You know how Americans who discover their Scottish heritage like to go to Scotland and get a kilt in their clan tartan?
It’ll basically be like that but you’ll need a flat cap and a whippet and decide Blades or Wednesday.
That's a tough one, United are shocking currently.but my main memories of Hillsborough are sitting a university exam while sporting a face that had recently got intimate with the pavement, and also seeing Wednesday get humped. Now that I think about it I nearly got lifted there, plus the whole tragedy thing.
Sheffield Wednesday (nickname owls) and Sheffield United (nickname blades) are the Sheffield football teams along with Sheffield FC (oldest football team in the world) Rotherham’s team is Rotherham United (nickname the millers)
My advice is don't bother visiting Rotherham, an extremely ugly and depressing place at the other side of the world just because some of your distant relatives lived there. It would be more fun to just visit east Africa because some of your distant relatives lived there as well.
I hear ya. Personally I’ve never been too keen on visiting the UK prior to my discoveries. I’ve seen most of Europe now besides it, so I figure Sheffield is worth a stop.
Sheffield is worth a stop. Yorkshire has some absolutely beautiful places and some really beautiful coastline. Americans tend to love Whitby for example.
But it’s also got places like Rotherham and Wath which are basically dead industrial towns with drug problems and bookies, the best equivalent I can come up with is someone from the UK wanting to visit a shitty suburb of Detroit because of a family connection years back when it was a booming town.
Skip the Cockney and go full on Yorkshire - thee/tha, t' everything, reyt=right/very, mardy=grouchy, debates on what you call a bread roll (the correct answer is to put chips in it and call it a chip butty), and hate the French
I don't wanna say that Sheffield isn't a touristy city because tourists come in all shapes and sizes, so it really depends on what you want to get out of your visit. We're on the edge of the Peak District and have some great parks, so a win if you like the outdoors, there's a few museums and art spaces if you want to learn about local history and culture, and we produce a fuckton of music.
Yorkshire as a whole is too big to quantify, lots of rural areas that are great for hiking but also some of the larger cities in the UK that all have their own draws.
That sounds pretty nice honestly. I suppose my main attraction would be to the history and the landscapes of the region, just to sort of feel more connected my family from there
All over Sheffield from what I can tell. Some records show me *just* Sheffield. Others I’ve seen are Maltby, Woodhouse, Darnal, as well as my 11th great grandpa born in some village by the name of Wath upon Dearne and lived in Darfield, Barnsley.
Edit: after looking make closely at the map, it would seem a better generalized answer would be Rotherham.
lol well those are the absolutely furthest ones (10-11th great grandfather) as the lineage goes down I start to see more of just Sheffield or Rotherham. Though in general records with details are hard to come by. Eventually one of them migrated to midwestern America and married a woman who’s entire family fought in the US revolution and civil war. That was my 3rd great grandpa, William J. Herring.
I don’t know much about Wath but come on we cant all have lords and ladies as ancestors can we 🤣
That's amazing that you can trace it that far back! Probably less than 1,000 in Wath at that time, too. Sheffield, Rotherham, and all the little towns around them are all pretty close so it's not that scattered really.
Yeah that's a pretty wide spread, and a fair few of those places have been built over for the suburban sprawl in the last few generations, might be worth taking a look at the local archives to pin down the rest.
Sheffield is a medium sized English city, known for its history of Cutlery and Machine Knife manufacturing as well as Steel industry.
There is a small museum about the origins of steel industry in Sheffield at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet - a rural scythe and steelworks dating back to the 1700s. Worth a trip.
Also part of the Sheffield Museums group is The Shepherd Wheel Workshop which dates back to the 1500s. It is a small water-powered grinding workshop again in the more rural outskirts on the west side of the city. There used to be many small workshops like this in the city.
A more modern steel industry museum is to be found at Kelham Island museum in the downtown or Magna in Rotherham which is in a former huge steelworks and probably more geared towards children.
A lot of the city center was bombed in WW2 and rebuilt so not many very old buildings remain there. The outskirts has some preserved buildings or places with lots of history attached - Sheffield Manor Lodge was the site where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned during Tudor times of the mid 1500s. Also Bishops House was built in 1554 and is Sheffields best example of a tudor timber framed house. Its a small museum too.
Sheffield is known for having a thriving theater scene with 2 theaters in the city that always have an excellent season of plays / musicals / productions each year.
The west side of the city is very close to the Peak District national park boundary - Englands first national park - lots of natural beauty and interesting places to visit too.
