Rivelin Corn Mill C1600
The mill and its pond have been around for some 500 years standing at what is now the junction of Manchester Road and Rivelin Valley Road on the western outskirts of Sheffield. Being at the head of the Valley and near the old Rivelin Post Office and cafe, it was, and still remains, a regular stopping off point for walkers and travellers. During the winter of 2001/2, a known leak in the dam wall eventually breached, depositing the contents of the pond into the River Rivelin below. And there it remained, empty and increasingly overgrown and looking very sad. After 500 years we had allowed this to happen in our lifetime and apparently caused by a dredging activity in the 60's which was meant to remove excess sludge and weeds but also removed some of the waterproofing clay from around the edge. A campaign by the RVCG headed by its chairman, Roger Kite, began almost immediately to have the pond fully restored especially because of its strategic position. The estimated cost of £400,000 was too much for the Sheffield City Council to fund and other designs and funding were sought. Finally during 2006, a reduced size pond was agreed and work began during the autumn of 2006. This involved filling in most of the pond and moving the footpath away from the edge high above the River Rivelin. A new pond was formed near the Rails Road car park where the original flour mill once stood. A pond dipping platform has been installed, the car park resurfaced and the whole area landscaped. The official opening was 17th May 2007 and is a wonderful monument to those who created it 500 years ago and a beautiful creation to be enjoyed by today's visitors.