Bradfield Dale

Bradfield Dale is a rural valley which lies 12 km west-northwest of the City of Sheffield in England. The valley stands within the north eastern boundary of the Peak District National Park just to the west of the village of Low Bradfield. The dale is drained by the Strines Dike which becomes the Dale Dike lower down the valley, these being the headwaters of the River Loxley. The dale contains two reservoirs Strines and Dale Dike, and a third Agden Reservoir stands in a side valley just above Low Bradfield. The dale is characterised by agricultural land interspersed with farming and residential buildings. It is approximately 5 km in length from its foot at Low Bradfield to its head on Strines Moor.

Two roads travel up the valley from its lower regions; Dale Road passes on the north side of the dale with Blindside Lane on the south. Mortimer Road traverses around the valley at a height of around 310 metres. This road was named after Hans Winthrop Mortimer, Lord of Bamford and Member of Parliament who obtained an Act of Parliament in 1771 to improve the bridleway between Penistone and Bamford by repairing, widening and building bridges to make it fit for wheeled traffic.

The lower part of Bradfield Dale was the first area to be inundated by the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864. The dale beneath the stricken Dale Dike reservoir is rural with very few habitations. However, the farmstead of John Empsall and his family which stood by the Annet bridge was completely swept away by the torrent. Luckily the Empsalls including their three children survived, as did their lodger William Rose, a reservoir construction worker. They had been forewarned of the imminent disaster ten minutes earlier by local resident Thomas Fish. The Annet bridge was destroyed in the deluge, to be rebuilt at a later date.

Hallfield House and Sugworth Hall are the best two examples of residential houses within Bradfield Dale, both being given listed status by English Heritage. Hallfield dates from at least the 14th century while Sugworth was mentioned in documents in the 16th century although it was then completely different in character to its present form. Just to the north of Sugworth Hall stands Boot's Folly, a conspicuous landmark on a hillside above Strines Reservoir.

...
Wikipedia