Great Sheffield Flood

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The Great Sheffield Flood, also known as the Great Inundation, was a disaster that devastated parts of Sheffield, England on March 11 1864.

The flood occurred following the collapse of the newly completed Dale Dyke Dam at Low Bradfield on the River Loxley. This sent a wall of water flooding down the Loxley valley, through Loxley and Hillsborough, and then down the River Don through central Sheffield, Attercliffe and as far as Rotherham. The estimated 3 million m³ (700 million imperial gallons) of water destroyed 800 houses, killing 270 people, and wrecked nearly every bridge as far as the Lady's Bridge in the city centre. Bodies swept by the flood waters were later found as far afield as Mexborough. The subsequent enquiry found that the construction was defective, and the failure started in the wall at a small leak, which grew rapidly to destroy the wall holding back the waters.

The claims for damages caused by the Great Sheffield Flood formed one of the largest insurance claims of the Victorian period.