I have a couple of questions regarding cutler wheels in the Sheffield area during the C17th.

Firstly, I am trying to find more information on the origins of Scargill Wheel that was located on the River Sheaf. There are numerous online references to the wheel being built by Warren Scargill in 1631 but no record sources are cited. Would anyone with a copy of 'Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers' by Crossley, Flavell & Ball, 2006, be able to do a look-up on the Scargill wheel (assuming it is indexed) to see what, if any, record sources are given for the wheel being built in 1631?

Secondly, can anyone confirm which Cutler wheels were in operation on the Rivelin at the time of Harrison's survey in 1637 and whether these have ever been cross referenced with any certainty to the Cutler wheels and tenants listed in the survey. Based on searches online, I have tentatively identified the following wheels: Grogram and Spooner along with the Hind further upstream - I understand the Mousehole Forge wheel wasn't used (?) as a cutler wheel at this time. Harrison's survey lists five single or joint leases of Cutler wheels on the Rivelin but no wheel names are recorded. The Harrison survey maps recreated by Scurfield in 1986 only appear to indicate what I believe is the location of the Grogram wheel on the Rivelin, near Malin Bridge. I have read that the Spooner wheel was leased by the Webster family noting that two of the wheels on the Rivelin recorded by Harrison were leased by members of the Webster family - although a member of the Spooner family is listed as a joint tenant of another Rivelin wheel.

Any feedback or further information on the above would be much appreciated - many thanks.

Hi Kev, you have probably tried this however I just Googled (rivelin valley water wheels) and this brought up a lot of info.
Regards Barry Green

From “Water Power” : Skargell / Bartin Wheel - Two indentures of June 1631 show Warren Skargell, yeoman, as lessor and builder of “one cutlers wheel lately erected…at or near Milnehouses…” ‘Lately built’ persists in documents of 1642 and 1648, but an early 17th Century construction date is likely. The 1631 lease was for 20 years at £4 rent, to Thomas Milward, still tenant in 1648, when the wheel was bought by John Bright. In 1669 Bright leased the wheel to Grace Foxe and her son Anthony for 21 years at £16.” The site of the wheel is the Millhouses Park boating pool. The source of this information is the Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments D293:294

Much of the Rivelin has steep sided banks, and it is cut off from Sheffield by the high ground of Crookes and Walkley. Therefore 14 of the 20 wheels appear not to have been developed before the 18th Century. For nine of the 20 there are firm construction dates between 1719 and 1752, and another three are likely to have been built during this period. From “Water Power”: “Of the early wheels, Hind and perhaps Grogram existed in the 16th Century. Mousehole, Spooner and Rivelin Corn Mill in the 1630’s. Swallow Wheel had been built by 1692”

The Hind is included in Harrisons Survey. The Spooner (the upstream one) is in Harrison, Leased by Thomas and William Webster. In 1632 land called Turnholme and Leys Stubbing, near Malin Bridge, was leased by Frederick and Edward Barber, to Michael Burton of Holmesfield. Thereon were two lead mills or “smelting houses”. Bradfield church-wardens bought lead from Burton in 1635, but by 1644 Edward Barber’s will shows there being a forge at Turnholme Stubbing, which was sold to George Bamforth in 1672, and Bamforth’s possession of Mousehole in 1709 confirms that it is the same place. Ore hearth lead slag has been found at Mousehole, confirming it as the site of a smelting house.

The following are Cutlers Wheels listed by Harrison as being on the Rivelin:
William Webster and Thomas Webster for a Wheele in Rivelin £2 8s 0d
Robert Skargill £0 6s 8d, Edward Webster £0 10s 0d and Edward Greaves £0 10s 0d for a Wheele in Rivelin
Robert Shimeild £1 10s 0d and Thomas Spooner £0 10s 0d for a Wheele in Rivelin
William Greaves and Edward Greaves for a Wheele in Rivelin £1 16s 0d
Robert Shimeild for part of a Wheele in Rivelin £0 16s 0d

Hi Barry. Many thanks. Yes, I found numerous references online but in a couple of cases there were some disparities on dates between different websites and so thought it would be worth asking the question here as there are very knowledgeable people on this forum. Regards, Kev Scargill.

Hi Ted,
Many thanks for your help again. The extracts from 'Water Power' are much appreciated and just what I was looking for regarding Scargill Wheel in terms of the detail on the leases and the original source. It is interesting that the wheel is linked to Warren Scargill as I have found no other association of Warren with the cutler trade (unlike others in the family) and also that he lived and held land some distance away to the west of Sheffield around Bell Hagg.

