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History of Cholera Monument Grounds
Early history
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In the early 19th century, the industrial revolution was gathering pace, with many people moving to the city in search of jobs. Housing was hastily erected to accommodate the new residents in areas such as Park Hill. The houses were often arranged around a communal courtyard, meaning that over 100 people could be sharing one standpipe. Inadequate disposal of sewage and the presence of open drains meant the water supplies were permanently contaminated. This provided ideal conditions for a range of diseases such as typhoid, dysentry and cholera.
The Asiatic Cholera epidemic arrived in Sheffield in July 1832. Initially the victims were buried in approved churchyards around town, but because of limited space and public unease about living near a burial site, an alternative had to be found. In early August the 12th Duke of Norfolk offered a site off Norfolk Road as at the time it was fairly isolated.
By November when the disease was finally under control, 1347 people had been infected. Of these 402 had died, 339 of whom are buried within Cholera Monument Grounds. Most of the dead were buried hastily and without ceremony. Regular rotations of clergymen were necessary to keep up with the rate of burials. People who contracted the disease were urged to go to the Cholera Hospital at Kelham Island, but rumours of patients being smothered by nurses and the bodies being sold for medical research meant many were reluctant to chance it. Others reverted to more normal treatments for the time; the dispensary at Sheffield University gave out over 3,500 leeches when normally it would only be a few hundred.
There was a presumption at the time that cholera was a disease of the 'drunk and the idle'. This view changed when John Blake, the Master Cutler at the time, contracted it and died at the age of 49. His death lead to important reforms in the way the state dealt with matters of public health.
Two years later construction began on a monument to commemmorate the dead. It cost £300 and was financed from the money left in the fund set up to fight the disease, a donation from the Duke of Norfolk and money raised by selling wooden carvings showing a depiction of the monument.
Twentieth Century
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In 1930, the Duke of Norfolk presented the grounds to the city. This resulted in some 'municipal' style additions to the site such as a bowling green, toilets and an 'old men's hut'. During the 1970's and 80's the site received extra legal protection as the monument was Grade II listed and the grounds became part of the Norfolk Road Conservation Area. In 1990 the top section of the monument was blown over in a gale and the pieces dispersed to various places for storage.
The Grounds in 1964 - photo by Peter Mason.
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