridges in Upper Don area
8.2 Bridges in Hillsborough area
8.3 Bridges in Sheffield area
8.4 Bridges in Attercliffe / Brightside area
8.5 Bridges in Meadowhall / Tinsley area
9 Flora and fauna
10 See also
11 References
12 Bibliography
13 External links
History
Below Doncaster, the main channel of the lower Don originally meandered in a north-
easterly direction across the marshland of Hatfield Chase to enter the Trent just
above its junction with the Ouse. A second channel flowed to the north, along a
Roman channel called Turnbridgedike.[1] The eastern channel formed the boundary
between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
In the Hatfield Level drainage project which started in 1626, the Dutch civil
engineer Cornelius Vermuyden diverted the Don northwards along Turnbridgedike. He
constructed Dikesmarsh bank some distance to the east of the channel, so that the
intervening land could be used as washlands. The main work was completed by 1628,
but after flooding in 1629, a "Great Sluice" was constructed at the junction
between the river and the Aire, with 17 openings which were 6 by 8 feet (1.8 by 2.4
m), probably by Hugo Spiering, who had assisted Vermuyden on the main project. The
washlands had insufficient capacity, and in 1632 work started on a new channel,
which would run for 5 miles (8.0 km) from Newbridge, near Thorne, eastwards to
enter the Ouse at the site of Goole, 9 miles (14 km) upstream of the Trent. Water
levels here were between 5 and 10 feet (1.5 and 3.0 m) lower than at Turnbridge.
This new channel was called the "Dutch River", and was finished in 1635, at a cost
of �33,000. It ended in a sluice at Goole, and was never intended to be navigable,
as boats could access the Aire at Turnbridge.[1] The sluice was later swept away in
a flood and never replaced.[2]
The Dutch River was difficult to navigate, made more hazardous by shoals, three
awkward bridges, and low water levels at neap tides. With the opening of the
Stainforth and Keadby Canal in 1802, from the Don at Stainforth to the Trent at
Keadby, most traffic for the Trent used that in preference to the Dutch River and
the route around Trent Falls, where the Trent joins the Humber.[3] Construction of
a railway from Doncaster to Goole in 1869 reduced traffic on the river, but the
Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company was formed in 1889, to buy back
the River Don Navigation, the Sheffield Canal and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal
from railway ownership, to keep them competitive. They acquired the waterways in
1895, but failed to raise sufficient capital for the major improvements they had
planned. However, they succeeded in constructing the New Junction Canal from
Stainforth to the Aire and Calder Navigation (Knottingley and Goole Canal) west of
Goole, which was jointly funded by the Aire and Calder, and opened in 1905. The
Dutch River reverted almost entirely to its original drainage function, and
Stainforth lock, which connected it to the Stainforth and Keadby Canal, was closed
in 1939.[4]
Navigation
Main article: River Don Navigation
Navigation to Sheffield was made possible by the construction of weirs, locks and
canal cuttings to avoid circuitous and unnavigable sections of the Don downstream
of Tinsley, and then by a canal from Tinsley to Sheffield. The first serious
attempts at improvements were authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1726
by Sheffield's Company of Cutlers to make the river navigable from Holmstile in
Doncaster to Tinsley, on the edge of Sheffield, and another obtained by the
Corporation of Doncaster in 1727 to improve the river below Holmstile, as far as
Wilsick House in Barnby Dun. An Act of 1733 created "The Company of the Proprietors
of the Navigation of the River Don", and authorised further cuts above Rotherham,
while a further Bill of 1740 sought powers to improve the river from Barnby Dun to
Fishlake Ferry, to avoid the shallows at Stainforth and Bramwith. The river was
navigable to Rotherham in 1740, and to Tinsley by 1751.[5]
Stainforth was connected to the River Trent by the opening on the Stainforth and
Keadby Canal in 1802 and to the Aire and Calder Navigation by the New Junction
Canal, opened in 1905. There were plans to use compartment boats to carry coal on
the navigation, but although some locks were lengthened around 1910, Long Sandall
lock was not, and it was not until 1959 that it was extended to 215 by 22 feet
(65.5 by 6.7 m) and trains of 17 compartment boats could work through to Doncaster.
