From Derbyshire Into Yorkshire

From Tups to Tykes

In 1919 Totley Parish Council was asked to consider joining with Norton Parish Council to become part of Sheffield; but Totley did not wish to do so. The next reference to this item In the Minute book is on 30th July, 1931 when Totley Parish Council renewed their subscription to Derbyshire Rural Community Council for 12 months, the fee a £1.

A justice of the Peace was appointed by Derbyshire County Council on the 21st April, 1932. A letter dated 9th November, 1932 was received by Totley from the Town Clerk of Sheffield informing that Sheffield City Council had given instructions for the promotion of a Bill in Parliament to provide for the extension of the Sheffield City Boundary (Sheffield Corporation Bill 1933). The letter was put on file until all views had been heard.

A resolution was passed stating "That this Council (Totley) views with extreme disfavour any further attempt on the part of Sheffield to include Totley Parish Council within its boundaries and that the District Council be urged to press for the retention of the Parish within the administration of Derbyshire County Council". Five for the motion, one against.

The Ministry of Health wrote on 27th January, 1933 stating an Inspector would hold an inquiry on the proposals of the Derbyshire County Council for the review of their boundaries, but consideration of proposals would be deferred until after the hearing of the Sheffield Corporation Bill.

It was noted on the 11th Jan 1934 that Totley Parish Council ceases to exist on 31st March, 1934 owing to being absorbed by the City of Sheffield on that day. 

Therefore Totleyites (along with other areas from Norton Rural District Council) were forced to change (at least on paper), their birthright of being Derbyshiremen (Tups) to Yorkshiremen (Tykes).

Compiled by M. Coldwell with courtesy permission from Sheffield City Libraries.

80 years in Yorkshire! 

Many of us know that Totley wasn’t always in Yorkshire and in the 19th century had been described as a small Derbyshire village in the parish of Dronfield.

Eighty years ago Derbyshire’s historical border with Sheffield was moved from Limb Brook at the edge of Ecclesall Woods, to a spot near the brickworks on the way to Owler Bar, thus making us Yorkshire folk.

It didn’t happen overnight and local councils were very unhappy at the prospect, putting up a lengthy fight to retain their Derbyshire identity. 

So why the change?

After WW1 Sheffield was expanding and the necessary space within its industrial heartland was becoming difficult to find. Not only did the steel industry need land to develop their foundries and factories but also new housing was desp erately required to im prove living conditions and house the ever growing population.

Some steel manufacturers had already moved out of Sheffield, many favouring the Rother Valley, and the city wanted them back within their boundary to retain the coveted ‘Made in Sheffield’ claim on all things steel.

Clearing the slum backtoback housing and yards would free some space, but sites for an anticipated 15,000 new houses had to be found. The city was bursting at the seams and there were great swathes of suitable land just outside its boundary.

Totley’s situation 

Going back to 1820, the building of the turnpike (Baslow Rd) and then the arrival of the railway in 1872 had made the city accessible, and it was regarded as ‘almost part of Sheffield’ by Sheffield Corporation. However Totley was firmly placed in Derbyshire and was administered by Norton Rural District Council, one of the largest in the country.

Being at the very northernmost tip of Derbyshire and adjacent to Sheffield’s boundary, the improved city access meant Norton Council began to look towards Sheffield for some administrative purposes and services. For example Totley had been annexed to Ecclesall Bierlow since 1837, which was in the West Riding of Yorkshire and was where the villagers registered births, marriages and deaths. Ecclesall Rural Sanitary Authority was responsible for Totley’s water and sewage, and sometimes those unfortunate enough to need care in an asylum or workhouse were sent to Ecclesall Bierlow Union Workhouse at Nether Edge rather than to Derby.

In 1919 Sheffield Corporation published ‘The Sheffield Extension Plan’, detailing the annexation of adjacent urban and rural districts into the city boundaries. These included Handsworth, Brinsworth, Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, Wortley, Norton, Dronfield, Rotherham and Chesterfield, and aimed to increase Sheffield’s boundary by 100,000 acres. The Ministry of Health initially granted them only Handsworth and certain portions of Brinsworth and Ecclesfield. This led in 1920 to ‘The Sheffield Extension Enquiry’ where the city defended its case for accessing more land and so the arguments rumbled on through the 1920’s, the pro’s and the con’s.

Sheffield said it wanted to retain its monopoly in the steel industry for which it had earned worldwide recognition, and for that the city felt it must grow.

Derbyshire County Council brought in representatives to back their opposition....

....An insurance company that covered medical bills saying care in Sheffield would be no better than that already provided in Derbyshire.

....Parents who felt standards of education available at the schools in Derbyshire were superior to those provided by Sheffield, despite Sheffield being the first place to provide free secondary educ ation.

.…Concerns exp ressed by residents that the Sheffield slums would creep into what was still a beautiful rural area.

....The important anomaly that rates in Sheffield were higher than in Derbyshire, and handouts in Sheffield lower....

And what about the Cricket League! Teams would have to move! 

In 1930 the arguments were still in progress.

'Three parishes in Derbyshire, Dore, Totley and Norton appear to be the sport of neighbouring authorities which happen to be more populous. They have successfully resisted an attempt to include them within Sheffield’s city boundary. Now the Chesterfield Rural District Council is seeking to annex them. They are likely to show fight in this case too. Where Sheffield failed I cannot believe that Chesterfield will succeed. Sheffield, indeed, could make out the stronger claim since all three places look in that direction for their business interests. A good many anomalies exist in this part of the county, so far as local administration is concerned. If the Chesterfield Rural District Council is merely trying to remedy this it might be able to establish a good case, but selfinterest, in the matter of rating, is sure to be suspected’ (Derbyshire Daily Telegraph 31 Oct 1930) 

Three years later, as it was finally being announced that Sheffield’s boundary would move to enclose these parishes, Chesterfield countered by saying a lower rate was being offered by Sheffield to the Derbyshire districts concerned in order to induce them to accept the change, and was this legal?

Norton RDC still remained firm in their resolve to stay in Derbyshire and took their objection to the House of Lords, only to fail in their appeal.

Totley officially became part of Sheffield Parish the following year in April 1934, and final ties with the past were severed when Ecclesall Bierlow Registration District was abolished in 1935.

Pauline Burnett

August 2015