This is a report of a walk from Sheffield to Bradfield that took place in 1842.
A WALK FROM SHEFFIELD TO BRADFIELD IN 1842.
Here are scans of a pamphlet in my collection that describes such a walk. The account of the
walk originally appeared in “The Sheffield Iris” of 6 September 1842. Although the pamphlet is not illustrated, the writer, known only as “J.F.”, has a gift for writing, with keen attention to detail.
The narrative gives an insight into the area as it was at that time, with for example references to the “Old Park Wood” (cf. Parkwood Springs) whose beauty might be threatened by the “New Railway”. This was the Sheffield, Ashton-under- Lyne and Manchester Railway, which was then under construction. The writer also mentions the now-submerged village of Dam Flask (it had this name long before the dam was built) and the Cross Daggers Inn at High
Bradfield (later the local register office and post office, now private residences) etc. At the end I have added a contemporary map of “Upper Bradfield” with the Cross Daggers Inn arrowed, a “composite” OS map (made up from several sheets, of different ages) showing the route taken as a series of blue dots, and a modern view of what was the Cross Daggers Inn.