Limb Brook
Coordinates: 53°21′00″N 1°33′54″W / 53.350°N 1.565°W
The Limb Brook is a stream in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises at the village of Ringinglow, flowing east through Whirlow and Ecclesall Woods into Abbeydale in the Beauchief area, where it merges with the River Sheaf. Near this point part of the stream has been diverted to provide the goit for the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet millpond, and this channel flows through what is now Beauchief Gardens.
History
Limb Brook lies entirely within the City of Sheffield boundaries, but used to form (with the connecting River Sheaf and Meers Brook) part of the border between Yorkshire and Derbyshire. This boundary dates back to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. Sidney Oldall Addy, in his 1888 book on the Sheffield dialect mentions that this stream is called Fenny Brook on the Ordnance Survey map, where it flows past Ringinglow.[1]
The brook has long been used as a source of power for local industry; remains of water-powered mills used variously for smelting lead and grinding corn can be seen at Whirlow Wheel[2] and Ryecroft Mill[3] in Ecclesall Woods.
Historical evidence of shallow coal drift-mining of the Ringinglow seam which lies on top of the Chatsworth Grit has been found in the Barber Fields area. The workings extended beneath the watercourse. Stratigraphically this was the lowest coal seams ever worked in the Sheffield area. The mine was served by a short railway which, along with the mine is no more. All that remains is a spoil-heap on the North bank of the brook. The mine is one of the few known examples of a shallow drift to have been worked by a small number of men in the Sheffield area.[4]
Today, the brook no longer supports any industry, but with the woodlands of the Limb valley provides a valuable recreational resource for the inhabitants of Sheffield. It is owned and administered by the city council's recreation department, who maintain the area for the benefit of wildlife and the public. Sheffield Round Walk follows almost the entire route of the Limb brook, from Abbeydale Road South to Ringinglow.
Flora and fauna
Limb Brook rises in a sphagnum moss bog by the side of Ringinglow Road[5] and then flows through Lady Canning's Plantation, a coniferous woodland, managed by Sheffield City Council Parks and Countryside Service. It then flows slowly through farmland, where it provides an environment for reeds and sedges. As it descends into the Limb valley and down through Ecclesall Woods, it is surrounded by steep hillsides which support mature woodland, including Beech, Sycamore, Alder, Ash and Hazel. This is a rich environment for invertebrates and many birds and mammals, including kingfishers and water voles. The rare white-clawed crayfish has also been seen.[6]
External links
- The Sheffield Round Walk - Sheffield City Council
- Limb Valley Nature Trail Introduction 1995, A. H. V. Smith (ed), published by The Sorby Record
References
- ↑ Addy, Sidney Oldall (1888). "Local Names". A Glossary of Words Used in the Neighbourhood of Sheffield. Including a Selection of Local Names, and Some Notices of Folk-Lore, Games, and Customs. London: Trubner & Co. for the English Dialect Society. (transcribed at wikisource)
- ↑ "Whirlow Wheel". Tilt Hammer. 2003-04-20. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- ↑ "Ryecroft Mill". Tilt Hammer. 2003-04-20. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- ↑ "Barber Fields Coal Drift Workings, Ringinglow, Sheffield". Matthews and Crocker. Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society, Vol 10, No 1, 1987. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ↑ The Peak District Dark Peak Area OL1 (Map) (2009 ed.). 1:25000. OS Explorer Map. Ordnance Survey. 2009. Ringinglow inset. § SK 286 835. ISBN 978-0-319-24067-0. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ↑ "Natural History of Ecclesall Woods" (PDF). Heritage Woods Online. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
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