Crookes is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of the City of Sheffield, England, about west of the city centre. It borders Broomhill to the south, Walkley and Crookesmoor to the east and open countryside around the

River Rivelin The River Rivelin is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises on the Hallam moors, in north west Sheffield, and joins the River Loxley (at Malin Bridge). The Rivelin Valley, through which the river flows, is a -mile-long woodlan ...

to the north. The population of the ward of the same name was 17,700 at the 2011 Census.

Etymology

The suburb is said to derive its name from the Old Norse "Krkor" which means a nook or corner of land.

History

Crookes lies near the course of a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from Templeborough to Brough-on-Noe (now Lydgate Lane) and the main road is itself over 1,000 years old.Crookes' long and colourful history as a Sheffield village
Sheffield Star. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2018. Founded by the Vikings as 'Krkur' in 980AD, the area was recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1066 as "Crokkiss". Crookes was a self-contained village from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century. This area was sparsely settled until the 1790s, when a turnpike road was opened from Sheffield to

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

, running via the southern end of Crookes, spurring development of the area. Names of roads such as ''Truswell Road'', ''Headland Road'', and ''Headland Drive'' are references to the

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

open fields that survived in this area into the late 18th century. In the 19th century Crookes became a popular 'holiday' spot for residents of Sheffield to escape the soot and grime of the town due to its out-of-city location; in 1855 the Sheffield politician Thomas Asline Ward referred to the health benefits of Crookes' "country air". The

Bole Hills Bole may refer to: Places * Bole District, Ghana * Bole, Ghana, town * Bole (Ghana parliament constituency) * Bole, Nottinghamshire, England * Bole (Sub-City of Addis Ababa), Ethiopia ** Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia * Bole, X ...

( ) at Crookes, overlooking the

Rivelin Valley The River Rivelin is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises on the Hallam moors, in north west Sheffield, and joins the River Loxley (at Malin Bridge). The Rivelin Valley, through which the river flows, is a -mile-long woodlan ...

to the north, were the site of open air smelting, and Bronze Age (about 1500 BC) funerary remains, similar to those of contemporary tribes sometimes called the

Urn people The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremat ...

, were found near this site in 1887. Sidney Addy reports the find in his 1888 book on the Sheffield area citing: ''"On Easter Sunday

887 __NOTOC__ Year 887 (Roman numerals, DCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * November 17 – East Frankish magnates revolt against the ...

Mr. Herbert T. Watkinson, of Summer Street, was walking in Cocked Hat Lane,'' (later to become Tinker Lane) ''near the Bole Hills, at Crookes, when he noticed in the side of an excavation that had been made for the foundations of some new houses what looked like a drain pipe. Closer examination revealed two rude earthenware urns, one inverted within the other, and the two containing a quantity of calcined bones, some broken fragments of a bronze spear-head or dagger, and a smaller urn pierced on one side with two round holes. The outer urn fell to pieces, but the one inverted within it was recovered whole. It is of a type very common in British burial mounds, and stands 9½ inches high, and measures across the mouth 7¼ inches, while the largest circumference is 26 inches. It is ornamented with the familiar straight and diagonal lines, and rows of dots. The urns lay six or eight inches below the surface, and were surrounded with charcoal. We are glad to hear that this curious relic of our ancient British ancestors will be exhibited in the Weston Park Museum."'' The urn was discovered near St Anthony's Well, which was believed to have medicinal properties. There have been several other archaeological finds in Crookes, including a Bronze Age arrowhead, a Roman coin and a prehistoric flint flake found in a front garden.

Crookes today

The centre of Crookes is focused on the main road, also named Crookes, which runs through the suburb before becoming Northfield Road at its north end. Crookes features the majority of the shops and businesses, which include a Cooperative, a Sainsbury's and numerous small local stores. Crookes becomes Crookes Road at its southern end to connect with Broomhill. Popular institutions include St Thomas' church on Nairn Street and Crookes Working Men's Club, on Mulehouse Road. Crookes Working Men's Club was established in 1926 and was a venue of Def Leppard who played there in 1979. Notable pubs in Crookes include The Old Grindstone (which dates from 1828), The Princess Royal, Masons Arms, The Cobden View Hotel, The Punchbowl, The Ball Inn and Noah's Ark. Crookes is part of the Crookes & Crosspool ward of Sheffield City Council. As of May 2022, it was represented by two Labour Party and one Liberal Democrat councillors. A large number of students from the University of Sheffield live in the area. Indie pop band The Crookes are University of Sheffield alumni and named themselves after the suburb, their founding members Daniel Hopewell and Alex Saunders having lived in the area during their time as students thereThe Crookes, Queens Social Club
Sheffield Star. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2018. although ironically their members were later "priced out" of living in Crookes and relocated to the less expensive London Road area. One of the band's songs, 'The Crookes Laundry Murder 1922' is named after one of Crookes' most famous crimes. The instrumental track "The Bus To Crookes" by The Human League was inspired by a bus journey to the area; in 2017 the song was voted the ninth best song about Sheffield by readers of the Sheffield Star. At present, Crookes is served by the 52 bus, which runs from the city centre through Broomhill to Crookes and Hillsborough.

Notable people

Famous people from Crookes include singers

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

and

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, Def Leppard members

Joe Elliot Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...

and

Rick Savage Richard Savage (born 2 December 1960) is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the English rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original ...

, as well as former Def Leppard member, and current resident Pete Willis, and television presenter

Charlie Webster Charlie Webster (born 9 November 1982) is an English television presenter and campaigner. Early life and education Webster was born in Sheffield and attended Tapton School where she participated in elite junior athletics. She has lived in Cr ...

References

External links