Uppermost Wheel (Rivelin Waterpower Sites)

Location/Address

About 300m upstream of Rivelin Mill Bridge, south of Manchester Road, Rivelin Valley, Sheffield

Type

Other site, structure or landscape

Assets that cannot fit any of the other categories. This category includes sites of archaeological interest, where the original form and function may not be apparent without the use of archaeological techniques and interpretation.

Description

Remains of small waterpowered grinding wheel. One of the Rivelin Waterpower Sites. Uppermost Wheel was described as newly built in 1751, and as a grinding wheel, but it is not known what products where ground there. By 1799 the tenant was George Woollen, also tenant of Rivelin Mill. In 1845 the wheel was described as 'now pulled down'. The dam outfall appears to have fed directly into the head goit of Rivelin Mill, the same weir serving both sites (based on the diagram in Ball, Crossley and Flavell, Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers, Second Edition, South Yorkshire Industrial History Society 2006). There is no public access to the site, which lies south of Manchester Road about 300m upstream of Rivelin Mill Bridge, and is the property of Yorkshire Water Authority. The site is overgrown, and the dam can be traced only by isolated stones. At the lower end of the dam are what may be the ruins of a wheel pit set approximately at a right angle to the river. Uppermost Wheel is one of the 20 water-powered mills built in the Rivelin Valley. This sequence of Rivelin mills and mill dams forms an essential part of Sheffield’s heritage. They also have a broader national and even international significance in relation to the history of the Industrial Revolution in Sheffield. Further information about waterpower sites in the Rivelin valley can be found at https://rivelinvalley.org.uk/rivelin-trails-2/. See also the books ‘Walking the Rivelin’, by Sue Shaw and Keith Kendall (6th edition, 2019, Rivelin Valley Conservation Group) and ‘Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers’, by C. Ball, D. Crossley, N. Flavell (Editors), (2nd Edition (2006), South Yorkshire Industrial Society).

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Statement of Significance

Age

Uppermost Wheel was described as newly built in 1751. By 1799 the tenant was George Woollen, also tenant of Rivelin Mill. In 1845 the wheel was described as 'now pulled down'.

Rarity

This asset is an integral part of an especially rare system of waterpowered sites, described in more detail in the Rivelin Waterpower Sites asset.

Architectural and Artistic Interest

This site is one of a group that collectively and individually demonstrate the construction techniques and interrelationships of waterpowered sites, described in more detail in the Rivelin Waterpower Sites asset. The dam outfall from Uppermost Wheel appears to have fed directly into the head goit of Rivelin Mill, the same weir serving both sites (based on the diagram in Ball, Crossley and Flavell, Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers, Second Edition, South Yorkshire Industrial History Society 2006). This is a technique used to enable high density exploitation of a river that is especially characteristic of upland streams such as those in Sheffield during a period of unprecedented industrialisation.

Group Value

This site contributes to the significance of the Rivelin Waterpower Sites asset and to the waterpower sites on other rivers in the city, and is integral to an understanding of the role and impact of waterpower in Sheffield. Uppermost Wheel and Rivelin Mill have additional group value, owing to the use of a single weir for both sites and having the same tenant for a significant period.

Historic Interest

This site is of historic interest in its illustration of the uses of waterpower, central to the reputation fame and identity of Sheffield; the many and varied uses for waterpower; the industrial development of the area; the impact of communications and topography; the lives and trades of working people; and the practice and policy of landowners, This is described in more detail in the Rivelin Waterpower Sites asset. This was the site furthest upstream on the Rivelin, even though above this point there was more usable water, and the site was relatively short-lived, demonstrating how distance and isolation limited industrial exploitation.

Archaeological Interest

This site has the potential for underground remains that with further investigation could reveal their development over time, including changes of use and the evolution of industrial processes and construction techniques. Because the sites were not overtaken by later industrial development, any remains are likely to be relatively intact.

Landmark Status

The Rivelin Valley is an extremely popular leisure destination for local people, largely defined by its waterpower remains, including this site.