Sheffield community set to celebrate restoration of historic site

Residents from a village in northwest Sheffield will celebrate the completion of work on a historic site this weekend (September 26).
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

On Sunday, September 26, members of the Worral Environmental Group will hold a short gathering to mark the completion of restoration work on the historic well and washing trough.

Over the last couple of years, the Group have been planning, fundraising, and working to clean up the centuries-old site, which had become dilapidated and polluted.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Thanks to Bradfield Parish Council and financial support from the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership, the work is now complete.

Residents celebrate the restoration of Worrall Well. Picture Scott MerryleesResidents celebrate the restoration of Worrall Well. Picture Scott Merrylees
Residents celebrate the restoration of Worrall Well. Picture Scott Merrylees

For centuries, villagers from the top end of Worrall who did not have their own well walked along Tun Gate Well Lane (now a footpath) to get all the water they needed.

The trough was used for washing things, but the arrival of piped water in the 1920s ended the need for this.

Worrall Environmental Group members tidied up the area in the 1980s, but the blocked culvert caused flooding, leading to the stream waterlogging a major path in wet weather – this path is used by walkers, pupils on the way to Bradfield School and locals exercising their dogs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Local historian Ray Battye drew attention to the polluted trough and collapsed wall, and this caught the attention of WEG members who decided to take on the restoration of the site with the full backing of the landowner, The Greaves Family Trust.

A spokesperson for Worral Environmental Group said: "The culvert was unblocked and repaired, and a hidden drainage pipe was added to avoid future blockages. The goat willow tree was trimmed back for safety and to reduce debris falling into the trough.

"The plot was also re-landscaped, and a Bradfield Parish Council bench was placed by the wall.

"Adding a gated fence and repairs to the drystone wall keep sheep out. The Greaves Family Trust have restored the stile post."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On Sunday at 5 pm, people from the community are invited to see the restoration and witness the unveiling of an information board.

The short open-air gathering will be held on a public footpath that runs from the top of Walshaw Road to Boggard Lane, close to Asplands.

Related topics: