Buildings and structures in Sheffield have been constructed over a time-span ranging from the 13th century to the present day. The majority of Sheffield's older buildings were built during the Industrial Revolution, with many medieval buildings demolished in the 19th century; some older buildings were lost during the Sheffield Blitz. Sheffield can only lay claim to five Grade I listed buildings, two of which are in the city centre.
The oldest structure is Beauchief Abbey, which dates back to the 12th century and is now still a functioning Abbey, open every Sunday with evensong once a month. Within the grounds, there are also signs of the old ruin of when the Abbey was once much bigger. The oldest complete structure is Sheffield Cathedral, parts of which date back to the 13th century. In relation to height, the 78-metre (256 ft) Arts Tower was the tallest completed building in Sheffield until the St Pauls tower (City Lofts) project was completed in 2011.
At the time of the Norman Conquest Sheffield was a small hamlet dominated by a wooden long house occupied by Waltheof, 1st Earl of Northampton, which later became the site of the two castles.
The Domesday Book, which William the Conqueror ordered to be written so that the value of the townships and manors of England could be assessed, mentions :-
Beauchief Abbey was built four miles south-west of what was then a well-established town. In the 12th century a wooden motte-and-bailey castle was built. When this castle was destroyed in 1260, it was replaced with a stone castle, which would stand until the English Civil War.
In November 2005 the University of Sheffield's archaeological consultant, ARCUS, unearthed a Medieval well over three metres deep in the sandstone bedrock beneath Carmel House on Fargate. [1] The Sheffield city centre site was being excavated as part of a redevelopment project. Pottery found in the well suggests that it was in use by 1300 AD, and had been filled in around the time of the English Civil War. The uncovered medieval pots included jugs made in the Hallgate area of neighbouring Doncaster and other items from the Humber Estuary.
This discovery offers significant evidence relating to the Medieval town of Sheffield, then still a small market town, before its growth during the subsequent Industrial Revolution. Dating of the well indicates that it was probably dug around the time of the stone reconstruction of Sheffield Castle in 1270 and the granting of Sheffield's Market Charter by Edward I in 1296.
Due to the conditions in the well, animal bones and plant remains (possibly including microscopic pollen grains) have been preserved and will be analysed the University's Department of Archaeology laboratories.
Sheffield's second parish church was built in 1280, replacing the previous 11th-century structure. This was replaced in 1430 with the core of the current structure. Lady's Bridge, the oldest in the city, was built in 1485. The oldest domestic buildings were built in the late 15th century and the turn of the 16th century. Old Queen's Head pub was built in 1475, Broom Hall in 1498, and Bishops' House around 1500.
Sheffield Manor was built in 1510 as an alternative residence for the Earl of Shrewsbury. The manor was to later become famous when Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned there. Sheffield Castle was largely destroyed during the civil war. The manor was largely demolished in 1706.
Many industrial buildings were built during the 18th and 19th centuries. Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is now a grade I listed building and is used as a museum. Other museums in buildings from the same period are Kelham Island Museum and Shepherd Wheel.
Many residential buildings were constructed at the turn of the 20th century, which led to the annexing of large parts of the current city. This was followed by a slump, and by 1917 house building had ceased. Construction of the city hall started in 1920.
The years following the Second World War saw one of the most intense periods of building in the city's history, referred to as the slum clearances. Slum housing was replaced with a number of large tower blocks, many of which have since been demolished and replaced with housing once more.
The £130 million Heart of the City scheme is centred on the location of the former town hall extension. It includes a hotel, offices, the Winter Gardens, Millennium Galleries, and Millennium Square. The 101-metre (331 ft) St Paul's Tower (built 2007–2009), is Sheffield's tallest building.
The £50 million Sheffield Station Gateway scheme has seen improvements in station facilities and the creation of a public space outside, with a large sculpture called Cutting Edge. Other improvements leading up to the Peace Gardens will create a pedestrian link to the city centre.
The largest scheme due to start is the New Retail Quarter, that was meant to start in 2007. The £600 million scheme will create new retail units and pedestrianise the area between Pinstone Street, Leopold Square, Charter Square, and the Devonshire Quarter. Charter Square will also be pedestrianised. The £315 million West Bar scheme includes new university buildings, a boutique hotel, and residential and commercial developments. Funding was not secured until 2011, by which time the work was originally scheduled to be completed. The project is now underway, renamed as the Sevenstone Project.
The River Sheaf in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, flows northwards, past Dore, through Abbeydale and north of Heeley. It then passes into a culvert, through which it flows under the centre of Sheffield before joining the River Don. 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.
Hallamshire is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, approximating to the current City of Sheffield local government area.
