# Forge Dam Park

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{{Short description|Park in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2020}}
{{coord|53.361|-1.542|display=title|region:GB_scale:5000}}
thumb|Playground in Forge Dam Park
'''Forge Dam Park''' is a park in [Fulwood](/source/Fulwood%2C_South_Yorkshire), in the city of [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield), [South Yorkshire](/source/South_Yorkshire), [England](/source/England). Forge Dam Park is the fourth of the Grade II listed [Porter Valley Parks](/source/Porter_Valley_Parks), a connected series of parks (when travelling west from Sheffield city centre) along the course of the Porter Brook. The {{convert|49|acre|ha}} park is on the site of the Old Mayhouse Farm and Forge Dam. It was acquired by the J G Graves Charitable Trust in 1938.<ref name=":0">{{NHLE|num=1001502|desc=PORTER VALLEY PARKS, Non Civil Parish |date=30 March 2001|accessdate=11 January 2020}}</ref>

==History==
In the 1700s, [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield)'s industry was focused on the manufacture of [cutlery](/source/cutlery). To aid this, the [Porter Brook](/source/Porter_Brook) was [dam](/source/dam)med diverting the water to a series of [grinding mills](/source/grinding_mills). As the town expanded through the 19th century, the Porter valley was used for walks.<ref name=":0"/>

[Sheffield Corporation](/source/Sheffield_Corporation) (later Sheffield City Council), purchased {{convert|20|acre}} of land in the area in 1885 with the intention of building pleasure grounds as well as to improve local sanitation by building a new sewer. The new park was designed by [William Goldring](/source/William_Goldring), who included features to improve the aesthetics of the walks, such as gravel paths, flower beds and stepping stones.<ref name=":0"/>

The series of parks and walks carried on expanding, and in 1938, the J. G. Graves Charitable Trust purchased {{convert|49|acre}}, and created the Forge Dam Park. A walk known as the [Sheffield Round Walk](/source/Sheffield_Round_Walk), which circled [Endcliffe Park](/source/Endcliffe_Park), [Bingham Park](/source/Bingham_Park), [Whiteley Woods](/source/Whiteley_Woods), Forge Dam Park and [Porter Clough](/source/Porter_Clough), was completed around 1945.<ref name=":0"/>

==Park==
In 1913, when the pleasure grounds were sold, they advertised "boating, fishing, bowling green, swings, tearooms, and motor boats"<ref>{{cite news |title=Partnerships, Investments, Shares |work=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=22 August 1913 |page=2}}</ref>

Today, the park is laid out a roughly rectangular space occupying approximately {{convert|23.5|acre}}. It is located between Quiet Lane, Whiteley Lane, Ivy Cottage Lane and fields to the south. The main entrance is located on Ivy Cottage Lane, with some informal parking along the road.<ref name=":0" />

In 1924 [Patrick Abercrombie](/source/Patrick_Abercrombie) said of the parks, "The Porter Brook Parkway, consisting as it does of a string of contiguous open spaces, is the finest example to be found in this country of a radial park strip, an elongated open space, leading from a built-up part of the city direct into the country, the land occupied being a river valley and so for the greater part unsuitable for building."<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Parks in Sheffield
Category:Porter Brook

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Forge Dam Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forge_Dam_Park) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forge_Dam_Park?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.