I note that Scargill wheel or Thomas Milward don't appear to have been recorded in Harrison's survey (based on p31/32 of Ronksley's transcription) or indeed any wheel specifically linked with the Sheaf. Presumably, this meant that Scargill wheel did not lie within the jurisdiction of the manor of Sheffield?

Many thanks for the information on the Rivelin wheels in existence and the tenants at the time of Harrison's survey. I had missed Rivelin Corn Mill - quite a way upstream from the others. With regards to cross referencing between the five Rivelin wheels listed in the survey and the named wheels known to have existed, this would seem to align in terms of Hind, Grogram, Mousehole, Spooner and Rivelin Corn Mill with Spooner being the first of those on the survey list. Noting your comment that the Hind was included in Harrison's survey, do you know who the tenants were at this time? I am trying to narrow down (if possible) to which wheel was leased (in part) by Robert Scargill who was probably the same Robert selected as Master Cutler in 1640 and died in 1658.

Many thanks again for your help on this.

Hi Ted,

Just looking again at the five Rivelin wheels listed as cutler wheels in Harrison's survey and what I overlooked in my earlier response is that only the Hind, Grogram and Spooner wheels appeared to be used for cutlery grinding at this time and so presumably the Harrison entries must relate to these three only? Therefore, in terms of cross referencing these to the five leases listed in Harrison's survey, does this denote more than one cutler wheel at some sites with separate leases? Having searched online again, I have seen references to two wheels at Grogram and Spooner.

Thanks.

Hello Kev,

The Scargill Wheel was in the manor of Ecclesall, so would not be covered by Harrison’s survey. The Hind wheel was between the Plonk Wheel and the Upper Cut Wheel on the Rivelin. The first known lease of the Hind Wheel is in 1676 when it was leased to Thomas Bower and John Jackson for 21 years. The wheel is mentioned in Harrison’s survey (pages 127-8) “Robert Allen & ye Widdow Hine hold at will certaine lands & a Wheele at ye yearly Rent of £4 10s” . The total land held by these two people is 13 acres 1 rood and 25 perch and the final detail is :“Item halfe a Cuttlers Wheele in Rivelin Called Hyne Wheele standing upon Rivelin Water”. The Hind/Hine/Hyne Wheel is not in Harrison’s list of cutlers wheels (page 31-2) so his list is proved not to be comprehensive. There may be other wheels on the Rivelin not in his list, for example (page 154) near Malin Bridge held by Richard or Francis Fenton.

The Grogram was divided into two halves – The Matthewman family held it between 1625 and 1650. It is easy to confuse it with its neighbours the Turner Wheel on the Loxley and the fore-runner of the Malin Bridge corn mill.

The Spooner had two wheels

Hi Ted,

Many thanks for the additional information. Thanks for explaining the absence of Scargill Wheel in the survey - this ties in with the wheel being mentioned in the Ecclesall Bierlow Poor Relief assessment of 1786 - I need to do some more background reading on the manorial structure around Sheffield.

Many thanks for the additional information on the Hind and confirming the Spooner had two wheels. I hadn't spotted the reference to the Hind on p128 which, as you say, indicates I need to be cautious with any assumptions about the list on p31/2 of the survey. There is a reference on p127 to Robert Allen holding a close of land (763) to the west of land (760 - New Storth) held by Thomas (should be Warren) Scargill.

Looking at the p154 entry for the wheel intacke near Malin Bridge, plot 985 seems to align with what is marked as Grogram on other maps. I note that p32 in the survey lists William Matthewman as a joint tenant of the Malin Bridge wheel which I assume is the site that became the Malin Bridge corn mill.

I think all I can tentatively conclude for now is that the shared lease in a cutler wheel held by Robert Scargill in 1637 was one of the wheels at either Grogram, Spooner or Hind on the Rivelin.

Many thanks again for all your help and advice.

Cheers

Kev

Kev,
Are you aware of a photo of the Grogram wheel at Picture Sheffield? t00919
Also take a look at the pictures s10385, v00608 and w02075 which are of Mousehole Forge. I believe that is a view from the north so the two wheels in the foreground must be Grogram.
Dave

Hi Dave

Many thanks - no, I wasn’t aware of this website and the pictures - great photos and an excellent resource. I will browse this further for other sites in Sheffield. Thanks again.