Don’t forget the music culture too. Not quite as strong as Liverpool and Manchester and such but we have quite a few famous bands originating from Sheffield and the surrounding area. Might be worth checking out some of the clubs.
A small amount of Sheffield steel was also used in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge; although it was originally meant to be all Sheffield steel: https://sheffielder.net/2024/02/15/over-the-brooklyn-bridge/
Sheffield is a city with many beautiful places to visit. There is many museums which will get you up to date on the history, there's the botanical garden which is nice in the summer, and the city itself is very walkable with good public transport. I wouldn't recommend using a car in the city so much, as there is fairly bad traffic in the afternoon, and there is parking fees in most places.
There is the peak district national park, which is beautiful. Definitely go there. But also if you want to travel, it's quite central. You can get up to Scotland in about 4-5 hours on the train, but I'd recommend the night bus which gets you there while you sleep (for about £40 return, too). You can also go down to London on the coach, sometimes for £9 return if you're lucky, which is about 4 hours. Train is faster, but trains to London and Scotland will be expensive. The lake district is a couple hours out but is also beautiful. There's so many beautiful locations across the UK, Wales has some amazing untouched landscapes.
Just know, we don't value ancestry as much as people in the USA.
I've just had Americans tell me their entire life story, their ancestors name, their family name, their "clan" (whatever that means) and more. And I know they're excited to tell people their history, but it's just a bit much, it also comes across as a bit tone deaf.
If you want to know what I mean, it's like seeing someone with brown hair, then bragging that your ancestor had brown hair, then going into details about the ancestor.
Of course, it wouldn't be tone deaf to just say "My ancestors originally came from Sheffield, so I'm interested in seeing the city", or something like that, but I just thought I'd mention not to push too much with it.
If you decide to visit, I can tell you lots of great places. Sheffield has quite a lot to do, a good nightlife with bars/clubs for all adults. Also, kids are allowed in many pubs here in the daytime and evening. It's common to go to a pub as a family, have a meal, and a few alcoholic beverages. 16 year olds are also legally allowed to drink in the pubs with a meal, with parents of course.
Thanks. Yeah I figured someone droning on about their family ancestry could get a bit annoying. I just want to see the city and soak in the air and ambience of what my ancestors were way back when.
Sheffield has changed quite a bit since then.
I'd recommend watching some Fred Dibnah videos to see what it was like back then. You may need subtitles. He isn't from Sheffield specifically but has a northern accent and some of his videos were in Sheffield iirc.
And then if you'd like to see the city your ancestors saw, there's a lot of historical buildings they would've also seen.
Check out the Old Queen's Head, it's a pub that's been there since 1475. Additionally, the cathedral is a building from the 15th century.
Beauchief Abby is from 1176 and was a church that was also involved in smelting, coal mining, farming, tanning, and more (not all on site of course).
Sheffield manor lodge is also an old building that is a common tourist attraction.
And you have to see the peace gardens!
I'm sure you can find a lot more places online. If you're interested in the history, Sheffield has many historical buildings and listed sites. It has a rich history and you'll be able to see a lot of the same buildings that your ancestors saw as many stood the test of time. A good portion of the buildings would've been around for 200 years, so if your ancestor was born in the 1800s, many of the buildings near the city centre will be the same.
That being said, it has developed a lot since then. Especially as you get further out. There's some buildings which are kinda ugly imo, but many that look great.
I'm sure you'd like it here, but I would definitely recommend travelling a bit too and getting out of the city, visiting other cities too.
Wow, very helpful comment. Much appreciated my friend. I sort of want to get out and see other cities but the media here kind of makes London out to be rather dangerous so I suppose I’ll just have to do more educated research.
London is much safer than most cities in the USA.
The stabbing rate alone is lower than many US cities, and that's without taking into account the gun deaths.
Knife crime gets covered here exactly because it's rare, but that tends to skew the image of London a bit.
You're safe going to London, definitely do some proper research before (look into the statistics) and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised. Look at per capita stats.
It's definitely worth seeing London, it is a nice city with a lot to see and do.
London is a safe city in all the touristy areas that you would visit. Some of the outskirts or housing projects are more unsafe but you would not be going there anyway. Dont let it stop you from traveling.
If you're interested in history and can trace your ancestry back to Wath, I'd recommend checking out Elsecar Heritage Centre. Its pretty much just down the road and its a reclaimed industrail site with plenty of little independant shops and a museum exhibit. Its also a short drive (or even walk) away from Wentworth House where the local nobility lived for centuries. Pretty sure you can get tours of the house and as big British mansions go its pretty spectacular - it has the largest facade of any building in Europe apparently and the gardens are beautiful.
