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THE SHEFFIELD FLOOD
Updated 22nd March 2004
© Karen Lightowler
The Dam
General Cemetery
List of Flood Victims
It now seems a travesty that so many people died in what is still the worst ever man-made disaster in English history, yet have been so easily forgotten. I cannot help but think that, if this had happened in London, there would not only be an abundance of memorials, but there would probably also be an annual remembrance service.
Thanks to the Bradfield Historical Society a small memorial has been placed alongside one of the remaining ‘CLOB’ (Centre Line of the Old Bank) stones. These weather-beaten stones, two on each side of the river, marked the position of the original dam, downstream of the present structure.
A plaque in St Polycarp’s Church at Malin Bridge names those who died in that area but, sadly, no memorial exists naming all of the victims.
The true death toll with never actually be known, as many were never identified and others were never even found. Whole families were wiped out leaving no surviving members to advise of the actual loss. The list of victims in the book by Samuel Harrison, then the editor proprietor of The Sheffield Times, includes 240 people but I believe the true death toll to be in excess of 280, although some of these died after the flood from the effects, rather than drowning on that night. Nevertheless, they are still victims of the flood.
The bursting of the Dale Dyke Dam on the night of 11th/12th March 1864 claimed the lives of over 240 people and dozens more died in the weeks and months following of effects suffered that night. This was the worst disaster to befall Victorian England and is still the worst ever man-made disaster in English history yet, despite the magnitude of the event, it has been largely forgotten.
On 1st January 1859 work began on the building of the dam which was over 1200 feet long, almost 100 feet high with the embankment tapering from 12 feet at the apex to 500 feet at the base. It held over 700 million gallons of water and, in places, reached 100 feet deep. A little over five years later, before the work was completed, disaster struck. On 11th March 1864 high winds and heavy rain took it's toll on the dam and the water, swelled by recent heavy rainfall, was just a few feet from the top of the dam.
Soon after William Horsfield, one of the construction workers, began making his way home across the embankment when he spotted a horizontal crack about ten feet from the top. Word immediately spread to the locals and John Gunson, the resident engineer, was summonsed but it was 10pm before he arrived and darkness had long since fallen. Meanwhile, pressure against the embankment desperately needed to be reduced but it took five men almost an hour to raise the sluice gates but even this had little effect. In an attempt to release more water Gunson tried to blast a hole in the wall but the gunpowder was so damp it failed to explode. No general warning was sent down the dale as Gunson still believed the problem was minor.
Suddenly water flowed over the top of the dam and into the crack forcing Gunson to scramble to safety. There was a tremendous crash and, ironically, soon after the gunpowder belatedly blew. The alarm was raised but it was too late. Just before midnight the dam broke demolishing a large section of the embankment. Water gushed down the valley, the waves reaching 50 feet in parts and within three minutes the torrent had reached Low Bradfield. Most of the inhabitants of the upper dale had sufficient warning of the impending danger and had fled into the hillside.
The first fatality was a new born baby swept from it's mother's arms in Low Bradfield but, by the time the water reached Little Matlock four miles from the reservoir, whole families were being drowned. Still the flood surged on and at Malin Bridge, two miles out of Sheffield where the Rivers Rivelin and Loxley join, almost 100 people died in the space of twenty minutes. At Owlerton the water was further swelled as the River Loxley joined the Don and on the water flowed into Sheffield. Many clung to rooftops in a desperate bid to escape the flood waters only to be swept away when the building collapsed. Many of those found were never identified while the bodies of others were never even recovered. The flood waters left a devastating trail of over 8 miles, yet within half an hour the flood was over.
The inquest into the deaths recorded that all the victims came to their death by drowning in the inundation caused by the bursting of the Bradfield reservoir. In the opinion of the jury, the engineering skill and attention to construction had not been of sufficient magnitude as the importance demanded. They also recommended that legislation be passed demanding inspection for future work.
A Relief Committee was formed and, by the end of March, they had accumulated £26,000 and this was put to immediate use. About £600 was initially spent to replace work tools lost in the flood for those men whose livelihoods depended on these tools. In all no less than 7,300 claims were lodged and many were settled without the need for arbitration. The rest were settled by the three Inundation Commissioners who held their first meeting on Tuesday 4th October 1864 at Sheffield Town Hall. Over the next 6 months the cases were heard but, by this time, it was difficult to differentiate between the genuine claim and the fraudulent. Many claims were grossly inflated and eventually dismissed. Finally the Relief Committee had to admit to having too much cash and unbelievably returned £24,000 to donors. The committee held their final meeting more than two years after the failure of the dam.
