ABSTRACT
From the early seventeenth century, Attercliffe-cum-Darnall has formed one of the six townships of Sheffield. The pleasant village of Attercliffe, studded with plantations and orchards, was surrounded by superb undulating woodland, traversed by a fine stretch of river well stocked with fish. The development of Attercliffe as an industrial settlement was both rapid and complete. The expansion of markets both at home and abroad for steel products in the second half of the nineteenth century saw both the establishment and extension of large industrial workings in Attercliffe. Complementing the rapid growth of the steel industry, the increase in Attercliffe's population in the second half of the nineteenth century was spectacular. Educational provision in the whole of the Attercliffe area was inadequate and, prior to the passing of the 1870 Education Act, there were only four denominational schools and eight small private establishments to cater for the district's estimated 1,951 children of school age.