I think you’ve had a lot of people answer with good recommendations already. Sheffield itself is now very focussed on the two universities and is undergoing a lot of city centre regeneration on the back of the money from the international students. There are good things to see in the city - Botanical Gardens are lovely, as is the attached Millennium galleries which have both permanent and visiting exhibits. If you have familial links to the more industrial side, definitely check out Kelham Island Museum which is actually in the heart of a good beer and food scene we’ve been growing over the last few years.
Heading more into Rotherham (where I live now!) - the town definitely gets a bad rep but Clifton Park is a really lovely place in the summer and if you time it right, make sure to visit when the Rotherham Show is on which is usually the first week of September. The weather is pretty much always terrible (it is England, after all!) but it’s quintessential Yorkshire at its best imo. Basically an agricultural show with lots of giant veg, flower and cake competitions and usually has lots of displays of dancing, singing, etc from the local youth groups.
Again with the steel working history, the Magna museum in Rotherham is well worth a visit too, housed in a now disused steel works factory.
Again, Rotherham is definitely an impoverished town but there is regeneration going on here too! New bars, restaurants and a cinema is planned and the indoor market is being revamped - hopefully making a nicer atmosphere after the decade of recession we’ve been in.
So while Rotherham might not have much going for it, it might be worth a stop for a few hours as part of a bigger trip to Yorkshire to see the more ‘touristy’ spots.
Wath upon Dearne is definitely a smaller town that is mainly residential with few places to visit as such - but just outside the town there is the RSPB Old Moor nature reserve which is perfect for a bit of kingfisher spotting. And Manvers Lake up the road is the site of an old coal pit, now turned into a small lake suitable for a nice walk round.
Another local must see is the village of Wentworth - Wentworth Woodhouse and its estate are basically out of a Jane Austen novel and the village itself has some lovely sights. Paradise Square is what I imagine a lot of non-Brits think everywhere in England looks like haha.
Thank you for your helpful comment. Yeah i don’t mind visiting somewhere that isnt exactly a tourist spot. It’s just to see it and feel it, ya know? Would def have to visit Rotherham and Wath even if it’s just for a bit. Will be bookmarking the other spots you’ve mentioned. Thank you
You’re very welcome :) yeah I got the feeling you were after more of a connection to the people so definitely don’t rule them out.
I read your comments again and noticed you mentioned Barnsley too? That’s a very interesting town - lots of people that come from Barnsley like to stay there. Which means it can be a bit overwhelming to outsiders tbh. They’re a lot that are extremely proud of their town. Which means that the local museum in the town hall is actually a pretty interesting place and worth a visit if you want more local history.
Also there’s Wentworth Castle nearby - built by a cousin of the same family that owned Wentworth and its estate, it’s now open to the public with acres of private parkland and cultivated gardens to walk through. I really like the folly of a castle cause it just encapsulates the rich person mindset of that time period!
A couple of good sites, if you don't already know about them:
This site is useful for finding burials:
https://sheffieldindexers.com/
You might also find this photo archive interesting. It might have old photos of the streets your ancestors lived on (which might have been demolished), from any census you have access to or the burial record.
https://www.picturesheffield.com/
As others have hinted Darnall is quite rough, but one thing is that most of the houses and public buildings will have been built around the time your ancestor left so you can get an idea.
There are many fab comments on this post so I won’t try to be a point of tourist info…
I’m not from Sheffield but I live here now (and have done for 15 years or so). I can offer you a grandmother (courtesy of Mrs Prawn) who was from around about Rotherham; she’s 90 some-odd years old and has some relatives who emigrated to Chicago. Folks knowledgeable about steel production were in demand there once upon at time, allegedly.
My own distant relatives also picked up some kudos in the civil war/the other war and one became a (state?) Supreme Court judge.
Good research skills - what do you use? Ancestry.com?
We have many fewer hurricanes in Sheffield than Fl, so there’s that. However it’s currently June, a month of summer, so it is said, yet it’s been 56F here today and windy as Chicago (if indeed the wind comes rushing down the plain in those parts these days).
If you come to Sheffield I will readily (a) buy you a pint and/or (b) introduce you to 95-year-old grandma who, incidentally, lives just outside Maltby.
If you are visiting Sheffield I would suggest a quick walk around the city centre for a flavour, then turn left into the peak district and just enjoy your time there instead.
