Why not take your mind off the current unseasonal weather with a sneak preview of what is in store for the 2012 Crosspool Festival?
This year’s festival runs 7-15 July. The programme will kick off with Crosspool Open Gardens on Saturday 7 July and it is hoped to repeat the street market and Crosspool’s Got Talent evening.
Plans are also underway for the creation of a well dressing and for Olympics-themed and musical events and there will be a summer fayre on Coldwell Lane on Saturday 14 July.
The local churches will be joining together for a closing services on Lydgate Green on Sunday 15 July, complete with brass band.
This is your chance to get involved with Crosspool’s major annual community event: if you can offer an hour or two to help, please get in touch with St Columba’s church parish office on st.columbas@hotmail.co.uk or 0114 267 0006.
Can you solve the mystery of the Crosspool tunnel?
Joe Castle writes:
Digging in his back garden a while ago, the resident of a semi-detached house on the top side of Manchester Road hit a real snag when his spade struck a sizeable stone some three feet below ground level.
Further digging at either side exposed even more stones and, in fact a line of them extending the full width of the garden.
Naturally, very curious, and with some prizing (and fortuitously great care) he was met with an unbelievable sight witnessed by his equally inquisitive 12-year old son who had arrived on the scene. More stones were lifted and there, a yard or so below, several lines of setts were revealed.
Carrying a camera the lad gingerly jumped down into the hole. His, (adult verified) findings were a circular-shaped tunnel, some 20-25 inches in diameter, constructed of irregular shaped pieces of stone and stretching both ways into the darkened distance. There was a covering of silt on the tunnel floor.
A knowledgeable resident told me the tunnel’s two terminals were: at one end The Sportsman and at the other the bottom of Coldwell Lane. Apparently, many residents who had alterations made to their houses (the tunnel passes through the back-gardens of 51 properties) had been made aware of its existence.
Why is it there, anyway? What purpose does or did it serve; any ideas? I’ll put forward my theory in the next issue of the Crosspool Clarion but your views will be very welcome.
I have looked at the old maps of Crosspool and nothing is shown on them to indicate what the mystery tunnel can be. However I do know that there was an adit – an opening to a coal mine – just behind The Sportsman. Maybe it could have something to do with that?
There are coal seams all over this area and several of the people who lived in Clough Fields hamlet were miners. There was a Hallam coal field but where exactly it was I have not been able to find out.
An interesting addition to this is that there was a footpath from Manchester Road up to Sandygate Road- approximately where the gennel is on Manchester Rd, coming out at the top of Ringstead Crescent.
And yes, if you are from Sheffield its a gennel and not a ginnel!
What do you think? Do you have any ideas about what it might be?
Yesterday hundreds of Crosspool residents turned out in the sunshine for our annual Summer Fayre on the Coldwell Lane CDYST sports field.
You can watch the video and view the photos below to catch a flavour of the day.
Look out for more videos from the festival this week, including dancing from the Street Market and the historic tug-o’-war between South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue!
This year’s Crosspool Festival is rounding off this weekend with two big community events.
From 2pm today on Coldwell Lane sports field (CDYST) the Summer Fayre takes place. There is loads going on, including live music, entertainment, dancing, a bouncy castle, side shows, games plus stalls selling crafts, flowers, food and drinks. It’ll be a great afternoon out for all the family.
Lydgate Green: location for Picnic in the Park on Sunday
And then tomorrow at 12.30pm why not head to Lydgate Green (the junction Lydgate Lane/Lydgate Hall Crescent) for Picnic in the Park? The four Crosspool/Sandygate churches host this event to mark the closing of the festival.
Enjoy music from the Chapeltown Silver Band and a brief talk from Ven. Martyn Snow, Archdeacon of Sheffield. Bring your rugs, picnics and children!
Unfortunately due to an unforeseen commitment, Ian was unable to be at Thursday’s meeting and sent his apologies.
In his absence the meeting was left in the capable hands of Roger, Chris and Steve.
The usual spring-flowering bulbs were planted round Crosspool in the autumn of 2010.
Police report & incidents
A new email etc newsletter is being produced by the Broomhill SNA; anyone interested can fill in a Neighbourhood News form & email/send it back to the police. Gary Hizam hopes to have enough forms to include one in the next edition of every Clarion.
Watch out for an illegitimate door-to-door salesman ( – selling sticky tape & pens!); remember to check peoples’ ID.
Recent police monitoring of the Crosspool shops caught a cannabis dealer. Residents are to report any suspicious behaviour to the Broomhill police on 296 4876 or use the 220 2020 number.
There is a new anti-social behaviour car that patrols the streets at night; this can be deployed instantly once a problem is reported.
Scrap-collecting vehicles; the scrap dealers are now targeting houses – eg flat roofs to porches & bay windows. Please report any suspicious van registration numbers for PC Louise Atha’s database.
Vernon Tce in-bound bus –stop. After a meeting with the schools, PTE & police about the unruly behaviour of children waiting to catch a bus into town at the end of the school day, the PTE is considering whether to de-commission this stop during that time.
Levels of crime; burglaries have been low but opportunistic car crime is still happening. (The Broomhill SNA has some packs of internal-use Smartwater still available).
