Sheffield station opened in 1870, and was built over an area previously known as Sheaf Island, as it was hemmed in by the River Sheaf to the east, the Porter Brook cross link to the Sheaf to the south, and an unnamed dam, Bamford Dam and Pond Forge dam to the west. Both rivers had been diverted in the late 1700s, as the Bamford dam was built over the redundant course of the Sheaf, and around 1778 the Porter Brook was diverted along a cross link which ran due east to a new junction with the Sheaf. The Midland Railway bought the water rights in 1868, and effectively closed down Pond Forge. Both rivers were culverted to enable the construction of the station to proceed, and the cross link became the main channel of the Porter Brook when the dams were later filled in.