[6] The navigation was the subject of one of the last major attempts in the UK to
attract commercial freight to the waterways. In 1983, it was upgraded to the 700-
tonne Eurobarge standard by deepening the channels and enlarging the locks as far
as Rotherham. The expected rise in freight traffic did not occur, however.[7]
The cuts and navigable river sections, with the Stainforth and Keadby and the New
Junction canals constitute the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. Locks on
the Bramwith to Rotherham section can accommodate boats which are 230 by 20 feet
(70.1 by 6.1 m), but above that, boats are restricted to 56 by 15 feet (17.1 by 4.6
m) by the short Rotherham lock.[8]
Flooding
The Don has produced some notable floods. On the night of 26 October 1536 a sudden
rise in the level of the river prevented the forces of the Pilgrimage of Grace from
crossing the river at Doncaster, forcing them to enter into negotiations with Henry
VIII's forces.[9][10] The Great Sheffield Flood, which occurred on 11 March 1864
following the collapse of the Dale Dike Dam on a tributary of the River Loxley,
destroyed 800 houses, destroyed or damaged most of the Don bridges upstream of
Lady's Bridge (see "Bridges over River Don" section below) and killed 270 people.
[11]
The Don was also one of the rivers that flooded during the 2007 United Kingdom
floods. Following high levels of rainfall, some 80 million cubic metres of rain
fell on South Yorkshire on 25 June 2007.[12] The river burst its banks in the late
afternoon, flooding areas of Sheffield from the Wicker to Meadowhall, and two
people died after being swept away by the water. Parts of Rotherham and Doncaster
were flooded for the second time in 10 days.[13] Two days later, the army were
called in to assist at Barnby Dun after the river flooded large areas near Thorpe
Marsh Power Station.[14]
Catchment
The River Don catchment was the subject of extensive research investigations in the
early 2000s, led primarily by the Catchment Science Centre, based at the University
of Sheffield. A comprehensive summary of the river catchment was completed in 2008,
[15] describing the key social, economic and environmental characteristics of this
historically important urban river and its main tributaries.
Hydrology
The River Don, together with its main tributaries, the River Rother and the River
Dearne, form a river system with a catchment of 714 square miles (1,850 km2), which
held a population of around 1.4 million in 1997. Much of the region has an
underlying geology of carboniferous rocks, containing coal measures, which have
resulted in pollution of the river system where the coal has been mined. The
headwaters rise on the moorlands of the Pennines, where the rocks are largely
millstone grit, while the lower reaches pass through areas of alluvial and glacial
material, up to 66 feet (20 m) thick, which lies on top of strata of Magensian
limestone and Sherwood sandstone.[16]
Mining presents a different problem, as the mines have been abandoned, but the
pollution continues. Near Penistone, ochre discharged into the river from old
ganister mine workings, giving it an orange colour for about six miles, eventually
remedied, while at Beeley Wood, the ochre comes from a pile of waste metal on the
river bank. A nearby paper mill has also been a significant polluter of the river.
Some of the problem has been mitigated by the construction of lagoons, into which
mine discharges have been diverted.[17] Water quality on the Dearne and the Rother
has not improved as much as on the Don, and pollution of the lower reaches is
compounded by the fact that the pollutants, which include dioxins, are locked up in
the river bed sediments. Despite the steady improvement in water quality,
restocking of the river with fish, attempted on several occasions between 1981 and
1994, was largely ineffective, caused by intermittent discharges of pollutants.[18]
In November 2011, the Environment Agency announced that they had recently re-
stocked the Don with 1,000 barbel. A spokesman said that the fish in the river were
now at a sustainable level with a breeding population and these would be the last
fish added as part of a 10-year programme to help the Don recover from an
industrial heritage that had depleted fish stocks.[19]
Water quality
The Environment Agency measure water quality of the river systems in England. Each
is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good,
moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine
this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of
invertebrates, angiosperms and fish, and chemical status, which compares the
concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations. Chemical
status is rated good or fail.[20]
Winscar Reservoir
Dunford Bridge[29]
Millhouse Green
Thurlstone
Penistone[30]
Oxspring[29]
