The Collection of Sheffield Tokens and Paranumismatica formed by Tim Hale

Historical Medals, Remembrance of the Sheffield Inundation, 1864, a brass ‘tablet’ with coloured paper insert by C. Rowley, loss of life, about 250, loss of property, about one million & a half, etc, 46mm. Very fine and very rare £60-£80

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Sheffield Tokens and Paranumismatica formed by Tim Hale.

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Provenance: Bt D.C. Pennock.

The Sheffield Inundation, better known as the Great Sheffield Flood, occurred when the Dale Dyke Dam reservoir, constructed in the Loxley Valley by the Sheffield Water Works Co, collapsed on the night of 11 March 1864 during a strong gale, as it was being filled for the first time. An estimated 3 million cubic metres (700 million gallons) of water swept down the valley, through Loxley village and on to Malin Bridge and Hillsborough, where the River Loxley joins the River Don. The flood continued south down the Don into Sheffield centre, then to Attercliffe and on to Rotherham. with the wall of water swiftly destroying everything in its course. The centre of Sheffield, situated on the hill to the south, escaped damage, but the densely populated district of the Wicker, around the new railway viaduct constructed by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, was completely destroyed. The waterworks company's consultant engineer, John Towlerton Leather (1804-85), was one of a family of worthy Yorkshire engineers; his uncle, George Leather, had been responsible for reservoirs around Leeds and Bradford, and one of them had been the scene of a dramatic collapse in 1852, when 81 people died. John Leather and resident engineer John Gunson (1809-86) worked closely together during the construction of the dam. Leather designed the dam while Gunson directed and supervised its construction. Gunson was on site the night of the collapse and stated afterwards that there was a crack in the outer slope of the embankment but, convincing himself that it was not harmful, opened the valves on the middle of the embankment to allow more water through, thus causing the disaster. Sheffield’s mayor, the master cutler Thomas Jessop (1804-87), quickly set up a relief fund which raised over £42,000. The official enquiry into the disaster was inconclusive; the waterworks company thought the cause was a landslide or landslip, while public perception thought the cause a failure in the mode of construction. The Coroner ruled that the collapse of the Dale Dyke dam was an unpredictable accident.

As for the physical damage in Sheffield and the nearby areas, 238 people died and some 700 animals drowned; 130 buildings were destroyed and 500 partially damaged; 15 bridges were swept away and six others badly damaged. The claims for damages formed one of the largest insurance claims of the Victorian period – 7,500 claims for loss of life and property which totalled £455,000. The Dale Dyke dam was eventually rebuilt in 1875, but on a smaller scale. As for John Gunson, most of the blame fell on him, although the company recognised his loyalty by retaining him in its service until his death