Converted Cruck Barn, Throstle Nest Farm, Storrs

Storrs is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

within the boundaries of the City of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

in England, it is situated 6.5 km (4 miles) west-northwest of the city centre. Storrs is located between the suburb of Stannington and the village of

Dungworth Dungworth (archaic ''Dungeworth'',) is a hamlet in the civil parish of Bradfield, west of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The village also gives its name as a surname; a 'Dungworth' is recorded living at the nearby village of Storrs ...

in the civil parish of Bradfield at a height of 210 metres above sea level between the Loxley and Rivelin valleys. Although historically a

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

settlement, water-powered milling on the Storrs Brook and small scale cutlery making has also taken place in the hamlet.

History

The name Storrs is a derivation of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

word “Storth” which means a wooded place and is commonly found in the names of

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

settlements set up in woodland clearings. One of the first written references to the hamlet was in 1288 when the ancient

Hallamshire Hallamshire (or Hallam) is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, approximating to the current City of Sheffield local government area. The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Hall ...

family of Shaw first became established after Ralph del Shagh became a tenant at a local farm, the surname continued at the same farm for the next four centuries. There was another reference in 1323 when William, the son of Anne Dungworth was admitted to a small farm at Storrs. The moors and common land around Storrs was

enclosed Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

between 1791 and 1805, the proposal which was put forward by

Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk (15 March 1746 – 16 December 1815), styled Earl of Surrey from 1777 to 1786, was a British nobleman, peer, and politician. He was the son of Charles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk and Catherine Brockho ...

and other landowners in 1787 met with some hostility by “several of the freeholders and inhabitants” as the usage of the land became controlled by the owner. However, none of the challengers to the policy owned enough land to defy the large landowners.''"Historic Hallamshire"'',

David Hey David G. Hey (18 July 1938 – 14 February 2016) was an English historian, and was an authority on surnames and the local history of Yorkshire. Hey was the president of the British Association for Local History, and was a published author of seve ...

, Landmark Collectors Library, , pages 79, 86, 87, 102, Gives historical details. In 1881 it was recorded that nine men from Storrs were working at the pot clay

drift mine Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is above ...

at Load Brook, two km to the west.''"The Forgotten Mines Of Sheffield"'', Ray Battye, ALD Design & Print, , pages 68 & 69, Gives details of miners and Thomas Wragg.

Mills on the Storrs Brook

The Storrs Brook flows just to the south of the hamlet and joins the River Loxley at Rowell Bridge. The brook has been used to power two mills over the years. Storrs Mill dates from 1749 when it was a

snuff Snuff may refer to: Tobacco * Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose ** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco ** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste Media and entertainment * Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder Literat ...

mill, by 1783 it had been converted into a paper mill and it served as such until the middle of the 19th century. After being used as a corn mill for a time it was unoccupied and disused by 1931. Storrs Mill has now been renovated and is a private residence, the two mill dams are still visible within the grounds. Loxley Wire Mill was situated further downstream, near the brooks confluence with the River Loxley. It dates from 1693 and was used as a cutlers wheel, smelt mill, wire mill and corn mill over the years. It was damaged in the

Great Sheffield Flood The Great Sheffield Flood was a flood that devastated parts of Sheffield, England, on 11 March 1864, when the Dale Dyke Dam broke as its reservoir was being filled for the first time. At least 240 people died and more than 600 houses were da ...

of 1864, today there are no visible signs.''"Water Power On The Sheffield Rivers"'', David Crossley (editor), STHS, , pages 32, 33, Gives details of mills.

Buildings and amenities

Many of the present day buildings in Storrs have had a change in usage over the years. The

cruck A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...

barn at Throstle Nest Farm is a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

which dates from the 17th century, it has four pairs of crucks within it. The barn has been converted into residential use in recent years and has been available to rent as a holiday cottage. Images of England
Gives details of Throstle Nest Farm Cruck Barn. The old Sunday school building was built in 1821 and closed in 1884 when a new chapel was built in the hamlet, it is now in residential use. Storrs Chapel built in 1884 and closed in 1975 is also now a private residence known as Wesley House, the village shop also underwent the same fate when it closed in the 1960s. Chapel cottages and Storrs Green cottages are both long-standing groups of housing, Chapel cottages was built in the latter part of the 1700s, a cutlers shop operated at the rear at one stage. Storrs House Farm has operated a boarding

cattery A cattery means any building, collection of buildings or property in which cats are housed, maintained, and in some cases bred. A cattery can be anything from a state-of-the-art facility with CCTV, televisions and water features to a building at ...

for many years. Storrs Hall was the home for a time of Thomas Wragg, owner of the nearby

fire brick A fire brick, firebrick, or refractory is a block of ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. A refractory brick is built primarily to withstand high temperature, but will also usually have a low thermal con ...

factory. Other buildings in the hamlet include Storrs Green Farm, which is still a working farm, Storrs Grange Farm, and Hazelhurst Farm.''"Around Bradfield, Loxley and Hillsborough"'', Malcolm Nunn, Chalford, , pages 48 - 50, Gives details of buildings. Storrs Park is a small recreation area for the community, it is located at the junction of Storrs Lane and Lee Moor Lane. The park consists of a few children's swings and an area of grass on land leased and maintained by Bradfield Parish Council. There is no public transport for the hamlet, although the 762 school bus service passes through to take pupils to

Bradfield School Bradfield School is a secondary school with academy status situated on the edge of the village of Worrall, in the civil parish of Bradfield, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The school is a specialist Engineering College formerly cater ...

Worrall Worrall is a small rural village in the civil parish of Bradfield, South Yorkshire, England, north west of Sheffield city centre. It has an area of 233 hectares, and population of 1,306 as of 2006, and borders the Sheffield suburbs of Wad ...

. Travel South Yorkshire
Gives details of Bradfield School bus service.

References

{{Districts of Sheffield Villages of the metropolitan borough of Sheffield Towns and villages of the Peak District