Ecclesall Ward—which includes the neighbourhoods of Banner Cross, Bents Green, Carterknowle, Ecclesall, Greystones, Millhouses, and Ringinglow—is one of the 28 electoral wards in the Sheffield district, in the county of South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the southwestern part of the city and covers an area of 3.6 square miles. The population of this ward in 2007 was 19,211 people in 7,626 households, reducing to 6,657 at the 2011 Census. Ecclesall ward is one of the four wards that make up the South West Community Assembly and one of five wards that make up the Sheffield Hallam Parliamentary constituency. The Member of Parliament is Olivia Blake, a Labour MP. Ecclesall is one of the least socially deprived wards in the entire country, with a 2002 deprivation score of 4.7—making it the 8,105th most deprived ward out of 8,414 wards in the country. The demographic consists largely of white, middle-class families.
Sheffield Castle was a castle in Sheffield, England, constructed at the confluence of the River Sheaf and the River Don, possibly on the site of a former Anglo-Saxon long house, and dominating the early town. A motte and bailey castle had been constructed on the site at some time in the century following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. This was destroyed in the Second Barons' War. Construction of a second castle, this time in stone, began four years later in 1270.
Beauchief Abbey is a medieval monastic house now serving as a parish church in the southern suburbs of Sheffield, England.
As with other cities in Ireland, Limerick has a history of great architecture. A 1574 document, prepared for the Spanish ambassador, describes some of the wealth and architecture in the city:
Beauchief and Greenhill ward—which includes the districts of Batemoor, Beauchief, Chancet Wood, Greenhill, Jordanthorpe, Lowedges and Meadowhead—is one of the 28 electoral wards in the City of Sheffield, England. It is in the southern part of the city and covers an area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2). The population of the ward in 2016 was estimated to be 19,669 people in 9,209 houses.
Wadsley is a suburb of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It stands 3 miles (5 km) north-west of the city centre at an approximate grid reference of SK321905. At the 2011 Census the suburb fell within the Hillsborough ward of the City. Wadsley was formerly a rural village which was engulfed by the expansion of Sheffield in the early part of the 20th century.
The history of Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire, England, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement in a clearing beside the River Sheaf in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The area now known as Sheffield had seen human occupation since at least the last ice age, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the city did not occur until the Industrial Revolution.
This timeline of Sheffield history summarises key events in the history of Sheffield, a city in England. The origins of the city can be traced back to the founding of a settlement in a clearing beside the River Sheaf in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The area had seen human occupation since at least the last ice age, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the city did not occur until the Industrial Revolution.
Fargate is a pedestrian precinct and shopping area in Sheffield, England. It runs between Barker's Pool and High Street opposite the cathedral. It was pedestrianised in 1973. Fargate also holds a Continental Market approximately 4 times a year, which includes European stalls selling cheeses, confectionery, clothing, plants and crafts including jewellery and ornaments.
Sheffield Tramway was an extensive tramway network serving the English city of Sheffield and its suburbs.
The architecture of Leeds, a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, encompasses a wide range of architectural styles and notable buildings. As with most northern industrial centres, much of Leeds' prominent architecture is of the Victorian era. However, the City of Leeds also contains buildings from as early as the Middle Ages such as Kirkstall Abbey, one of Britain's best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries, as well as examples of 20th century industrial architecture, particularly in the districts of Hunslet and Holbeck.
The Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, England, demonstrate the history and diversity of its architecture. The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.
In British usage, the term townhouse originally referred to the opulent town or city residence of a member of the nobility or gentry, as opposed to their country seat, generally known as a country house or, colloquially, for the larger ones, stately home. The grandest of the London townhouses were stand-alone buildings, but many were terraced buildings.
Fulwood is a residential suburb and ward of the City of Sheffield in England, it lies 5.5 km west-southwest of the city centre. Formerly an ancient settlement and village on the Porter Brook, it became integrated into the city in the 1930s. It is bounded by the suburbs of Lodge Moor to the NW, Ranmoor to the east and Crosspool to the NE. The open countryside of the Peak District lies to the west and SW. The sub districts of Stumperlowe and Goole Green are part of the suburb. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 18,233. Fulwood is located in the Sheffield Hallam constituency which, as of the 2019 general election voted Labour.
Exhibition Square is an open space in the city centre of York, England.
Arundel Gate is one of the main thoroughfares in Sheffield, England. It is located in the Heart of the City area of Sheffield City Centre. Arundel Gate also features a fifteen-stand bus station, including a ticket office building, completed in 2005.
Kings Tower is an approved skyscraper that will be located on Castle Square at the junction of High Street and Angel Street in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. With a planned height of 120 m (390 ft) once completed, Kings Tower will overtake Code Sheffield, and St Pauls Tower as the tallest building in Sheffield and in Yorkshire. Plans for the tower were submitted by architects Hodder + Partners in September 2020, calling initially for a 39-storey tower. Planning permission was granted in December 2020, and construction is planned to complete in 2023. Amended plans were submitted in late 2022, adding a 40th floor to the project.