The River Sheaf in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, flows northwards, past Dore, through Abbeydale and north of Heeley.

This lower section of the River Sheaf, together with the Don between the Blonk Street and Lady's Bridges, formed two sides of the boundary of Sheffield Castle.

The waters which form the River Sheaf rise as a series of streams on a ridge of gritstone between 6 and 7 miles (9.7 and 11.3 km) to the south west of the main city centre.

The Sheaf supplied a greater variety of industry than the other Sheffield rivers, partly because of its close proximity to Derbyshire, with its mineral reserves of lead.

By 1746, John Tyzack was using it for grinding scythes, in 1797 Thomas Biggin was making knives for cutting hay and straw, and it was being used as a sickle mill in 1805.

The site was sold to the Midland Railway by the Duke of Devonshire in 1871 to enable the construction of Dore and Totley station, and the last mill buildings were taken down in 1890.

The decision to build a tank rather than a vertical shaft was made after test boreholes found hard rock and high groundwater pressure in the area.

The project cost £7.5 million, and included three more conventional shafts further down the river, which provide an additional 3,175 cubic metres (112,100 cu ft) of storage.

The owners of Pond Forge vacated their site soon after the station was built, but attempted to get compensation for loss of water power as a result of the work.

[17] The water quality of the Sheaf was as follows in 2019: The river is only rated moderate for ecological status due to the fact that the channel has been heavily modified by human activity.

Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.

[19] In September 2014 Sheffield City Council announced plans for flood defences on the River Sheaf and its tributaries costing £12 million.

[21] Aims and Objectives of the Organisation Although some key gaps remain missing, the River Sheaf Walk is fully signposted and contains 10 'Sheaf Wheels'.

This involves removing the structurally decaying concrete culvert at the end of the River Sheaf, daylighting the section and replacing it with a new city centre park.

This follows the course of the river for much of its length, but there are some significant gaps, and the Trust is working to ensure that the routes for the missing links are protected in the planning process.