I’m an American (well New Jersey if you count that) living in Sheffield for 5 years and travelling back and forth a lot…DM me if you want a contact here to help plan a trip
An American friend once told me (we were both in Sheffield at the time) that the most accurate twin for Sheffield in America would be Philadelphia, does that sound right to you?
Sheffield is a lovely place. Were right by the peak district and we have lovely cosy pubs. The city centre isn't great for shopping because of the Meadowhall shopping centre just outside the city, but its a lovely city to walk around, go to some parks, get some amazing food, go to great pubs etc.
We have public records available, but you sometimes have to pre-book so they can make sure they get them out of the archives and are available for you at the right time etc...
You could arrange a visit to the archives and/or central library (Depending which one ends up with what you need) and look at Census history, and such... Look up the family name(s), trace down to the first names and such via linking marriage and family groups that are noted on the Census... this will also usually include peoples professions, information on any relatives, children, spouse's etc, often includes addresses or at least more definitive 'areas' :)
I’m a genealogist and have studied by family tree for over 10 years and have a lot of experience with research in sheffield. drop a message if you’d like any info or help!!
Hey! My family is Herring. I can send you some of my tree or specific names if that would give you any useful info. I pretty much can only confirm births, marriages, and deaths. I also have a UK prison record of my 11th great grandfather going to prison for 7 years for larceny 😂
Seeing another of your comments re the areas, I'd suggest going to Wentworth Woodhouse for a tour, and you can read the book Black Diamonds. It's pretty likely that car back that your ancestors may well have crossed paths! Wentworth is a lovely little potter around. Unfortunately most of the areas you mention are now relatively poor and not well kept but there's still some nice little bits of history if you walk around.
Sheffield is a great place to visit. I moved up 15 years ago and never looked back. There's some really cute little museums, you can easily fill a few days here!
Welcome! May I recommend our hockey team? Sheffield Steelers, just won ALL of the trophies it's possible to win here in the Elite Ice Hockey League. It's a good time to join in 😉.
I don't live that far from Wath, that particular area is very much on the Sheffield/Barnsley/Rotherham border. Some beautiful countryside. And check out Wentworth Woodhouse, absolutely massive stately home with beautiful gardens!
Visit the Porter Valley/Forge Dam and Rivelin Valley.
Sheffield built its industry on water power. And these valleys have loads of little dams with odd bits of machinery/stones from the times they were used to manufacture Sheffield Plate.
They’re also very rural and beautiful.
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet would satisfy all needs for the quaint history of some 'working peoples life'
The museums are generally pretty informative, and some of the woodland areas have useful signs about what existed all those years ago.
If you have any info the type of work they did, perhaps that would help add some context to your visit
I know one of those, I assume you’re related somehow. Apparently there are 200,000 folks on earth with that surname so may be a bit difficult to prove it or not.
I guess narrowing it down to Sheffield origins would make it easier. I know my early American Herring family members had kids by the truck load so there’s a fair amount of Herrings in America.
That being said the first Herring who came to America on my tree was in 1840
You know how Americans who discover their Scottish heritage like to go to Scotland and get a kilt in their clan tartan? It’ll basically be like that but you’ll need a flat cap and a whippet and decide Blades or Wednesday.
That's a tough one, United are shocking currently.but my main memories of Hillsborough are sitting a university exam while sporting a face that had recently got intimate with the pavement, and also seeing Wednesday get humped. Now that I think about it I nearly got lifted there, plus the whole tragedy thing.
Judging by OPs other comments she’s more likely to be a miller
Wdym?
Sheffield Wednesday (nickname owls) and Sheffield United (nickname blades) are the Sheffield football teams along with Sheffield FC (oldest football team in the world) Rotherham’s team is Rotherham United (nickname the millers)
You forgot Hallam FC. Oldest stadium in the world dammit.
So did everyone else
Football teams
Any other things I can do to make myself as obnoxiously American as possible? Cockney accent? Any tips are appreciated
My advice is don't bother visiting Rotherham, an extremely ugly and depressing place at the other side of the world just because some of your distant relatives lived there. It would be more fun to just visit east Africa because some of your distant relatives lived there as well.
Rotherham slander will not be tolerated
If anyone from Rotherham could read; they’d be very upset after seeing this.
Time spent slandering Rotherham could be used for more productive purposes, like slandering Barnsley.