A team of highly talented engineers were retained by the water company to inspect the remains of the dam but they found no faults in the workmanship despite the fact that the Government inspectors pointed to a number of faults in the dam’s construction. This team of engineers claimed that an unforeseen and unavoidable landslide had occurred causing the breach and that the outlet pipes were intact. Yet, many believed the dam failed after the outlet pipe collapsed under the weight of the dam allowing water to wash away the clay, thus leading to the breach. Although much has been written about the aftermath of the flood, I doubt we will ever really know the truth – was the dam burst down to an Act of Nature or due to human error ?
John Gunson, the dam’s chief engineer, died at his home at 7 Clarkson Street, on Sunday 10th October 1886 aged 87. I find it sad to note that his final resting place is marked by a much grander stone than of those poor souls who died during the flood. He was buried at General Cemetery, as was Samuel Harrison, whose grave also boasts a large ornate stone.
.............
VICTIMS OF THE SHEFFIELD FLOOD, 12th
March 1864
The official list of victims produced after the flood by Chief Constable John Jackson and later reproduced in the book 'A Complete History of the Great Flood at Sheffield' by Samuel Harrison, consisted of 240 people. This is my revised list of the lives lost in the flood including a further 8 people who are believed to have drowned plus 46 others who died in the weeks and months following, as a direct result of effects suffered that night.
To date I believe that no less than 293 people died as a direct result of the breaching of the Dale Dyke Dam on 11th / 12th March 1864.
Click on any linked
names for other information
ALBERT (HALBERT)
Catherine 30, John 5 Mary Jane 10 months
APPLEBY Mary 63, John Cowton 32, Mary 13
ARCULAS Christopher Bradbury 4
ARMITAGE Eliza 67,
ARMITAGE William 36, Ann 42, Charles 11, Henry 9, Samuel 7, William 4, Maria
3
ARMITAGE Greaves 28, Maria 30, Mary 3, Elizabeth 4 months
ATKINSON Maurice 15, William 13
ATKINSON James 40, Sarah 41
ATKINSON William 42
ATKINSON Robert 20
ATKINSON George 45
BAGSHAW James 45, Mary 58
BARKER Joseph 27
BARROTT George 24, Emma 21, William 2
BATES Thomas 42, Harriet 40, George 19, Walter 15, Tom 11
BETHELL William 36
BISBY George 43, Sarah 43, Teresa 13, Elizabeth (Eliza) 12, Thomas 9 Hannah
(Ann) 4, Hugh 1
BONSER William 62
BOOTH Walter 16
BOWER John 17
BRADBURY William 28
BRIGHT Mary 57, Alfred 12, Mary 7, Eliza 4
BROUGHTON Charles 23
BULLARD Thomas 40, Sarah Ann 37
BURKINSHAW Henry 43
CALTON Christopher 46, Mary 30 Joseph 6
CHAPMAN Daniel 29, Ellen 23, Frederick 6/7, Samuel 2/3
CHAPMAN William 15
CLAY George 17
COGGIN Alfred 13, Eliza 8, William 6
COOKE Ann 85
CRAPPER Joseph 40, Elizabeth 44
CROOKES William 26?
