 Remains of the Dale Dyke Dam after the flood | |
  Dale Dyke Dam Great Sheffield Flood (Sheffield)  Great Sheffield Flood (South Yorkshire)  Great Sheffield Flood (the United Kingdom) | |
| Date | 11 March 1864 |
|---|---|
| Location | Dale Dyke Dam and downstream; Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire |
| Coordinates | 53°23′14″N 1°28′0″W / 53.38722°N 1.46667°W |
| Type | Dam failure followed by flash flood |
| Cause | Crack in embankment; cause of crack never determined |
| Deaths | 240+ |
| Property damage | 600+ houses destroyed |
The Great Sheffield Flood was a flood that devastated parts of Sheffield, England, on 11 March 1864, when the Dale Dyke Dam broke as its reservoir was being filled for the first time. At least 240 people died[1] and more than 600 houses were damaged or destroyed by the flood. The immediate cause was a crack in the embankment, the cause of which was never determined. The dam's failure led to reforms in engineering practice, setting standards on specifics that needed to be met when constructing such large-scale structures. The dam was rebuilt in 1875.
- ^ "The Forgotten Flood: Sheffield's tragic past remembered". BBC News. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2014.