Hunshelf[29]
Thurgoland[29]
Confluence with Little Don River
Stocksbridge[30]
Oughtibridge[30]
Sheffield[30]
Rotherham[30]
Kilnhurst
Swinton[30]
Denaby[31]
Old Denaby
Mexborough[30]
Denaby Main
Conisbrough[30]
Cadeby[31]
Levitt Hagg (abandoned)
Warmsworth[31]
New Edlington
Sprotbrough and Cusworth[31]
Doncaster[30]
Long Sandall
Barnby Dun with Kirk Sandall[31]
Thorpe in Balne[31]
Kirk Bramwith[31]
Braithwaite
Bramwith
Stainforth[31]
Fishlake[31]
Thorne[30]
Rawcliffe Bridge
Goole[30]
River Ouse
Course
All of these reservoirs were built in the late 19th century for the Dewsbury and
Heckmondwike Waterworks Board. Lower Windleden was the first to be completed in
1872, with Upper Windleden following in 1890. Winscar, Snailsden and Harden were
all completed in 1899, although Winscar was called Dunford Bridge at the time.[33]
A new dam was built at Winscar between 1972 and 1975, and replaced the earlier
earth dam. To fit it in, without destroying the village of Dunford Bridge, the dam
is built of rock fill, which allows the faces to be much steeper than those of an
earth dam, and the inner face is covered with two layers of asphaltic concrete, the
first such use of this material on a dam in Britain. The dam is 174 feet (53 m)
high and contains around 1,180,000 cubic yards (900,000 m3) of rock fill. Another
innovation in its construction was the use of a hydraulic jump pool at the foot of
the overflow chute, which dissipates the energy of the cascading water. The
reservoir supplies drinking water to the Calder Valley, some 12 miles (19 km) to
the north,[34] and is also the base for Pennine Sailing Club, who offer basic
training in sailing skills, on courses certified by the Royal Yachting Association.
[35]
The Don flows from the foot of Winscar Dam, close to the eastern portal of the
Woodhead Tunnel, through the Hamlet of Dunford Bridge, and continues, first east
and then south-east, on its way to Sheffield.[32] Near Penistone, the river is
joined by Scout Dike, which flows from the Ingbirchworth, Royd Moor and Scout Dike
reservoirs. The Little Don River or River Porter, on which there are three more
reservoirs, joins the Don near Deepcar, while at Wharncliffe Side, the Ewden Beck
joins, after flowing through Broomhead and More Hall reservoirs. By the time it
reaches Oughtibridge, the river is below the 300-foot (91 m) contour.
Industrial sites
[ vte ]
River Don
Legend
Source of River Don
Reaps Dyke
Snailsden Reservoir
Swinner Dike
Harden Reservoir
Winscar Reservoir
Dunford Bridge
Below Oughtibridge, the course of the river is marked by a series of weirs, which
were used to impound water, so that it could be used to power mills, hammers and
grinding wheels. The gradient of the river bed is less than that of most of the
Don's tributaries, which required the weirs to be spaced further apart, to prevent
water from one mill backing up and preventing the next mill upstream from
operating. The river falls by 160 feet (49 m) between Oughtibridge and Brightside,
a distance of 8 miles (13 km), and by 1600, there were sufficient weirs that no new
ones were built subsequently, although there were cases where additional mills were
built, which used water from an existing weir. Most of the mill buildings have long
since gone, but the weirs remain.[36] All of the weirs on this section of the Don
followed a similar pattern, with a weir built at an angle across the river, and a
goit or channel leading from the lower edge to a reservoir or dam running parallel
to the river. After the works, a tail goit returned water to the river. Water
supply to the dam was controlled by shuttles which could be raised to allow water
to enter the head goit.[37]
The weir by Station Lane, Oughtibridge served the Upper Middlewood forge, described
as a tilt in the sources, as it had a tilt hammer which was raised up and allowed
to drop to shape the metal. The weir is in good order, although much of the
original structure has been replaced by concrete steps. Next came Middlewood Works,
which was a rolling mill and slitting mill, splitting bars of iron into thin strips
for the manufacture of nails. Four water wheels were recorded in the 1820s, and
water power was still being uses in 1900. The site was cleared after 1985, but the
stone weir, with its nine bays, remains.[38] Beeley Wood or Nova Scotia Tilts was a
sizeable operation, with eight water wheels operating in the 1830s, four wheels
driving two forges, another two driving the bellows for the forges, and the final
two driving two tilt hammers. The works was recorded as derelict by 1895. In
February 2016 the Environment Agency removed the middle two-thirds of Beeley Wood
Lower Weir as part of a scheme to allow the free migration of fish and let the
river return to a more natural form.[39] The next works was Hawksley or Clay Wheels
which employed 54 men in 1794, and was still using water power in 1895. The site