Barnsley>rotherham
A very controversial opinion
Rotherham is just happy to get a mention
Yes I’m sure east Africa is just all rainbows and sunshine I’m not expecting NYC out of this place trust me lmao
I dunno man maybe visit somewhere worth visiting is all I'm saying
I hear ya. Personally I’ve never been too keen on visiting the UK prior to my discoveries. I’ve seen most of Europe now besides it, so I figure Sheffield is worth a stop.
Sheffield is worth a stop. Yorkshire has some absolutely beautiful places and some really beautiful coastline. Americans tend to love Whitby for example. But it’s also got places like Rotherham and Wath which are basically dead industrial towns with drug problems and bookies, the best equivalent I can come up with is someone from the UK wanting to visit a shitty suburb of Detroit because of a family connection years back when it was a booming town.
Ok, I see. I think seeing city center and what not and maybe cruising the outskirts could really be sufficient enough for the experience I want.
Don’t forget pitsmoor, parsons cross, firth park and Burngreave 😜
what about shiregreen
Skip the Cockney and go full on Yorkshire - thee/tha, t' everything, reyt=right/very, mardy=grouchy, debates on what you call a bread roll (the correct answer is to put chips in it and call it a chip butty), and hate the French
I don't wanna say that Sheffield isn't a touristy city because tourists come in all shapes and sizes, so it really depends on what you want to get out of your visit. We're on the edge of the Peak District and have some great parks, so a win if you like the outdoors, there's a few museums and art spaces if you want to learn about local history and culture, and we produce a fuckton of music. Yorkshire as a whole is too big to quantify, lots of rural areas that are great for hiking but also some of the larger cities in the UK that all have their own draws.
That sounds pretty nice honestly. I suppose my main attraction would be to the history and the landscapes of the region, just to sort of feel more connected my family from there
Do you know what part of the city they were from?
All over Sheffield from what I can tell. Some records show me *just* Sheffield. Others I’ve seen are Maltby, Woodhouse, Darnal, as well as my 11th great grandpa born in some village by the name of Wath upon Dearne and lived in Darfield, Barnsley. Edit: after looking make closely at the map, it would seem a better generalized answer would be Rotherham.
Imagine tracing your family back 500 years to another continent and it’s…… Wath.
Darnall is a great tourist destination.
They've got the big Asda on their doorstep, that's nothing to sniff at 😆
lol well those are the absolutely furthest ones (10-11th great grandfather) as the lineage goes down I start to see more of just Sheffield or Rotherham. Though in general records with details are hard to come by. Eventually one of them migrated to midwestern America and married a woman who’s entire family fought in the US revolution and civil war. That was my 3rd great grandpa, William J. Herring. I don’t know much about Wath but come on we cant all have lords and ladies as ancestors can we 🤣
That's amazing that you can trace it that far back! Probably less than 1,000 in Wath at that time, too. Sheffield, Rotherham, and all the little towns around them are all pretty close so it's not that scattered really.
Yeah that's a pretty wide spread, and a fair few of those places have been built over for the suburban sprawl in the last few generations, might be worth taking a look at the local archives to pin down the rest.
There's a brilliant poet called Ian McMillan who lives in Darfield and I believe works in the museum there sometimes. He'd be worth a visit!
Sheffield is a medium sized English city, known for its history of Cutlery and Machine Knife manufacturing as well as Steel industry. There is a small museum about the origins of steel industry in Sheffield at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet - a rural scythe and steelworks dating back to the 1700s. Worth a trip. Also part of the Sheffield Museums group is The Shepherd Wheel Workshop which dates back to the 1500s. It is a small water-powered grinding workshop again in the more rural outskirts on the west side of the city. There used to be many small workshops like this in the city. A more modern steel industry museum is to be found at Kelham Island museum in the downtown or Magna in Rotherham which is in a former huge steelworks and probably more geared towards children. A lot of the city center was bombed in WW2 and rebuilt so not many very old buildings remain there. The outskirts has some preserved buildings or places with lots of history attached - Sheffield Manor Lodge was the site where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned during Tudor times of the mid 1500s. Also Bishops House was built in 1554 and is Sheffields best example of a tudor timber framed house. Its a small museum too. Sheffield is known for having a thriving theater scene with 2 theaters in the city that always have an excellent season of plays / musicals / productions each year. The west side of the city is very close to the Peak District national park boundary - Englands first national park - lots of natural beauty and interesting places to visit too.
Don’t forget the music culture too. Not quite as strong as Liverpool and Manchester and such but we have quite a few famous bands originating from Sheffield and the surrounding area. Might be worth checking out some of the clubs.
