"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" - Henry Thoreau
"Since memory is frail, sayings and deeds have to be reinforced by the evidence of writing, so that neither length of time nor the cunning of posterity can obscure the knowledge of past events" (from a twelfth century notification by William de Braose of a grant of lands to Sele Priory - British Records Association)
The Chris Hobbs Site
Photo - Sheffield Star Building Friday 30th March 2012
The site is divided into sections that are listed in the Table of Contents.
The Genealogy Pages "Family History" are quite extensive. To facilitate the additional information I have created a Family History Index that should assist in the navigation of that section. I have also included in the index, a general section that contains articles that are associated with the history of my family. Nearly all the people who appear in the Family History pages are no longer living and so this section of the site is in effect a Memorial as well as a Resource. I hope that you'll find the Family History Pages interesting and informative. I will of course be delighted to hear from anyone who can provide me with further insights and information with regard to my ancestors.
In November 2010 I decided that I would create a "blog" to compliment this website. The site is now over twelve years old, and I wanted to expand the content of the site to include information that I have come across but was not detailed enough to warrant an article. It would also allow me to comment on more contemporary matters that effect the area I live in, and also keep people updated on the articles posted. With a nod to Crookes in particular, and Sheffield in general, the Blog is called "View From A Hill" .
Nearly 18 months after setting up the Blog "View From A Hill", I took the plunge and in collaboration with Mathew Bell I had my first printed book published by ACM Retro.
Copies of the book can be ordered by following the link to the publishers website ACM RETRO. The publisher states
"Thirteen years in the making, Sheffield's Shocking Past is the literary debut by Chris Hobbs. Ably assisted by fellow author Matthew Bell, this book contains some of the most bizarre, little known and tragic incidents of Victorian times. Multiple murders; child murderers; a burning boy running half a mile before his agonising death; strange deaths; untimely deaths; deaths by starvation; hideous accidents; a romantic double suicide and a factory explosion killing all in its wake".
If you want further information about the book and its contents please follow the link to the pages
And on November 16th 2012 the second book was published by the same publisher ACM RETRO. This covers the twentieth century -
"History has a nasty habit of repeating itself. It was February 1934 and men were screaming for help as the Leppings Lane section of the bulging 72,860 Hillsborough crowd swayed forward and crushed them against iron railings. George Frederick Hill died from multiple fractures and shock. Tragedy had also struck twenty years earlier when a retaining wall collapsed at the same ground. The match was suspended as scores of injured were rushed to Sheffield Infirmary. Life-long Sheffielder and historian Chris Hobbs and local author Matthew Bell have once again delved into the archives - this time bringing you some of the most gruesome, grizzly and long-forgotten tragic episodes of 20th century Sheffield. Sheffield's Shocking Past - Part II leaves no coroner's report unchecked as it uncovers the killer cat of Millhouses; death by chimneystack; one of the city's earliest fatal motor accidents and the story behind the charred remains of a male midget and his mechanical teddy bear female companion. The events surrounding some incidents are hard to contemplate until you read the full facts: there's death by scalding at Heeley Baths; a Treeton man drowned looking for his chickens; a Low Edges resident who accidentally killed his wife, and the horrific aftermath of an American Air Force jet crashing into Lodge Moor Hospital in 1955. One of the most tragic cases must be that of 22-year-old nurse Ada Bradley. She thought she was helping rehabilitate a former mental patient by inviting her into her home to live. Instead, "She was found dead with her head battered and her throat cut in the street near the asylum." Sheffield's Shocking Past - Part II takes you from the time of the horse and carriage to the age of the jet plane, along the way unearthing some of the saddest and most remarkable incidents in the history of the city.
November 16 is my date of birth and so that section of the site deals naturally enough with the births, deaths and events that have occurred on that date. I have also provided an account of a murder that occurred on that day in Leeds that ended in a judicial execution.
School Days - incidentally they were not "the happiest days of my life" gives a personal view of what it was like to attend a provincial Grammar School in the 1960's as well as providing a counterbalance to many of the wild and inaccurate claims surrounding post war education in the U.K.
Britain and the World since 1953 is intended to put a perspective on the events that have occurred in my lifetime. It is in effect a chronology and almanac with links to other websites and areas of information. The content is continually being extended and it is hoped that it will become a useful reference tool when completed. There is also a page compares the Britain of 1953 with the Britain of 2003
The Location Map is a directional guide for those visiting the area where I live. This section has also been extended to include a brief history of the road I live on (Spring Hill) and the area of the city (Crookes-Walkley district ) I live in. I have posted to that section, details extracted from the various UK Census' for Spring Hill as well as excerpts from a number of Kelly's Directories - a full index of photographs and articles has been also been posted to the section.
I have also added my acknowledgements to people who have spared me their time and effort in providing me with content and information. It is greatly appreciated. Two such resources that are particularly useful are the Sheffield History Forum and the newer Sheffield Soldiers of the Great War. I would encourage readers of this site to visit both websites as they both contain a mine of information
There is also a copyright notice which I hope will ensure that the information on this site is not sullied by crass commercialism. Any errors are of course mine and mine alone.
"To remain ignorant of what happened before you were born is to remain always a child" - Cicero
"One of the deepest impulses in man is the impulse to record, to scratch a drawing on the tusk or keep a diary, to collect sagas and heap cairns. This instinct as to the enduring value of the past is, one might say, the very basis of civilization" - John Jay Chapman
"To the living we owe our respect, to the dead we owe nothing but the truth." Voltaire.
I should add that I update the "Sheffield" articles as and when relevant information becomes available. Most of them are based on information I came across whilst researching in the local archives and reading old newspapers. I have tried only to put material on the site that is not easily available elsewhere and so that is why there are no articles on The Sheffield Flood, Charlie Peace, The Hillsborough Disaster etc. I am also conscious of the need not to compromise the privacy of the living and so the articles are definitely historical in perspective. I try to adhere to the "forty year rule."
"We are ceasing to regard smoke and filth as necessary evils and are striving after remedies. Perhaps our children will once again see roses blooming in Attercliffe and trout on the rise near Lady's Bridge". J.D. Leader (1891)
THERE ARE FURTHER ARTICLES WITH A SHEFFIELD CONNECTION ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE
Some cities love their antiquities, Sheffield has few to boast of, and therefore treats them with scorn. Someday it will regret it - Sheffield Daily Independent (1906)
"Each Generation imagines itself more intelligent than the one that went before it and wiser than the one that comes after it" - George Orwell
"Any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats" - -- George Orwell, "Benefit of Clergy: Some Notes on Salvador Dali
"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams" John Barrymore
This website has been operative in its various guises since 8th November 1999. After six years I decided to upgrade the Guestbook but unfortunately due to the activities of spammers I have had to remove this feature.
And so if you have any comments, suggestions and information relating to the Site and its contents, please contact me directly by EMAIL and where necessary, I will reply to any requests etc.
The old Guestbook has been relocated and is there for reference purposes only
Britaine: United Kingdom's search engine
This page was last updated on 03/04/13 12:34