was used to make scythes until after 1941, when a film, which can be seen at the
Kelham Island Museum, was made of its activity. The weir has five bays, but is
deteriorating.[40]
Wadsley weir supplied a series of works which were situated to the east of the
river channel. Wadsley Bridge paper mill was operational by 1709, and a tilt was
also working by 1806. The wheel was 16.5 feet (5.0 m) in diameter and 6.83 feet
(2.08 m) wide when it was surveyed in 1855, by which time the works had become
Niagara Works. It was recorded as a forge which was still using water power in
1907. The weir remains, together with the shuttles which controlled the flow into
the head goit, although the channel itself has been built over. Wadsley Bridge corn
mill, which became a forge around 1800, originally took its water supply from the
head goit of the paper mill, but was later connected to the tail goit. Wadsley
Furnace was also located in this area. It was built for the Earl of Shrewsbury by
1583, but the blast furnace is thought to have been defunct by the 1670s. The final
works in this section was Wadsley Forge or Wardsend Steel Works, which was
operational from 1581 to the late 19th century, although the precise function
varied. In 1819, there were two wheels supplying power to 69 troughs, where blades
were ground. By 1849, it was described as a forge, and a high pressure steam engine
was operational in 1855, to supplement the 15-foot (4.6 m) water wheel. The dams
were out of use by 1892,[41] and parts of the site are now occupied by Hillsborough
Football Stadium.
Near the tail goit of the Wadsley works, the Don was joined by a small tributary,
on which was located Rawsons Mill or Bark Mill. The mill building was separated
from its dam by the building of the railway. The mill housed grinding wheels in
1862, but was used for milling corn in 1934. The dam remains full, overflowing
through a culvert which passes beneath the railway. Owlerton Rolling Mill was next,
located on the west bank, but was destroyed by fire around 1883. It had been
reconstructed by 1907, when steam power assisted the water wheels, and was
demolished in 1936. Only a small part of the weir remains.[42] The next weir
supplied Old Park corn mill, which was built around 1673. In 1807 a lease was
issued to a group of 32 tenants, which included a miller, grinders, cutlers, a
button maker, a scissorsmith and an ivory turner. In the early 20th century, it was
known as Old Park Forge, and so had presumably changed its use. Old Park paper,
silver or rolling mill followed. In 1795 it had a 12-foot (3.7 m) undershot wheel
for rolling copper plates, and another of 18 feet (5.5 m) for rolling silver. The
River Loxley joins the Don opposite the mill site, and the building was badly
damaged by the great flood of 1864. The tenant claimed �1,932 in compensation, and
received �1,720. A steam engine replaced the large water wheel in 1875, and the
rest of the works was electrified in 1920. Sheffield Steel Rolling Co. continued to
work the site until 1980.[43]
Sandbed wheel was built in 1723, and by 1794, there were three water wheels
supplying 52 grinding troughs. A steam engine was supplementing the wheels by 1886,
but the wheels remained in use until at least 1907. The weir and the shuttles
controlling the flow in the head goit remain. Below this, Morton wheels are known
to have existed in 1581. The works became the Philadelphia Works around 1807, and a
claim for �6,204 was made and received for damage caused by the 1864 flood.[44]
Next came Kelham Wheel, which was used as a cutlers wheel, a silk mill, and a
cotton mill. Following fires in 1792 and 1810, the mill was rebuilt to use steam
power, and became the Britannia Corn Mills after 1864. The buildings were
demolished in 1975, but the weir remains in good order, and is one of the largest
in Sheffield. Below this were the Town Corn Mill and wheel, which was water powered
until 1877, and was the subject of an archaeological investigation in 1999, which
uncovered the remains of the wheel pits.[45]
Wicker Tilts and wheel was really two works, a grinding wheel known to have been
working in 1581, and a tilt forge built in the 1740s. A second tilt was added near
Lady's Bridge by 1752. The grinding wheel, which supplied 36 troughs, was replaced
by a wire mill in the 1870s, and was still using water power in 1895, by which time
the tilts were using steam power. The weir was close to Lady's Bridge, and the head
goit flowed through one of the arches of the bridge. It is thought that there are
several goits in culverts near Blonk Street, but their exact extent is unknown.[46]
The culverted Porter Brook joins the River Sheaf, which is also culverted, below
Sheffield Railway Station, and the combined flows join the Don between Lady's
Bridge and Blonk Street bridge.