CROSS Edward, 14
CROWNSHAW Hannah Elizabeth 17
CRUMP Mary 74, Samuel 38
DAMMS Walter 20
DAWSON Unnamed infant 1-2 days old
DEAN Joseph 17
DENTON Joseph 14
DYSON Joe 41 Mary 26, Sophia 12, Arthur 10, Priscilla 6, Lucy Ann 3, James
1
EATON John 49, Keziah 52
ELSTON Thomas 34 Elizabeth 33 Thomas 2 weeks
ETCHELLS Ann 68
FAIRHURST Thomas 47
FOULDS Isobel Jane 3 year 9 months, John Aldred 4 years 10 months
FRITH James 32
GANNON John 36, Sarah 30, Henry 11, John 9, Peter 5 William 4 Sarah Ann 2,
Margaret 4 months
GILL Thomas 48
GILYATT Susannah 53
GLOVER John 25, Sarah Ann 25
GODDARD Joseph 67, Sarah 62
GREEN Elizabeth 53
GREGORY Joseph William Bradbury 20
HAGUE Alathea 14
HALL Henry 38
HASLEHURST Richard 68
HILL Hannah Marie 19
HUDSON John 40, Eliza 34, Mary 10, George 5
HUKIN Alfred 45, Mary 45
IBBOTSON John Thomas 9
IBBOTSON Stephen 20
JACKSON Annice 12
JEPSON George 69, Harriott, 66, Isabella 21, Mary Ann, 13 months
JOHNSON Mary Charlotte 9
KAY Thomas 74
KING John 26
LONGLEY William 30, Mary Ellen 29, Jane Ann 4, Sarah? 1½
MAPPIN Eliza 50
MARSHALL Herbert Gravenor 2
MAYOR John 54, Elizabeth 58, Sarah 22
McLAUGHLIN Dennis 63
MERRYMAN Thomas 23
MIDWOOD John 46, Phoebe 37, Dawson 16, George 8, Fanny 4
MILLS George 62, Hannah 58
MOUNT Ann 36 or 40
NEEDHAM John 4, Martha 2
OAKLEY John 59
PARKES Emma 27, Alfred 7, Emma 3 months
PEACOCK Richard or John T
PEARSON Ann 47
PETERS Jane 10, Julia 4, Christopher 1 year 9 months
PETTY Thomas 38, Margaret 37, Mary 11, Catherine 6, Thomas 5
PICKERING William 34, Charlotte Ann 23, Elizabeth 23
PLATTS Charles 23
PRICE Charles c50 Elizabeth c50 Edward c24 Sarah c24, John Charles 1 year
2 months, unnamed infant 2 days
RADFORD George 30, Elizabeth 28, John 7
RILEY Edward 38
RYDER (RIDER) Robert 11
SELLARS William 66, Caroline 43
SENIOR Samuel 76
SERVANTS (unnamed) Man 17, Girl 18
SIMPSON William 36
SNAPE George 41, Mary 44
SNAPE Richard 20
SPOONER Thomas 38, Selina 36, William 16, Frederick 14, Mary Ann 6, Thomas
10, Betty 8, Albert 4, Henry 2,
SPOONER Hannah 64, Jonathan 40, Benjamin 75, Sarah Ann 7
TAYLOR Charlotte 42
TINGLE George 31
TRICKETT James 39, Elizabeth 36, Jemima 12, James 10, George 6
TURNER Isaac 48, Selina 40, Isaac 8, Sarah Ann 10,
TURNER Jonathan 17
TURTON William John 60, Susan/Susannah 72
VARNEY Sidney James 19
VAUGHAN John 64, Elizabeth 53
WALLACE Emma 47
WATERS William 22
WATSON Sarah Ann 32, Caroline Oakley 9 years 11 months, George Henry 4
WEBSTER Peter 31, Sarah 30, Robert 4, Joseph Edward 10 months
WILLETS/WILLITS Priscilla 13
WINTER Thomas 70?
WOLSTENHOLME William 74
WRIGHT George 34, Rebecca 29
YEARDLEY Mary 28, Rosina 3, John 1
Sub total 240 people
Further people believed to have drowned but not included in the official list of victims
BENNETT possibly Emma (death
mentioned in several accounts at the time of the flood)
CRAPPER Joseph 14 (three members of the family died but only 2 recorded on
the list of victims)
DENTON Thomas (death registered in Loxley burial register)
DRABBLE son of George (death mentioned in flood claims)
GREGORY William 58 (death mentioned in flood claims and local newspaper)
JENKINSON William? (death mentioned in several accounts at the time of the
flood)
NORTH William? (body identified at the time of the flood according to a local
newspaper)
SANDERSON John 67 (body identified at the time of the flood according to a
local newspaper)
Less death registered in error
CALTON Joseph 6 (confused with Christopher Bradbury Arculus, nephew of Christopher Calton)
Sub total 7 people
Died later of effects 46 people
ASKHAM Joseph 28 or 29
BARSON William 43
BARTHORPE William, 29
BOWER Sarah
BOYES William 56
BRAILSFORD Elizabeth 37
BUCKLEY Jeremiah 43
BULLOSS (stepfather LAKE) Elizabeth, 17
BUTHEY/BUTRAY Sarah Ann 25
CHAPMAN Rosina
CLARKE Frances 23, Ann 12 days
COOKE Thomas 69
COOPER Mark 26
CROOKES Joseph 38?
DICKINSON John 48
ELLIS Mary 42?
FLETCHER John 2
GREAVES Mr?
