Storrs is a

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

within the boundaries of the City of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

in England, west-northwest of the city centre. It is between the suburb of Stannington and the village of Dungworth 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 encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

settlement, water-powered

milling Milling may refer to: * Milling (minting), forming narrow ridges around the edge of a coin * Milling (grinding), breaking solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting in a mill * Milling (machining), a process of using ro ...

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, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word ''Storth'', which means a wooded place and is commonly found in the names of

Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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 were

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 traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

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 Brock ...

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. 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 mining (hard rock), 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 whic ...

at Load Brook, 2 km to the west. Gives details of miners and Thomas Wragg.

Mills on the Storrs Brook

The Storrs Brook flows just south of the hamlet and joins the

River Loxley The River Loxley is a river in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its source is a series of streams which rise some to the north-west of Sheffield, England, Sheffield on Bradfield Moors, flowing through Bradfield Dale to converge ...

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 mill; by 1783 it had been converted into a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

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 further downstream, near the brook's 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, and today there are no visible signs. 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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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. The old

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

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 were built in the latter part of the 1700s; a cutler's shop operated at the rear at one stage. Storrs House Farm has operated a boarding

cattery A cattery is any building, collection of buildings or property in which cats are housed, maintained, cared for, and bred. A cattery can be anything from a simple building associated with a residence to a state-of-the-art facility with CCTV, televi ...

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

fire brick A fire brick, firebrick, fireclay brick, or refractory brick is a block of ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. Made of primarily oxide materials like silica and alumina in varying ratios, these insulati ...

factory. Other buildings in the hamlet include Storrs Green Farm, which is still a working farm; Storrs Grange Farm; and Hazelhurst Farm. Gives details of buildings. Storrs Park is a small recreation area for the community, 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 A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to Student transport, transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter ...

service passes through to take pupils to Bradfield School at

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 Wadsl ...

. 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