Walk Mill weir supplied the Upper and Nether Walk mills and wheels. The Nether Walk
mill is thought to have been the site of a fulling mill mentioned in 1332, and was
still operating as a fulling mill in 1760, when there were also two cutlers wheels
at the lower site and one at the upper. The use of water wheels ceased in 1853, and
both sites were recorded as the Albion Iron and Steel Works in 1864. Burton Weir
supplied Royds mill and wheels, which also operated on two sites, and included a
corn mill and cutlers wheels. Steam power was used from 1860, although a redundant
water wheel remained in situ until 1950.[47]
Sandersons Weir
Sanderson's weir provided water for the Upper Hammer, on the south side of the
river, which was converted into the Attercliffe slitting mill in 1746. By 1802 it
was described as being in a decayed state, and the dam and goit were filled in by
1818. The weir also supplied the Nether Hammer on the north side of the river,
which was first recorded in the 1580s. The forge was sold in 1869, one part to the
Midland Railway, and the other to Sandersons, who had six water wheels in 1895, but
the works was running on steam power by 1907. In addition to the weir, the head
goit is still visible, passing under the railway twice, to disappear into a
culverted drain.[48]
Brightside weir supplied a corn mill from before 1383 until 1690. Two cutlers
wheels were added in 1706, and the works had become a forge by 1789. Four wheels
were recorded in 1895, and a set of tilt hammers from the site were rescued and
moved to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. Hadfields Weir is the final weir on this
stretch, which supplied Parker Wheel initially, and then a paper mill from the
1750s. At various times there were two flour mills, two forges and then a rolling
mill. The precise location of the works is difficult to trace, as the river has
been straightened below the weir, but the weir itself can be seen from Meadowhall
Shopping Centre.[49]
Bridges
This section provides details of some of the many bridges crossing the River Don,
in west-to-east (river source to river mouth) order.
Penistone Viaduct
Penistone Viaduct
This is a curving 29-arch viaduct which is 980 feet (300 m) long and 98 feet (30 m)
high where it crosses the River Don. It is used by passenger services on the route
from Sheffield to Huddersfield ("The Penistone Line"). It was built in 1850 by Sir
John Fowler for the Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway (later the Great
Central Railway). The viaduct suffered a partial collapse in 1916. The viaduct
crosses the B6462 Thurgoland to Penistone road as well as the River Don.[50][51]
[52]
Oxspring Viaduct
Oxspring Viaduct
This is a seven-arch viaduct, built around 1855, which crosses the B6462 Thurgoland
to Penistone road as well as the River Don. The railway that it conveys started off
as a local colliery line of the South Yorkshire Railway Company and later became
part of a trunk freight route which reached its traffic peak in the early 1950s.
From 1983 the line has been used for local passenger services between Sheffield and
Huddersfield via Barnsley.[50]
Romtickle Viaduct
This substantial viaduct conveys the long-distance Trans Pennine Trail across the
River Don and its valley which is narrow at this point. The name of the viaduct
varies. Barnsley Council sign-boards call this Romticle Viaduct, local newspapers
call it Rumtickle Viaduct and 1940s LNER plans call it Romptickle Viaduct. Built in
1844 from local stone, it formed part of the Sheffield to Manchester Railway which
opened in 1845. Trains ceased on this section of the line in May 1983.[55]
Wortley Footbridge
Wortley Footbridge
This footbridge is on the Barnsley Boundary Walk, upstream of Tin Mill Dam. It
provides a drier alternative to the adjacent set of stepping stones when the river
level is high. The bridge has an above-deck truss design and is constructed largely
of tubular steel. It was manufactured by Tubewrights Ltd of Newport
(Monmouthshire). This was a company that specialised in the fabrication of tubular
steel structures. It had other factories in London, Liverpool and Glasgow and was
in business from 1899 until 1981. In 1961, the company employed 1,200 people. This
pre-fabricated design of footbridge was popular in the years immediately after
World War II and examples can be found all over Britain.[56][57]
Like most of the upper Don, the river at Oughtibridge appears fairly benign, with
it having a small flow and being easily fordable below the weir to the south of the
bridge. However, as discussed in the Flooding section above, its wide catchment
area and the sometimes-extreme weather in the Pennines makes the river susceptible
to occasional flooding. The two photographs illustrate the contrast.
