Our Society grew out of a series of adult education classes that were run in the 1970s by what was then Extra-Mural Department of the University of Sheffield. They were tutored by Dr David Hey, who was appointed as Professor of Local & Family History in 1992. David chaired the society’s original committee. When he decided to step-down, he accepted a position as our honorary life president. David was a fine scholar and an excellent speaker. He wrote extensively on the history of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
When he died in 2016, we wanted to commemorate his life, and the contribution he made to our society and to the study of the local history of our area. We undertook to fund a project with Sheffield Archives to digitise, and make available online, maps and plans from two of the city’s unique collections: the Arundel Castle Manuscripts and the Fairbanks Collection.
This project is ongoing, but already a sizeable body of material has been scanned and uploaded. The plans and surveys frequently contain the names of residents and landholders. The images are freely available to view on the Picture Sheffield website. Look in the Popular Themes section for the icons for: