Place and Street names in Burngreave
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Have you ever wondered how a place gets a name? In this section you can find out where some of the place names and street names in Burngreave have come from and how some of them reflect the history of the area. Pitsmoor This is derived from ore pitts, meaning the pits where ore was dug. Pitsmoor was once the site of iron ore and sandstone quarries. Burngreave First recorded as Byron Greve in 1440 and a piece of woodland called Burnt Greave on an 1846 map of Pitsmoor parish. It means “Byrons Wood” (“greave” is an old name for “wood”). Pye Bank This name is derived from Pigh Hill (this meaning a small enclosure or croft, in Middle English). It was then recorded as Pye Bank on a map in 1736. Osgathorpe The name means the farm belonging to Osga and dates back to Viking times when the area was inhabited by Danes. Grimesthorpe This is a Viking name, meaning Grims outlying farm. Spital Hill This is derived from the word hospital. A hospital was founded in the 12th century by a local lord of the manor. It is thought to have been located somewhere off what is now Spital Street but there is no evidence remaining of the site. Orphanage Road A girls orphanage was originally built on the site of what is now Firs Hill School. It was opened in 1887 but then moved to another site in 1895. Passhouses Road This was named after a small group of cottages known as the Pass Houses. These belonged to William Pass, a colliery owner who lived in Pitsmoor Abbey (what is now Abbeyfield House). Some of the miners who worked in the Pass colliery lived in these cottages (now demolished). Catherine Street A number of streets in the area have names which link back to the Duke of Norfolk. Catherine Street was built on land belonging to the Duke of Norfolk. There were a number of Catherines in the Norfolk family ancestry, the most famous of which was Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry the Eighth. She was beheaded in 1542. The road name might refer to her or to one of the other Catherines in the family. Abbeyfield Road This is derived from the house of the same name built after 1750 by William Pass, the local colliery owner. Although it had no religious connections, it was first called Pitsmoor Abbey but later became Abbeyfield House. Information taken from "Street Names of Sheffield" by Peter Harvey (2001). |