Bolehill Recreation Ground
Bolehill Recreation Ground, known locally as The Bole Hills is a public open space in the suburb of Crookes within the City of Sheffield, England. The grounds are administered by Sheffield City Council's Parks and Countryside Service and are classed as a district park, one of 20 throughout the city. They are spread over an area of approximately , consisting of a mixture of heathland, scrub and woodland and have been designated as a Local Wildlife Site. There are also several public amenities such as a children's playground, tennis courts, bowling greens and hut and a BMX track. The grounds stand at height of around and offer good views to the north and west over the Loxley and Rivelin valleys. History The Bole Hills were originally a clearing in the dense forest which covered the area to the west of Sheffield and were used for grazing cattle and sheep. Because of its elevated position, which produces high winds as the westerlies are funnelled over the steep ground, the area was used as a bole hill for iron ore smelting and charcoal burning, with the high winds giving the blast to raise the temperature needed in the process. Open furnaces were driven into the hillsides and outlets dug to let out the smoke; these furnaces used the surrounding woodland for fuel. Smelting using the primitive bole hill method died out at the end of the 16th century, but it left a legacy of giving the area its name. The Bole Hills then became known for sandstone quarrying, the 1850 OS map shows the area with one large quarry and several smaller ones. The large quarry was owned by the Andrews company, while one of the smaller ones was owned Mr. Unwin, who lived in Cocked Hat Cottages at the top of Tinker Lane. By 1890 the main Bole Hills quarry had reached large proportions, nearly a quarter of a mile long and 200 yards wide as it provided stone for the growing housing suburbs of Walkley and Broomhill. In September 1899 the Bole Hills area came into the possession of Sheffield Corporation as the quarrying of the area came to an end, and in 1904 they were proposing that it be used as a landfill site. Although there was some local opposition the site was used as a municipal landfill site over many years to fill in the quarry workings before being levelled off in the 1950s. The industrial past and landfill history of The Bole Hills has probably saved it from being built on, as it is hemmed in on all four sides by housing. In 1904, an Iron Church was built on the crest of the Bole Hills, at what is now the end of Loxley View Road. This was the temporary place of worship for the newly created Crookes parish and was used until St. Timothy's Anglican church was opened on Slinn Street in 1911. The iron church was moved and used as the church hall to the