The older ‘gallery’, dating from 1901, looking something like a sheltered station platform, but with a narrow gutter instead of tracks. Over twenty years of neglect have led to it being overcome by trees and brambles.

The second ‘gallery’ is more modern: the supporting wall is concrete, not stone, which means it’s become a perfect canvas for graffiti-artists.

At the most South-Western tip of Sheffield, actually spilling over into North-East Derbyshire, are two long galleries. They’re hidden away, quite far from any road, and they’re barely visible from above, either, since they’ve always had roofs covered in greenery.

You can make out the shelters here: above the Google logo at the bottom of the image, there’s a dark band that moves upwards and towards the left. That dark band is the shadow cast by the shelters. Click to enlarge.

Further out, the shelters are almost invisible, though there lots of other markings: the broad, light patch is the slope of the gravel stop butts. Click to enlarge.

Still further out, the land is more obviously a firing range, with a firing position marked every 100 yards. There are further firing positions (not obvious here) where Lane Hagg Road starts to converge with Baslow Road (A621). Compare this satellit… — Still further out, the land is more obviously a firing range, with a firing position marked every 100 yards. There are further firing positions (not obvious here) where Lane Hagg Road starts to converge with Baslow Road (A621). Compare this satellite image with the white map just below. Click to enlarge.

These half-dilapidated structures form part of a huge rifle range that was in use for almost a hundred years. The shelters housed the many people who prepared, changed and marked the targets for those firing from up to 900 yards away. For a while after it shut down, there were many remnants of the mechanisms used. Now, over twenty years on, there’s relatively little, though the place is frequented a lot by young people who want a quiet place to sit and/or to practice their skills with a paint can.

A map of the rifle range, showing the stop butts, targets, stores and firing points - notice the firing points above 600 yards which are off to the side. The warden’s house adjoined a canteen. The building to the left was also acquired, and served a… — A map of the rifle range, showing the stop butts, targets, stores and firing points - notice the firing points above 600 yards which are off to the side. The warden’s house adjoined a canteen. The building to the left was also acquired, and served as the officers’ mess.

The Inception of Totley Rifle Range

If you were a member of a volunteer rifle battalion around the end of the 19th Century, you had to put in some work to earn your 35 shillings per year. Unsurprisingly, there was a course of rifle training to pass. Then, you needed to commit to regular practice. The trouble was, the standard issue rifle of the time was the Lee-Enfield, which had a range of 1000 yards. That meant a rifle range required a long piece of fairly flat land, which, in undulating Sheffield, wasn’t easy to find.

By the start of the new century, Colonel Herbert Hughes of the 1st Hallamshire Rifles volunteer battalion had acquired a suitable stretch of countryside and it was set up: it consisted of firing points every hundred yards, shelters beneath which target setters would sit, store rooms, a wooden warden’s house, a canteen, and an officers’ mess. Totley Rifle Range was opened on 15th September 1900. Only a few months later, however, local residents formed their own rifle club, and so citizen use was allowed from January 1901.

Civilian rifle enthusiasts in the early 1900s.

A certificate awarded to William Wilson Jr of Dore for his performance at the range on 25th July 1906.

It became known as one of the premier rifle ranges in England, and would go on to serve as a training ground for soldiers throughout the First and Second World Wars.

The Great War

A view of Totley in 1911. On the left of the picture you can see the Range Warden’s accommodation, with smoke rising from the front. The house behind, known as Monnybrook, was also purchased in 1901 by Col. Herbert Hughes for the Hallamshire Regimen… — A view of Totley in 1911. On the left of the picture you can see the Range Warden’s accommodation, with smoke rising from the front. The house behind, known as Monnybrook, was also purchased in 1901 by Col. Herbert Hughes for the Hallamshire Regiment, and it was used as the Officers’ Mess.

The rifle range served as a training facility for many battalions other than the 1st Hallamshire Rifles, leading to large military camps on the adjoining land. The Hallamshire Rifles were sent to the Western Front in April 1915 and were involved in battles at Ypres, the Somme and Passchendaele. The battalion was unlucky enough to be at Nieuwpoort in July 1917, when mustard gas was used for the first time, killing 288 men of the Rifles. They also played a part in the Hundred Days Offensive that ended the war.

By the war’s end, over 1500 men of the battalion died, with more injured. All of them would have trained at Totley Range at some point.

Encampments at the range during WW1. The range itself is out of view, to the left of the picture.

The Inter-War Years

The battalion was disbanded in 1919, after the war, and the whole system of voluntary battalions was overhauled in 1920, leading to the creation of the Territorial Army (TA). In 1924, the Hallamshire Rifles were reconstructed as the Hallamshire Battalion, without any number, in recognition of their war service.

Annie and Arthur Fisher at the door of the officers’ mess c. 1924. For more of Arthur’s story, see the links section at the end of the blog.

The Hallamshire Rifles, with the officers’ mess behind, 1932.

The range in 1936. The targets are numbered and you can see the light-coloured slope of the stop butts behind.

The Second World War

The Hallamshire Battalion served with the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division during the Second World War. First, they were part of the Norway Campaign. They did relatively little there, but lost men when one of the transport ships was sunk on the way home. For the next two years, the Hallamshires defended Iceland and trained as Alpine troops. They were then stationed in Scotland whilst preparations were underway for the invasion of North-West Europe.

Three days after the initial D-Day landings, the Hallamshires arrived in France, moving into the front line four days later. After another ten days, they were involved in the successful Battle for Caen, but lost many men.

Soldiers posing in front of the targets.