Councillors’ Report (Sylvia Anginotti & Brian Holmes)
Junction of Benty Lane/Manchester Rd/ Stephen Hill; a Highways Officer will survey this shortly.
The crossroads formed by Sandygate Rd. Coldwell Lane and Carsick Hill Rd was the subject of a Tapton School survey, and a request made for a crossing here. This has been turned down.
Pot holes; residents were requested to telephone Streetforce to report these (273 4567) as soon as possible. A large team is going round Sheffield filling them in.
Despite the reduction in the amount of money available from the Government to repair all Sheffield’s roads (and it being 12 months behind schedule), this ‘fence to fence’ initiative will cover footpaths, verges, trees, street lighting & highways – and roads are already being prioritised for this work.
Treasurer’s Report & Crosspool Festival etc
The treasurer reported that the Crosspool Forum has 1 bank balance of £2430, having paid for last summer’s floral displays. The 2011 Crosspool Festival will of ahead again, starting on 2nd July with the Open Gardens, a ‘Crosspool’s got Talent’ show, a streetmarket (3rd), art exhibition (4th onwards), local walks, kids’ treasure hunt, folk evening, ceilidh, Summer Fayre at Coldwell Lane, and then ending with a Sunday open air service at Lydgate Green. Any ideas, art works for the exhibition and offers of help for the Festival and Fayre warmly welcomed.
Crosspool Harvest Project
After a difficult winter the Harvest organizers now have 20 families, both Lydgate Schools, and the Council on board. They hope to find a piece of suitable land, or several smaller sites, on which to start their small-scale, local food-growing cooperative. Please see crosspoolharvest.org.uk for further information.
AOB
Tree removal on Den Bank – these were apparently diseased, but will be replaced.
Ditto Stephen Drive – although one area appears to have been asphalted over!
‘Twenty is Plenty’ campaign; the decision whether our local streets should be a max. of 20mph has been delegated to the SWCA. Anyone wishing to see a particular street part of this should contact the Forum or their Councillors.
Dog waste bins; there appears to be a problem with non-collecting of their pets’ waste again! The Council is hoping to order 100 more bins, but as these cost about £400 p.a. each this might need to wait.
Council heavy pruning & clearing of the bench-area at the top of Stephen Hill. There was a suggestion the Forum might ‘adopt’ this bit if green space (like it has done of Hagg Copse).
‘Dig for Charity’ – a local King Edwards’ pupil, Alicia Cannon (12) is running a project selling 5 packets of veg seeds for £2.50 – profits to Weston Park Hospital. Please see her website digforcharity.co.uk for further details.
Next Open Meeting will be on Monday 9th May 2011, at St Columba’s, 7pm
A request to install traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing at the Sandygate Road/Coldwell Lane/Carsick Hill Road junction is set to be rejected by Sheffield City Council.
Highways officers investigated the feasibility of a scheme but concluded that there were other sites in the South West Community Assembly area with a higher number of accidents where money would be better spent.
If you are interested in hearing more about the report then it is due to be discussed at the assembly meeting on Monday at Wesley Methodist Church in Crookes.
Sandygate Road, Coldwell Lane and Carsick Hill Road junction
A local youth sports trust has offered its car park for the Boxing day match between Hallam FC and Sheffield FC in Crosspool.
The trustees of Crosspool & District Youth Sports Trust (CDYST) have agreed that the CDYST car park on Coldwell Lane can be used by fans attending the 150th anniversary Boxing day match at Sandygate.
On Boxing day 1860, Hallam FC played Sheffield FC in the world’s first inter-club football match. The 2010 rematch at Sandygate marks the 150th anniversary of this historical game.
Meanwhile, Hallam earned deserved point against Dinnington on Tuesday 23 November to put a stop to their run of seven straight defeats in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division. The match finished 1-1, with Neil Longhurst equalising for the Countrymen in the 64th minute.
Two matches since then have been postponed due to the weather, with the game against Liversedge rearranged for Tuesday 18 January. The Countrymen’s next outing is away at Tadcaster Albion this Tuesday night (14 December), kick off 7:45pm.
A Crosspool resident has been in touch to appeal for information regarding a hit and run incident on Sandygate Road that left him in hospital and his bicycle seriously damaged.
On the evening of 18 November 2010 at about 6:35pm, James Huntingdon of St Francis Close was knocked off his bike at the Sandygate Road/Coldwell Lane/Carsick Hill Road junction.
He had turned right from Carsick Hill Road and was travelling on Sandygate Road towards Crosspool when a silver Toyota Celica pulled out of Coldwell Lane and collided with the cyclist’s left side.
Although James was taken to hospital, thankfully his injuries aren’t too serious. However, his bike was damaged – leaving him with a large repair bill – and the police have not yet managed to trace the driver.
Did you see the accident? Or do know anyone with a silver Toyota Celica that has recently had damage to the front of the car?
If so, you can help James by contacting the police on 0114 220 202, referencing incident number 829/18 November.
James Huntingdon of St Francis Close on the Sandygate Road junction where the accident happened
Crosspool News - crosspool.info 