Rocher Bridge
Rocher Bridge
This footbridge over the River Don is the only crossing in the 4 km between Station
Lane Bridge in Oughtibridge and Leppings Lane, Hillsborough. It was originally
erected to allow workmen across the river to work in the ganister mines of Beeley
Wood and the factories in the Clay Wheels Lane area of Sheffield. This is another
benign-looking stretch of the upper Don. However, during the 2007 floods, the
retaining wall of the A6102 Middlewood Road North was washed away just north of
Rocher Bridge. It was over a year before the damage could be repaired and the road
re-opened.
Wardsend Bridge
This bridge in Hillsborough carries Livesey Street over the Don to Club Mill Road.
The previous bridge was a two-arched stone bridge, built in the 18th century to
provide access to Wardsend Cemetery,[63] and was destroyed by the floods on 25 June
2007.[64] It was rebuilt as a 31.2-foot-wide (9.5 m) single-span integral bridge at
an estimated cost of �673,000 and re-opened in early 2009.[65]
Hillfoot Bridge
This bridge carries Neepsend Lane (B6074) over the River Don. On 11 March 1864, the
previous wooden bridge was swept away by the Great Sheffield Flood, caused by the
collapse of Dale Dike Dam.[66] The bridge was replaced by a three-arched stone
structure in 1885. Alterations made in 1912 included rounded approaches, and
lighting was provided by cast-iron gas lamps, contributed by the Neepsend Gasworks,
which was located nearby.[67]
Borough Bridge
Borough Bridge
Borough bridge and Corporation Street, which crosses it, were laid out as part of
the same development, and named to celebrate the incorporation of Sheffield as a
borough. Samual Worth and Samual Furness Holmes were responsible for its design,
and the foundation stone carries the date 12 March 1853.[72] The bridge is built of
stone, has three segmental arches, and was completed in 1856. It is a grade II
listed structure.[73] During the Great Flood, large quantities of debris built up
behind it, and then caused the iron bridge below it to be swept away.[72]
Corporation Street is now part of the A61, and the bridge forms the west side of
the inner relief road roundabout.
Iron Footbridge
The iron footbridge in the middle of the roundabout on the A61 inner ring road was
first built as a wooden bridge around 1726. It was important, as it enabled people
to reach an old road which ran to Leeds and Barnsley, passing through Pitsmoor. In
1795 it was replaced by one of the earliest iron bridges, made by Samual Walker, an
ironmaster from Rotherham and was depicted by an unknown artist, circa 1840.[74]
The famous iron bridge at Coalbrookdale had been built only 15 years earlier, and
there were only 7 or 8 other iron bridges in the world. It was swept away in 1864,
and replaced by a new iron bridge, built at the Milton Ironworks near Elsecar. It
was partially rebuilt in 1921, and the iron balustrade is marked "J Butler & Co
Ltd, Stanningley Ironworks, Leeds 1921". Its function was replaced by Borough
bridge when Sheffield Rolling Mills and Forge built over the path which ran from it
to Millsands and Bridge Street, but it remains in place because it also carries a
large water main over the river.[72][75] This bridge has recently been adopted by a
'Friends Group' and has received a substantial 'make-over'. Various 'street art'
installations enhance its historical interest.
Lady's Bridge
Main article: Lady's Bridge
Lady's Bridge
This bridge carries the A6135 over the River Don and connects Sheffield city centre
with The Wicker. Lady's Bridge is the oldest bridge crossing the Don within
Sheffield, its five arches being constructed in 1485. It was widened on the south-
east side in the late 19th century, was restored in the late 20th century, and is a
Grade II listed structure.[77] Wicker Weir is just upstream of Lady's Bridge.