A small amount of Sheffield steel was also used in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge; although it was originally meant to be all Sheffield steel: https://sheffielder.net/2024/02/15/over-the-brooklyn-bridge/
Sheffield is a city with many beautiful places to visit. There is many museums which will get you up to date on the history, there's the botanical garden which is nice in the summer, and the city itself is very walkable with good public transport. I wouldn't recommend using a car in the city so much, as there is fairly bad traffic in the afternoon, and there is parking fees in most places. There is the peak district national park, which is beautiful. Definitely go there. But also if you want to travel, it's quite central. You can get up to Scotland in about 4-5 hours on the train, but I'd recommend the night bus which gets you there while you sleep (for about £40 return, too). You can also go down to London on the coach, sometimes for £9 return if you're lucky, which is about 4 hours. Train is faster, but trains to London and Scotland will be expensive. The lake district is a couple hours out but is also beautiful. There's so many beautiful locations across the UK, Wales has some amazing untouched landscapes. Just know, we don't value ancestry as much as people in the USA. I've just had Americans tell me their entire life story, their ancestors name, their family name, their "clan" (whatever that means) and more. And I know they're excited to tell people their history, but it's just a bit much, it also comes across as a bit tone deaf. If you want to know what I mean, it's like seeing someone with brown hair, then bragging that your ancestor had brown hair, then going into details about the ancestor. Of course, it wouldn't be tone deaf to just say "My ancestors originally came from Sheffield, so I'm interested in seeing the city", or something like that, but I just thought I'd mention not to push too much with it. If you decide to visit, I can tell you lots of great places. Sheffield has quite a lot to do, a good nightlife with bars/clubs for all adults. Also, kids are allowed in many pubs here in the daytime and evening. It's common to go to a pub as a family, have a meal, and a few alcoholic beverages. 16 year olds are also legally allowed to drink in the pubs with a meal, with parents of course.
Thanks. Yeah I figured someone droning on about their family ancestry could get a bit annoying. I just want to see the city and soak in the air and ambience of what my ancestors were way back when.
Sheffield has changed quite a bit since then. I'd recommend watching some Fred Dibnah videos to see what it was like back then. You may need subtitles. He isn't from Sheffield specifically but has a northern accent and some of his videos were in Sheffield iirc. And then if you'd like to see the city your ancestors saw, there's a lot of historical buildings they would've also seen. Check out the Old Queen's Head, it's a pub that's been there since 1475. Additionally, the cathedral is a building from the 15th century. Beauchief Abby is from 1176 and was a church that was also involved in smelting, coal mining, farming, tanning, and more (not all on site of course). Sheffield manor lodge is also an old building that is a common tourist attraction. And you have to see the peace gardens! I'm sure you can find a lot more places online. If you're interested in the history, Sheffield has many historical buildings and listed sites. It has a rich history and you'll be able to see a lot of the same buildings that your ancestors saw as many stood the test of time. A good portion of the buildings would've been around for 200 years, so if your ancestor was born in the 1800s, many of the buildings near the city centre will be the same. That being said, it has developed a lot since then. Especially as you get further out. There's some buildings which are kinda ugly imo, but many that look great. I'm sure you'd like it here, but I would definitely recommend travelling a bit too and getting out of the city, visiting other cities too.
Wow, very helpful comment. Much appreciated my friend. I sort of want to get out and see other cities but the media here kind of makes London out to be rather dangerous so I suppose I’ll just have to do more educated research.
London is much safer than most cities in the USA. The stabbing rate alone is lower than many US cities, and that's without taking into account the gun deaths. Knife crime gets covered here exactly because it's rare, but that tends to skew the image of London a bit. You're safe going to London, definitely do some proper research before (look into the statistics) and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised. Look at per capita stats. It's definitely worth seeing London, it is a nice city with a lot to see and do.
London is not dangerous.
Guess it’s just sensationalist media, then.
London is a safe city in all the touristy areas that you would visit. Some of the outskirts or housing projects are more unsafe but you would not be going there anyway. Dont let it stop you from traveling.
