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| Icarus Recommendations link now replaced - see Icarus Meetings page 19/06/2007 |
Click here for the Blacka Moor Blog
Blacka Moor- Sheffield’s Largest Open Space.
The origin of Blacka Moor as a public open space and public pleasure ground dates back to the 1930s.
At that time much of the site belonged to the Duke of Rutland who used it as a shooting estate.
A proposal to sell the land to developers who wished to erect housing on the site alerted Ethel Galimore and friends, who were to form the Friends of the Peak District. At that time there was much discussion about the way that land was being developed and the impact this was having on the scenic and recreational values on the edge of the city. This concern was later to become enshrined in the concept of the green belt which established itself into planning during the remainder of the 20th century.
The solution to the problem of how to protect Blacka Moor from suburban development was for those who cared to obtain money to buy the land. The source of the funds was once again J G Graves, local philanthropist and one time lord mayor who had already left his mark permanently on the city as a benefactor. 
In this photograph Alderman Graves is addressing an audience assembled on Blacka at the official handing over ceremony. The fields around Dore and the slopes of Blacka Moor can be seen in the background |
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