Geography of Sheffield - Rivers and Streams

Rivers and Streams

The city of Sheffield derives its name from the River Sheaf which Until the 17th century was written as Scheth or Sheath. Sidney Oldall Addy equates the origins of this word with the Old English shed (as in water-shed) or sheth, which mean to divide, or separate. Historically, the Sheaf, along with Meers Brook and a minor tributary, Limb Brook, formed part of the border separating the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria.

Limb Brook rises at the village of Ringinglow, flowing east to merge with the Sheaf and it was close to this point that part of the stream was diverted to provide the goit for the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet millpond.

The source of the River Sheaf itself is the union of Totley Brook and Old Hay Brook and its main tributaries are Porter Brook and Meers Brook. (Totley Brook passes south of Totley and meets Old Hay Brook at Needham's Dyke). The Sheaf flows northwards to join the River Don near Blonk Street Bridge in the city centre. This lower section of the River Sheaf together with the River Don, between the present Blonk Street and Lady's Bridge, formed part of the perimeter of Sheffield Castle.

Porter Brook's source is just inside the Peak District National Park, to the west of the city, at Clough Hollow, also near Ringinglow. From here it flows eastward to meet the Sheaf, at a point now located underneath Sheffield Midland Station.

The River Don rises in the Pennines and flows for 70 miles (110 km) eastwards, through the Don Valley, via Penistone, Sheffield, Rotherham, Mexborough, Conisbrough, Doncaster and Stainforth. The river's major tributaries are the Loxley, the Rivelin, the Sheaf, the Rother and the Dearne.

The sources of the Rivers Loxley and Rivelin lie to the north west of Sheffield, on the Hallam moors above Low Bradfield. The Loxley flows eastwards through Damflask Reservoir and joins the Rivelin at Malin Bridge, before flowing into the River Don at Owlerton, in Hillsborough. The rivers are relatively fast flowing, especially the Rivelin, being fed by a constant release of water from the nearby moorland peat. The Rivelin's flow was exploited for centuries as a power source, driving the water wheels of up to twenty industries (forges, metal-working and flour mills) the earliest of which dates back to 1600.

The River Rother rises at Pilsley near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, and from there flows northwards through the eastern suburbs of Sheffield to its confluence with the River Don at Rotherham. Its main tributaries are the River Drone, the River Hipper and the River Doe Lea.

Being at the confluence of several natural waterways, the development of a canal system marked an important evolution in the city's transport network, initially for commercial use and, more recently, for leisure activities. The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation (S&SY) is a system of navigable inland waterways (canals and canalised rivers) in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.