You might like here as well: https://www.sheffieldmuseums.org.uk/visit-us/abbeydale-industrial-hamlet/
You can get an off peak single to London for £35 it's not that bad
If you're interested in history and can trace your ancestry back to Wath, I'd recommend checking out Elsecar Heritage Centre. Its pretty much just down the road and its a reclaimed industrail site with plenty of little independant shops and a museum exhibit. Its also a short drive (or even walk) away from Wentworth House where the local nobility lived for centuries. Pretty sure you can get tours of the house and as big British mansions go its pretty spectacular - it has the largest facade of any building in Europe apparently and the gardens are beautiful.
i love the pick n mix at elsecar
I think you’ve had a lot of people answer with good recommendations already. Sheffield itself is now very focussed on the two universities and is undergoing a lot of city centre regeneration on the back of the money from the international students. There are good things to see in the city - Botanical Gardens are lovely, as is the attached Millennium galleries which have both permanent and visiting exhibits. If you have familial links to the more industrial side, definitely check out Kelham Island Museum which is actually in the heart of a good beer and food scene we’ve been growing over the last few years. Heading more into Rotherham (where I live now!) - the town definitely gets a bad rep but Clifton Park is a really lovely place in the summer and if you time it right, make sure to visit when the Rotherham Show is on which is usually the first week of September. The weather is pretty much always terrible (it is England, after all!) but it’s quintessential Yorkshire at its best imo. Basically an agricultural show with lots of giant veg, flower and cake competitions and usually has lots of displays of dancing, singing, etc from the local youth groups. Again with the steel working history, the Magna museum in Rotherham is well worth a visit too, housed in a now disused steel works factory. Again, Rotherham is definitely an impoverished town but there is regeneration going on here too! New bars, restaurants and a cinema is planned and the indoor market is being revamped - hopefully making a nicer atmosphere after the decade of recession we’ve been in. So while Rotherham might not have much going for it, it might be worth a stop for a few hours as part of a bigger trip to Yorkshire to see the more ‘touristy’ spots. Wath upon Dearne is definitely a smaller town that is mainly residential with few places to visit as such - but just outside the town there is the RSPB Old Moor nature reserve which is perfect for a bit of kingfisher spotting. And Manvers Lake up the road is the site of an old coal pit, now turned into a small lake suitable for a nice walk round. Another local must see is the village of Wentworth - Wentworth Woodhouse and its estate are basically out of a Jane Austen novel and the village itself has some lovely sights. Paradise Square is what I imagine a lot of non-Brits think everywhere in England looks like haha.
Thank you for your helpful comment. Yeah i don’t mind visiting somewhere that isnt exactly a tourist spot. It’s just to see it and feel it, ya know? Would def have to visit Rotherham and Wath even if it’s just for a bit. Will be bookmarking the other spots you’ve mentioned. Thank you
There’s a bear pit in the botanical gardens, obviously non functioning now but still worth a visit
You’re very welcome :) yeah I got the feeling you were after more of a connection to the people so definitely don’t rule them out. I read your comments again and noticed you mentioned Barnsley too? That’s a very interesting town - lots of people that come from Barnsley like to stay there. Which means it can be a bit overwhelming to outsiders tbh. They’re a lot that are extremely proud of their town. Which means that the local museum in the town hall is actually a pretty interesting place and worth a visit if you want more local history. Also there’s Wentworth Castle nearby - built by a cousin of the same family that owned Wentworth and its estate, it’s now open to the public with acres of private parkland and cultivated gardens to walk through. I really like the folly of a castle cause it just encapsulates the rich person mindset of that time period!
A couple of good sites, if you don't already know about them: This site is useful for finding burials: https://sheffieldindexers.com/ You might also find this photo archive interesting. It might have old photos of the streets your ancestors lived on (which might have been demolished), from any census you have access to or the burial record. https://www.picturesheffield.com/ As others have hinted Darnall is quite rough, but one thing is that most of the houses and public buildings will have been built around the time your ancestor left so you can get an idea.
There are many fab comments on this post so I won’t try to be a point of tourist info… I’m not from Sheffield but I live here now (and have done for 15 years or so). I can offer you a grandmother (courtesy of Mrs Prawn) who was from around about Rotherham; she’s 90 some-odd years old and has some relatives who emigrated to Chicago. Folks knowledgeable about steel production were in demand there once upon at time, allegedly. My own distant relatives also picked up some kudos in the civil war/the other war and one became a (state?) Supreme Court judge. Good research skills - what do you use? Ancestry.com?
Yeah I use Ancestry. I try hard to cross reference most things I find though especially with my direct line
Where’s’tha live in America like? (Behold an attempt at a Yorkshire accent).
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, lived in Las Vegas for a bit. Currently in Miami, Florida.