HAGUE Wife of George (unnamed)
HEWITT Charlotte 75
HORSFIELD Jonathan, 60
JACKSON Sarah 37
JOHNSON Julia
KENWORTHY George 64
KIRTON Mary 35
LEE Jonathan 65
MARRIOTT John 43
MARSHALL Harry Somerville 8 months 2 weeks
McCORMACK Ellen 28
McDONALD William 66
MOULSON Thomas 45
MUSCROFT Eliza 47
NEWTON Richard 39
OLIVER Robert 64
ORMROD Peter Pearce
PARKIN Walter 14
RILEY Henry 33
SHAW wife of Thomas
SHERWIN Henry 24
SMALLEY Thomas 32
THORPE Edwin 54
WALL Henry
WALTHER child of Herman
WATSON Elizabeth 45?
WILLIS James 16
Total 293 people
The
first family, alphabetically, on the list of victims of which I am researching
is that of the ALBERT family although I have found an alternate spelling of
the name as HALBERT. Perhaps someone out there can help me put the record
straight!
Samuel Harrison's account of the flood tells us that Thomas Albert was a kinner
who worked at Mr. Mills's tannery. He was awoken by the uproar and found
the water rising in the rooms on the ground floor. His three years old son,
also called Thomas, clung around his neck, and his wife caught hold of the
back of his shirt to follow him out. The water then burst open the doors,
and rushed in, upon which he said to his wife, "I believe we are all
going to be drowned in this hole." Just as he said that another large
wave burst upon them, and knocked Mrs. Albert down. She had hold of her husband's
shirt collar, but as she fell down she tore it completely off his back, leaving
him without a rag of clothing. The little boy still clung to his father's
neck, and was carried on to some steps out of the reach of the water, where
he was safe. Albert then went back to try to rescue his wife, and his other
two children; but he was knocked down by falling bricks and floating pieces
of timber. Mrs. Albert and the two elder children were drowned, and the house
was nearly destroyed.
Catherine Albert died at the age of 25 along with her son John, aged 5 and
daughter Mary Jane, aged just 10 months. Harrison says the family were buried
at General Cemetery but in the list kindly supplied to me by the Friends of
General Cemetery, there is just a listing for a Mrs HALBERT. No other details
are given and there is no mention of the children.
This is the first inkling I have of an alternative spelling but I then found
a claim for compensation for the loss of life of CATHERINE HALBERT made by
her husband Thomas. To complicate matters, I think I have found the family
on the 1861 census index for Sheffield but the name is spelt ALBERT. (ref.
3496 65B : ALBERT Thomas (age 30) Catherine (27) John (2) and
Thomas (1 month).
Thanks to help from Karen (shys07572) I now know that ALBERT is the correct
spelling of the name as shown in the census record, although it wouldn't be
the first time that the enumerator got the spelling wrong!!
..............
oh, the joys of research!!
I have also managed to borrow a copy of The Annuls of Yorkshire (1860-1865)
from my local library which says "containing in chronological order all
the most interesting events that have occurred in, or related to this important
part of the kingdom, from the earliest period to the present time ; collected
from the works of numerous authors, newspapers &c., &c." (This
is a fabulous treasure of a book and I dearly wish I could keep it!!) This
book also records the family as ALBERT.
So it does seem that the family was called ALBERT although the name HALBERT
in the burial index at General Cemetery and the flood claim make me a little
suspicious. Unless, of course, SKS out there can lay claim to this family
being their ancestors - ............. oh, if only!!
I
have come across a particularly sad story relating to the ELSTON family from
Neepsend.
Thomas Elston was only 34 but illness threatened his job as a blade grinder.
He was one of the many victims of inflamed lungs, suffering from what was
commonly known as 'grinder's disease'.
Things must have been very difficult for this family because, as well as Thomas's
illness, their 6 year old son, William, was crippled and Elizabeth, his wife,
had given birth to another son (also called Thomas) only 12 days earlier.
On the orders of his doctor, Thomas decided he had no alternative but to take
time off work to rest. He planned a trip of some kind and, in readiness, sent
William to stay with his grandmother in another part of Sheffield. For some
unknown reason, he decided to postpone the planned trip for 48 hours and this
proved to be a fatal decision as Thomas and the rest of his family were drowned
in the flood on that fateful night.
I thought my timing was bad but my heart goes out to this poor family
Three members of the PICKERING family died in the flood (12th March 1864) and the following advert appeared in a local newspaper at the time : LOST, in the Flood, from Hill Bridge, a MAN, aged 33 years, Bald, with thin Light Whiskers round the Face. Height about 5ft. 5in., and with a Scar on his Right Thigh caused by an abscess being cut. -- Information will be thankfully received by CHARLES PICKERING, Red Lion Inn, Trippet lane, Sheffield.
