Ponderosa (Sheffield) - History

History

The Ponderosa can be split into two distinct halves, each with contrasting history. The upper part was for many years known as Crookesmoor Recreation Ground, however prior to that it was an area of small dams in open countryside. The dams were built around 1740 by Joshua Matthewman after he had gained permission from the Lord of the Manor, Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk. The dams were constructed to impound local spring water to supply the town of Sheffield. J. Tayler’s map of Sheffield of 1832 shows a string of four small dams below (north) of what is now Crookes Valley Road and on the site of the present day upper Ponderosa. These four dams were filled in during the second half of the 19th century and by 1903 it was shown on the map as Crookesmoor Recreation Ground. During World War II the recreation ground was used as a station for barrage balloons to defend the city.

In the first half of the 19th century the lower part of The Ponderosa was open countryside just to the south west of the Sheffield General Infirmary which at that time stood in a rural location to the west of the town. During the second half of the 1800s an area of back-to-back houses known as the Port Mahon estate was constructed on the site. This housing stood until the 1960s when it was demolished as part of a programme of urban development in the Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe areas. Certain throughfares such as Wentworth Street and Burlington Street disappeared altogether and the housing was replaced by tower blocks and maisonettes leaving a central area for recreation. This recreation area was christened “The Ponderosa” by local children after the name of the ranch in the TV series Bonanza which was popular throughout the 1960s.