Around midnight on 11 March 1864 the wall of Dale Dyke dam collapsed, sending a torrent of water down the Loxley valley, through Malin Bridge and Hillsborough. The water travelled along the Don through to Wicker and on towards Rotherham. Many homes and business were destroyed and the water killed at least 240 people. It was the worst civilian disaster of the time and became known as the Great Sheffield Flood.
This photograph shows the Wisewood Works, the property of Mr W. I. Horn, which was swept away completely during the flood.
"The Great Sheffield Flood: Its History Re-told", by Samuel Harrison (page 19) describes how "other wheels are to be seen in the ground half covered with the mud and debris of the flood, looking as singular and out of place as the Sphinx partially submerged beneath the sands of Eygpt."
After the flood, the owner of the property claimed for the loss of possessions, which you can see
here.
