Normanton Spring (according to

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

maps), also called Normanton Springs, is a suburb and former hamlet located 4 miles east 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 ...

's City Centre, now classed as a historic township of the city. Due to expansion during the 1960s, the hamlet became a part of Sheffield City.

History

During the 20th Century the hamlet was known for its mining industry with the

Birley Collieries The Birley Collieries were a group of coal mines set in the Shire Brook Valley in south-east Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They were connected to the railway system by a branch line from the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway ...

being on both the east and west side respectively. The

Shire Brook Shire Brook is a small stream in the south eastern part of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It rises in the suburb of Gleadless Townend and flows in a general easterly direction for to its confluence with the River Rother bet ...

which flows through the south of the hamlet was noted for its use in the smithing of sickles and scythes, with

Thomas Staniforth & Co Thomas Staniforth & Co. was a sickle, scythe and tool smiths based in Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, England. The company was founded by Thomas Staniforth in 1743 and operated out of workshops located on Main Street, Hackenthorpe until it was closed dur ...

based at neighbouring

Hackenthorpe Hackenthorpe is a village 5 miles south east of Sheffield’s city centre, now classed as a historic township of the city. Due to much expansion, the village became a part of Sheffield city during the 1950s. During much of the late 19th and 20t ...

and Hutton & Co at

Ridgeway, Derbyshire Ridgeway is a village in North East Derbyshire in the county of Derbyshire in England. Location Ridgeway lies just south of the South Yorkshire border, around 5 miles southeast of Sheffield City Centre. The village is surrounded by a number of ...

both renting wheels along the brook, the most notable of which being the Nether Wheel. A former schoolhouse which was in use during the 20th Century has since been converted into residential use, and the mining pits are now part of the Shire Brook Valley Local Nature Reserve. The local pub, The Normanton Springs Inn has also been demolished.

References

{{Sheffield Villages of the metropolitan borough of Sheffield