Blonk Street Bridge
The culverted River Sheaf joins the Don beside Blonk Street bridge, named after
Benjamin Blonk, who was the tenant of Castle Orchards Wheel from the 1750s to the
1770s.[78] The three-arched bridge was built by Woodhead and Hurst between 1827 and
1828. It was altered in 1913 and has cast iron balustrades.[79]
Wicker Viaduct
Cobweb Bridge
The Cobweb Bridge was completed in 2002. Its design was the solution to the
difficult problem of how to pass the Five Weirs Walk, a waymarked cycle path and
walkway which follows the river from Lady's Bridge to Meadowhall, under the massive
Wicker Arches Viaduct and at the same time link one bank of the River Don to the
other. Without the bridge, the footpath would have had to make a 1-mile (1.6 km)
detour. Designed by Sheffield City Council's Structures Section, the entire 330-
foot-long (100 m) bridge is suspended on a web of steel cables secured to the
underside of the viaduct, and it is this feature which gives it its name.
Bailey Bridge
Bailey Bridge
This is part of a 550-yard (500 m) section of the Five Weirs Walk that crosses the
river from Effingham Road to Attercliffe Road. The bridge here makes use of an
historic second world war Bailey bridge. The bridge was placed here on 15 October
2006, was constructed in 1945, was built probably for the D-Day landings and was
chosen deliberately to celebrate the world-beating engineering design. The unique
features of the invention were that a bridge capable of carrying tanks could be
erected in a matter of hours from standard lightweight modules with little more
than human muscle power and hand tools.[84]
Midland Railway Viaduct
Norfolk Bridge
This 3-arch bridge was built in 1856 and carries Leveson Street (B6071) over the
river. It was named after Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk.[85] He was a
British Conservative politician and philanthropist. He served as Postmaster General
between 1895 and 1900, but is best remembered for his philanthropical work, which
concentrated on Roman Catholic causes and the city of Sheffield. In July 1897 he
was appointed the first Lord Mayor of Sheffield. He was made an honorary Freeman of
the City of Sheffield in 1900. He also donated funds for the building of the
University of Sheffield and was its initial Chancellor between 1905 and 1917.
Burton Weir is immediately downstream of Norfolk Bridge.
Abyssinia Bridge
This bridge carries the A6102 Sheffield Outer Ring Road dual carriageway (Hawke
Street / Jansen Street) over the River Don. The bridge got its name from the 1868
invasion of Abyssinia by British troops. The first Abyssinia Bridge was built of
wood in 1868. It was later replaced by a metal bridge which remained the footpath
link between Attercliffe and Brightside until Hawke Street and Jansen Street were
joined by a road bridge in 1908. There is some debate about whether the original
wooden Abyssinia Bridge crossed the river at the same place as the current Amberley
Street footbridge.
Supertram Bridge
M1 Tinsley Viaduct
Tinsley Viaduct carries the M1 London to Leeds motorway and the A631 road over the
River Don. This two-tier viaduct is over 0.6 miles (1 km) long and was opened in
1968, at a cost of �6 million. It was strengthened in 1983 and again in 2006. The
2006 refurbishment involved the addition of 2,500 tonnes of steel and 3,500 tonnes
of reinforced concrete, took three years to complete and cost �81 million.
Halfpenny Bridge
Halfpenny Bridge
This bridge carries the Trans-Pennine Trail over the final non-navigable section of
the River Don. The Sheffield Canal joins the Don immediately downstream of this
footbridge. A century ago it would have cost half a penny for anyone to use the
ferry crossing the Tinsley waterway. But 70 years ago, the ferry � and the charge �
was scrapped with the building of a bridge. On 15 October 2001, the current bridge
was opened to replace the older unsafe bridge. The current bridge is still named
Halfpenny Bridge, but cost half a million pounds. The bridge is of steel bowstring
construction, with a 49-yard (45 m) span.[94] The Sheffield Halfpenny Bridge is not
to be confused with the Halfpenny Bridge near Lechlade in Gloucestershire, which
marks the start of the navigable River Thames.
The industrial nature of the region led to a severe pollution problem for the
river, but efforts to improve the water quality and habitat have met with some
success, as salmon have been reported in the river near Doncaster.[96]
See also
Rivers of the United Kingdom
River Don Navigation, for information on the navigable part of the River Don, east
of Tinsley.
List of lattice girder bridges in the United Kingdom
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External links
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University of Sheffield research into the Don River Catchment
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