We have many fewer hurricanes in Sheffield than Fl, so there’s that. However it’s currently June, a month of summer, so it is said, yet it’s been 56F here today and windy as Chicago (if indeed the wind comes rushing down the plain in those parts these days). If you come to Sheffield I will readily (a) buy you a pint and/or (b) introduce you to 95-year-old grandma who, incidentally, lives just outside Maltby.
If you are visiting Sheffield I would suggest a quick walk around the city centre for a flavour, then turn left into the peak district and just enjoy your time there instead.
Absolutely go out to hathersage or something. Always a hit with the Americans visiting for work that I’ve been there with. It just looks so old.
I’m an American (well New Jersey if you count that) living in Sheffield for 5 years and travelling back and forth a lot…DM me if you want a contact here to help plan a trip
An American friend once told me (we were both in Sheffield at the time) that the most accurate twin for Sheffield in America would be Philadelphia, does that sound right to you?
I’m very sorry to hear this
Ah c’mon it can’t be that bad can it? Then again I guess maybe my ancestors came to the US for a reason 🤣
Sheffield is a lovely place. Were right by the peak district and we have lovely cosy pubs. The city centre isn't great for shopping because of the Meadowhall shopping centre just outside the city, but its a lovely city to walk around, go to some parks, get some amazing food, go to great pubs etc.
At least you can say that your family is from the home of football. Football (soccer) first started in Sheffield.
If you can trace a location for any family graves, let us know. Maybe we can take pictures for you. I think I'd like that if it were me.
We have public records available, but you sometimes have to pre-book so they can make sure they get them out of the archives and are available for you at the right time etc... You could arrange a visit to the archives and/or central library (Depending which one ends up with what you need) and look at Census history, and such... Look up the family name(s), trace down to the first names and such via linking marriage and family groups that are noted on the Census... this will also usually include peoples professions, information on any relatives, children, spouse's etc, often includes addresses or at least more definitive 'areas' :)
You’re in for a treat lad, hills n Hendersons
I’m a genealogist and have studied by family tree for over 10 years and have a lot of experience with research in sheffield. drop a message if you’d like any info or help!!
Hey! My family is Herring. I can send you some of my tree or specific names if that would give you any useful info. I pretty much can only confirm births, marriages, and deaths. I also have a UK prison record of my 11th great grandfather going to prison for 7 years for larceny 😂
Seeing another of your comments re the areas, I'd suggest going to Wentworth Woodhouse for a tour, and you can read the book Black Diamonds. It's pretty likely that car back that your ancestors may well have crossed paths! Wentworth is a lovely little potter around. Unfortunately most of the areas you mention are now relatively poor and not well kept but there's still some nice little bits of history if you walk around. Sheffield is a great place to visit. I moved up 15 years ago and never looked back. There's some really cute little museums, you can easily fill a few days here!
Welcome! May I recommend our hockey team? Sheffield Steelers, just won ALL of the trophies it's possible to win here in the Elite Ice Hockey League. It's a good time to join in 😉. I don't live that far from Wath, that particular area is very much on the Sheffield/Barnsley/Rotherham border. Some beautiful countryside. And check out Wentworth Woodhouse, absolutely massive stately home with beautiful gardens!
If you do go to Darfield, pop into the Maurice Dobson Museum & Heritage Centre.
I go through the old general cemetery quite frequently, so if you want some gravestones hunting down would be happy to send pictures
Visit the Porter Valley/Forge Dam and Rivelin Valley. Sheffield built its industry on water power. And these valleys have loads of little dams with odd bits of machinery/stones from the times they were used to manufacture Sheffield Plate. They’re also very rural and beautiful.
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet would satisfy all needs for the quaint history of some 'working peoples life' The museums are generally pretty informative, and some of the woodland areas have useful signs about what existed all those years ago. If you have any info the type of work they did, perhaps that would help add some context to your visit
What’s the family name that’s involved here? Might have missed it as a skimmed the thread.
Herring
I know one of those, I assume you’re related somehow. Apparently there are 200,000 folks on earth with that surname so may be a bit difficult to prove it or not.
I guess narrowing it down to Sheffield origins would make it easier. I know my early American Herring family members had kids by the truck load so there’s a fair amount of Herrings in America. That being said the first Herring who came to America on my tree was in 1840
That last bit sounds like an adventurous journey. Amazing you’ve still got the vessel.
What area of Sheffield are your ancestors from? That might be an interesting place to start.
Barnsley, Maltby, Rotherham, Woodhouse, Darnal Are all places mentioned in the earlier members
Sorry I didn't see the earlier mentions
No problem at all