On being lucky, Covid-19, and 40,000 explosions across the UK - June 2020

This piece was written during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.  It struck me that the impact of the virus on an individual was down to many factors, many of them governed by an element of 'chance' - or perhaps 'luck', either good or bad.  I hope no-one will take offense at what might seem a light hearted approach to a serious issue, but these thoughts are very much a personal response to the situation.

---------------------

River Sheaf Culvert - a couple of interesting links to Youtube

Since posting about the River Sheaf Culvert and the Hidden Bridges of the River Sheaf (link), I have spotted a couple of excellent videos on Youtube by Patrick Dickinson - known as 'Torchlight' in my earlier post..

The first is a walk through the culvert.  It allows the viewer to follow the sequence of different parts of the structure.  The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T13hCT2XBn4&t=17s

The second is Patrick's visit with his inflatable dingy - as seen in some of the images in the previous post - the link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5htPx-cy38

The hidden story of the River Sheaf Bridges in Sheffield

In 1852  the lower reaches of the River Sheaf in Sheffield (UK) were crossed only by the Sheaf Bridge and Canal Bridge close to the Corn Exchange,  a footbridge at the foot of Pond Hill, and the ‘Farm Bridge’ at the junction of Shrewsbury Road, Suffolk Road, St. Mary’s Road and Queens Road. 

This stretch of the river, almost 1.5km. long, now runs in culverts (except for one 40m. exposed section near Pond Hill) and emerges into the River Don under Castlegate at its junction with Blonk Street (Grid Ref. SK35858773).

The River Sheaf’s junction with the Don, the arch on the right, 
with Blonk Street Bridge, seen on the left.
(From Wikipedia)

The building of the culvert, now known to Urban Explorers as “The Megatron”, started in about 1850 when the section between the Sheaf Bridge (on Broad Street), and the Canal Bridge (on Exchange Street) was covered to  create the Castlefolds Market which stood between the existing Corn Exchange and the new Norfolk Market Hall.  Later sections were added over the years and the Sheaf Bridge and Canal Bridge were lost and forgotten.

But are they still there buried in the culvert?  This posting gives a glimpse into some research I did recently to try and untangle the story of the culvert and to try and find the old bridges.