The Wicker is an arterial street in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, 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 Historic counties o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

noted for its history and viaduct that crosses it, the

Grade II* listed 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 ...

Wicker Arches Wicker Arches form a long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare Wicker, which passes through the main arch of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheff ...

''. It runs in a north-east to south-westerly direction between

Lady's Bridge Lady's Bridge is the oldest bridge across the River Don in the City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the central section of the city, linking the Wicker to the north with Waingate to the south. History The first bridge The original woo ...

and the Wicker Arches. For many years the Wicker was an A road, but it has been downgraded following the opening of the Sheffield Northern Relief Road.

History

An early reference to the Wicker comes from the records of the

Sheffield Town Trust The Sheffield Town Trust, formerly officially known as the Burgery of Sheffield,Robert Tittler, ''The Reformation and the Towns in England'' is a charitable trust operating in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Mediaeval period The Town Trust wa ...

for 1572: 'Item, payd to William Dyker for mending of the Butt in the Wycker', and earlier the same year: 'Item, paid to William Dyker and Johne Greave for makinge the nare butt in the Sembley grene'. A ''butt'' refers to a mound or structure upon which a target is set for

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

practice, two existed on the Wicker the ''near butt'' and the ''far butt''. The Wicker was also known as the ''Assembly Green'' or ''Sembly-green'', and it was an open space where the inhabitants of the town engaged in sports and athletic activities, as well as archery practise. (

wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually rep ...

) In a tradition thought to date back to at least the 13th century, once a year on the Tuesday after Easter, called ''Sembley Tuesday'' the freeholders of the town were required to assemble on the Wicker with their horses and

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

before the Lord of the Manor. The assembly took place in front of the court house of the manor, which was the only building on the Wicker, and was called ''Sembley House''. This tradition was discontinued in 1715, although Sembley House (later used as a public house called the ''Crown and Cushion Tavern'' or the ''Bull Inn'') remained the only building on the Wicker until 1775. Patchwork done on the Wicker Arches in Sheffield, England due to World War 2 Bombing

Patchwork done on the Wicker Arches in Sheffield, England due to World War 2 Bombing

In the 19th century, the Wicker developed a strong association with railways. The first

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in Sheffield, Wicker Station was opened at the north-west end of the street on 31 October 1838, and the

, a 40-foot high, 750-yard viaduct, was built in 1848 to connect the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway with its new Victoria Station.

Etymology

The origins of the name ''Wicker'' are uncertain. Local historian Sidney Addy gave two possible etymologies, that it referred to the Willows or Alders that grew on this flat, wet and marshy land, or that it derives from ''wick'' meaning ''sinus'' or ''angle'' and described the shape of the land, an angular piece of land that lies within a sharp bend of the River Don.

In popular culture

The Wicker is the setting for the

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

song "Wickerman", from their 2001 album ''

We Love Life ''We Love Life'' is the seventh and final studio album by English rock band Pulp, released on 22 October 2001 by Island Records. It reached number six on the UK Albums Chart, with a total chart stay of only three weeks. Written and recorded aft ...

''.

References

{{SheffieldCityCentre Streets in Sheffield History of Sheffield Sheffield City Centre

History

Etymology

In popular culture

See also

References