The Lost Waterwheels of the Porter Valley

Sheffield’s main rivers were once home to over 100 waterwheels, most of them associated with grinding blades. They were where Sheffield’s pre-eminence in the steel industry was established and nurtured. Today, Sheffield Museums Trust and Friends of the Porter Valley have guardianship of the one remaining grinding hull where the wheel still turns at weekends, and visitors can see where and how grinders used to work.
The walk follows the Porterbrook and has two goals. First, to identify sites of lost waterwheels by identifying features in the valley which indicate where these once stood. Second, to describe how this valley was transformed, at the end of the nineteenth century, as it became a park for the recreation and enjoyment of the people of Sheffield, a park described in 1928 by Sir Patrick Abercrombie, a pioneer of town and country planning, as “the finest example to be found in the country of a radial park strip … leading from a built up part of the city direct into the country.”
The walk will be led by two members of the Friends of the Porter Valley representing two very different aspects of the Porterbrook. Kevin Smith, as William Shepherd who oversaw the expansion of Shepherd Wheel, will take an eighteenth century industrial view. John Gittens, as William Goldring the Victorian landscape architect who oversaw the transformation of the valley, will take a nineteenth century landscape design perspective.

Timings

Saturday 12 September:

1030-1200

Location & directions

The Lodge (opposite the statue of Queen Victoria), Endcliffe Park, Hunters Bar, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S11 8TF

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking required

Booking conditions:

Places can be booked on the Friends of the Porter Valley website, on the ‘Monthly Walks’ page: https://www.fopv.org.uk/walks. Tickets available from two weeks before the event.

Booking website:

https://www.fopv.org.uk/walks

Booking opens:

28 Aug 2026 09:00 AM

Accessibility details

• The event (and Shepherd Wheel) is accessible. • There is an accessible toilet at Endcliffe Park Cafe which is on our route. • Assistance dogs are welcome. • There are no access restrictions. The route (1.1 mile) is on paved footpaths.

Additional information

The walk pauses at Endcliffe Park Café for a comfort break. If participants wish, refreshments may be purchased here. However, there are no toilets on the walk after Endcliffe Park Café, so it is recommended that participants bring a bottle of water and visit the café on their return. The toilets at Endcliffe Park café, which is 0.9 mile before Shepherd Wheel. There are also toilets at Forge Dam, which is 0.9 miles after Shepherd Wheel. There is free parking on Ecclesall Road and Rustlings Road heading out of the city. However, this is often at a premium due to the Fun Run in Endcliffe Park

Max number of people:

20

Estimated duration:

1 hour(s) 30 minute(s)

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