Place:Bradfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia Bradfield is a civil parish in the City of Sheffield (or Sheffield Metropolitan Borough), in South Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census the parish had a population of 14,915, increasing to 17,100 at the 2011 Census. The civil parish is extensive; the western half is situated in the moorlands of the Peak District, the eastern half is in lower agricultural land and contains the parish's significant habitations, which include the Sheffield suburb of Stannington, as well as Oughtibridge and Worrall, and the villages of High Bradfield and Low Bradfield, and a number of minor settlements.

Bradfield is one of the largest parishes in England, and covers extensive moor and agricultural land around the Damflask Reservoir, Dale Dike Reservoir, Strines Reservoir, and Agden Reservoirs, including the Bradfield, Midhope, and Broomhead moors and eastern parts of the Howden moors. The western end of the parish reaches to the upper parts of the Upper Derwent Valley with part of its boundary forming the county border with Derbyshire. The northern part of the parish includes the Langsett reservoir and Midhope reservoir, and borders the town and civil parish of Stocksbridge.

The eastern edge reaches the western extent of the urban spread of Sheffield, and includes the suburb of Stannington, as well as the villages of Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, and Worrall. Minor habitations within the parish include Midhopestones and Upper Midhope on the northern edge, and Dungworth in the southeastern part.^[1][2] The moorland villages of High Bradfield and Low Bradfield are also located within the parish. High Bradfield possesses a Gothic revival church, and the earthworks of a motte and bailey castle. Low Bradfield is less historic, having been largely destroyed in the Great Sheffield flood of 1864 and rebuilt since.

A nineteenth century description

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Bradfield from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"BRADFIELD, a village, two hamlets, a township, a chapelry, and a [registration] subdistrict, in Ecclesfield parish, [West Riding of] Yorkshire. The village stands on an affluent of the river Don, 4 miles W by S of Oughty-Bridge [railway] station, and 7 NW by W of Sheffield; and it has a post office under Sheffield, and fairs on 17 June and 9 Dec. The hamlets are Nether Bradfield and Bradfield Dale. The township includes also the hamlets or divisions of Bolsterstone, Brightholmlee, Dungworth, Fairest Green, Holdsworth [in Bradfield], Midhope, Moorwood, Onesacre, OughtyBridge with Gate, Smallfield, Stannington, Stoves, Ughill, Wigtwizzle, and Worral. Acres: 33,730. Real property: £16,451. Population: 9,089. Houses: 1,696. Much of the surface is moor, hill, and mountain; and one summit, called Bradfield-Point, has an altitude of 1,246 feet above the level of the sea. Traces of a Saxon camp exist; and Roman remains have been found.

"The chaperly comprises only part of the township; and is a rectory in the diocese of York. Value: £200. Patron: the vicar of Ecclesfield. The church is early English. There are two dissenting chapels and an endowed school."

Most of the hamlets listed above have been redirected here, however:

• OughtyBridge with Gate is found as Oughtibridge and Oneacre (because of its size and location) has been redirected to Oughtibridge.
• Stoves as found in Wilson's Gazetteer appears to have been poorly scanned and should have been Storrs. Stoves has been redirected to Storrs and Storrs redirected here. In addition, A Vision of Britain through Time has placed Storrs in Oxsping township. This is in conflict with this map and also with a present-day Ordnance Survey map which both place Storrs in Bradfield.
• High Bradfield was formerly known as Bradfield Dale) and Low Bradfield was formerly known as Nether Bradfield.
• Bolsterstone, Dungworth, and Stannington have their own articles.
• Midhope has a few subsidiary settlements redirected to it.

Research Tips

• Sheffield City Archives and Local Studies Library includes archives for the whole of the area now in Sheffield Metropolitan Borough

Address: 52 Shoreham Street, Sheffield S1 4SP

Telephone: +44(0)1142 039395

Email: archives@sheffield.gov.uk

• British History Online (Victoria County Histories) do not cover the West Riding of Yorkshire
• GENUKI has a page on all three ridings of Yorkshire and pages for each of the ecclesiastical parishes in the county. Under each parish there is a list of the settlements within it and brief description of each. The list is based on a gazetteer dated 1835 and there may have been a number of alterations to the parish setup since then. However, it is worthwhile information for the pre civil registration era. GENUKI provides references to other organizations who hold genealogical information for the local area. There is no guarantee that the website has been kept up to date and the submitter is very firm about his copyright. This should not stop anyone from reading the material.
• The FamilyTree Wiki has a series of pages similar to those provided by GENUKI which may have been prepared at a later date from more recent data. The wiki has a link to English Jurisdictions 1851 which gives the registration district and wapentake for each parish, together with statistics from the 1851 census for the area.
• A Vision of Britain through Time, Yorkshire West Riding, section "Units and Statistics" leads to analyses of population and organization of the county from about 1800 through 1974. There are pages available for all civil parishes, municipal boroughs and other administrative divisions. Descriptions provided are usually based on a gazetteer of 1870-72.

• Map of the West Riding divisions in 1888 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Map of West Riding divisions in 1917 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time. In other counties, the map for 1900 has been used, but it is not coming up in Vision of Britain's list.
• Map of West Riding divisions in 1944 produced by UK Ordnance Survey and provided online by A Vision of Britain through Time

• The above three maps indicate the boundaries between parishes, etc., but for a more detailed view of a specific area try a map from this selection. The oldest series are very clear at the third magnification offered. Comparing the map details with the GENUKI details for the same area is well worthwhile.
• Yorkshire has a large number of family history and genealogical societies. A list of the societies will be found on the Yorkshire, England page.
• In March 2018 Ancestry announced that its file entitled "Yorkshire, England: Church of England Parish Records, 1538-1873" has been expanded to include another 94 parishes (across the three ridings) and expected it to be expanded further during the year. The entries are taken from previously printed parish registers.

Finding maps of the Sheffield area has been difficult. The town of Sheffield covered a very large area very early. Whereas in other places settlements became individual parishes, around Sheffield the settlements were all merged into a single urban area. A website produced by the Rootsweb part of Ancestry has a couple of maps that may help.

• A map of the Sheffield area circa 1990 without boundaries, but indicating many of the smaller places surrounding Sheffield itself.
• Another indicating parish boundaries as far north as Ecclesfield and as far west as Upper Hallam may also be helpful.

Wikipedia has produced a "book" which is a compilation of all its articles about Sheffield.