Later, they helped capture the docks at Le Havre before the Germans could destroy them. At Le Havre, they captured 1005 prisoners, three Dornier flying boats (look at them: they’re like something you only thought existed in steam punk fantasies), and a submarine.

In September 1944, the battalion moved into the Netherlands, serving in Nijmegen throughout the Winter, before participating in the liberation of Arnhem in April 1945.

Members of the Hallamshire Battalion with civilians in Holland, 1945

Post-War Years

Men from the Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment doing their National Service at the rifle range in 1954.

The Warden’s accommodation and the officers’ mess behind in September 1982.

Markers in the butts at Totley Rifle range indicating falls of shot on the new Hythe targets, 1992

Closure and Demise

The end came for the rifle range in 1997. Enough people were regularly walking into the red flag exclusion zone that it became too dangerous for the range to continue operating. I’ve seen these walkers referred to as ‘right-to-roam terrorists’ and such. In reality, a footpath runs right through what was the exclusion zone – you can see it on the white map near the start of the blog – and, while there were presumably many ramblers who were purposefully trespassing at this time as an expression of their rights, the legal right to roam wasn’t legislated in England and Wales until 2000, in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. Some people are still very miffed about it:

An image of a 3 star review from 7 years ago. It reads: “This has not been a rifle range for years. Shut down by tree hugging Sheffield council. It’s a pity - my grandfather trained here during the war: it’s part of my history.” (I’ve corrected

A Trip Last October

The Hallamshire Battalion itself was disbanded in 1999, two years after the closure of the range. I doubt it’s been taken care of since. The building that was the officers’ mess is now a private residence, and the warden’s house and the canteen have been replaced by new stone buildings. I’ve no idea who owns the land now. I hope and imagine it’s protected green belt land, especially since there’s also a footpath along the south side of range. It would be a shame if the archaeology of the land were to be lost.

When I visited last year, I didn’t venture away much from the target setters’ shelters, but I hope you still enjoy the pictures that follow.

The range in Autumn 2019: there’s some appearance of horizontal changes marking the different firing points.

The wall marking the end of the ‘Safe Zone’

A long view down the length of the shelter.

Some of the original seats in the shelter remain, much to the joy of local teenagers who need a secluded spot.

The wooden retaining wall with the slope of the original stop butts behind. Explorers with metal detectors (and presumably some without) have had great success in digging out bullets from the gravel.

A bullet-ridden piece of veneer sheeting still clings to the wood.

The plant life on top of the shelters now joins the trees growing on the slope beyond.

The first and original shelter, dating from 1900, where the target setters and markers took cover. I’m not sure what this piece of metal is. It doesn’t look like part of a target mechanism (though I obviously have no idea), so perhaps it’s something to do with the communications relay.

The construction of the original shelters is clear: there’s a rough stone wall (a slope supports it on the other side), and metal braces hold up the concrete slabs that make the roof.

The gutters that I presume used to be part of the target mechanisms are now home to young trees.

Staring down the braces..

The steps leading down to the modern shelter, which is now a graffiti gallery.

Structurally, this shelter is completely different, but I’ve not yet found out when it was constructed.

There are now trees growing out of the top of the shelters, and I wonder how long they’ll last.

The shelter is LONG. I’m not sure how many targets it would have supported, but it’s a lot.

Judging by the connecting wires, I assume this wooden board was also part of the range’s communication system.

The way out.

I know little about graffiti and can’t begin to guess how well known this place is and how many people paint here. I’ll find out once I return and see how much is the same.

“Whatever the weather… Phantom decorator [what is that last word?]” I’ve never been able to decipher most graffiti writing.

There’s graffiti detritus all over this gallery - on the ground, in the gutters, flung into the grass. I suppose a lot of cans’ worth of paint has gone onto those walls.

The dilapidated store room at the end of the newer target shelter. Even though the roof has half-caved in, it was too black inside for my cowardly heart to let me venture in.

To Be Continued

As ever, it’s only now that I’ve looked much more deeply into the history of the rifle range that I’ve realised how much more exploring there is to do. In my defence, it was drizzly and bleak that day, and the amount of bracken and brambles and shrubs made any progress difficult on the range. Since then, I’ve discovered what other remains are there to be found and I’m keen to go back very soon, so expect an update here or on a linked post shortly.

If you want to check it out, sturdy boots are a necessity and so are clothes that are either rip-proof or not cherished: brambles abound. If you look on Google Earth, you’ll quickly see the access road that winds close to the shelters; you just need to hop the gate on Moss Road.

Edit: I did return! You can find pictures of my findings, plus bullet casings, deer, and more maps here: Totley Rifle Range: the Return.

Links and Further Information

Sgt Herbert L. Cole with his rifle c. 1911

The story of Annie and Arthur Fisher is a great one. Read this Sheffield Libraries blog to find out more about them and their lives.

Picture Sheffield is a brilliant resource and well worth browsing. An amazing story that I came across there is that of the fascinating life of Sergeant Herbert L. Cole, who served in the First World War with the Hallamshire Rifles. Read the notes on his photo to find out more.

There’s a 65-page book written by Stephen Johnson called ‘A Short History of the Rifle Range at Totley, Sheffield’ which was published by Sheffield City Council in 1993. I’ve not read it, to the likely detriment of this blog, but I believe that you can find it at Sheffield’s Local Studies Library and at Sheffield Archives.

The Dorset Riflemen have several trophies for different shooting competitions, one of which is named ‘the Hallamshire Cup’. Apparently, it dates from around the First World War, but it’s hard to know if it has any real connection to Totley Rifle Range or the Hallamshire Rifles.