Welcome to the comprehensive guide of the most famous of the Steel City.
Words – Grace Burr
“We are a City of Makers. Sheffield is the home of award-winning theatre, top quality contemporary art, music of all genres, unique festivals, craft beers, and thousands of makers and artists across the city.”
This is the description you’ll typically find of the famous Steel City, this one is sourced from: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/your-city-council/supporting-culture.html
1) Football’s Coming Home –
There are several football teams of notable interest that have been established within the city of Sheffield e.g. Sheffield F.C, United and Wednesday, also Hallam F.C.
For more information visit: https://sheffieldfc.com/ and https://www.swfc.co.uk/ / https://www.sufc.co.uk/ and https://www.hallamfc.co.uk/
It is a city known for establishing one of the *Oldest Football Clubs.
*In 1857 William Prest and Nathaniel Creswick founded the first football club in the world.
The club, formally known as Sheffield Football Club, is officially accepted by FIFA as officially being the oldest football club in the world.
These are two pioneers who developed new rules and laws for a football game: Sheffield Rules.
“Founded in 1860, Hallam FC are based in Crosspool, Sheffield, and play in the Northern Counties East League Division One, at level 10 of the English football league system. In 1867, they made history by winning the Youdan Cup, stated as the world’s first-ever football tournament.”
Today, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United FC are the two biggest teams in the city – the Steel City derby is a huge local event!
2) Welcome to the Steel City –
“Throughout its history, Sheffield and its people have been recognised as inventive, hardworking and entrepreneurial.” According to “Made in Sheffield”, which is a trademark that only refers to the products produced and sourced from Sheffield.
Sheffield is commonly known for production of Sheffield Steel and its wealth of Industrial Heritage. Popularly known as the ‘Steel City’, this city has become one of the world’s foremost steel manufacturers. Sheffield, just like Thiers and Solingen, quickly became a household name for the quality of its production of knives and cutlery.
Many notable innovations in Steel were developed in Sheffield and these include:
*Stainless Steel and Crucible– which is where the theatre gets its name from!
‘Crucible steel is made by melting pig iron, iron, and sometimes steel, often along with sand, glass, ashes, and other fluxes, in a crucible.’
It was developed in Sheffield using the techniques of production established by clockmaker Benjamin Huntsman in 1740.
*Stainless Steel- Discovered in 1912 by Harry Brearley at the Brown Firth Laboratories.
It’s well known for its role in developing mass produced, high quality steel and is established as having a large, renowned cutlery trade.
What is in stainless steel?
“Stainless steels are steels containing at least 10.5% chromium, less than 1.2% carbon and other alloying elements.”
It’s arguably difficult to underestimate Sheffield’s steely determination and importance in both of the World Wars and it cannot be understated. Both of these wars had an enormous thirst for steel that Sheffield helped satiate, including usage of rolled armour playing and speciality steels.
“In the Kelham museum are preserved countless plaques created by various steel firms listing the “uncounted soldiers” fighting the war by their efforts at the forge and furnace.”
It’s mostly known for helping Sheffield to remain at the forefront of steel production and strengthening its Steel City credentials. Gradually, both the steel and cutlery-making industries flourished in Sheffield and resulted in a huge profit throughout the world.
“It is little wonder that Sheffield remains a vital player in the world of manufacturing and is the choice for global names like Boeing, Tata and Rolls-Royce, who benefit from the city’s credentials in advanced and modern manufacturing.”
““Made in Sheffield” only refers to products from Sheffield with the accolade as England’s greenest City, on the doorstep of the Peak District and which has more trees per person than any other City in Europe.”
For more information: https://www.madeinsheffield.org/about-us/about-sheffield/
Also notable in Sheffield Steel is the *Women of Steel statue.
Read on to find more information: here.
3) Henderson Relish and Manufacturing Industries–
“Sheffield is the heartbeat of UK manufacturing and remains home to many of the world’s most innovative engineering organisations.” – Made in Sheffield
Throughout most recent years, the Henderson’s Relish company has made a series of small changes to its product design; including new bottling machinery and an updated label design.
In 2018, Henderson’s sourced a local, new glass supplier, just seven miles away from the factory, to create a new glass bottle with an embossed logo on the neck. A nod to the company’s bottles from the early 20th century. Importantly the company wanted a bottle that was more sustainable and are proud to have a bottle which is made from 30% recycled glass.
“OVER ONE MILLION BOTTLES SOLD, ENOUGH RELISH FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN SHEFFIELD TO HAVE OVER HALF A PINT EACH”
This huge milestone is an indicator of popularity, reached in 1951, and truly showed how popular Henry’s Relish had become.
For more information: https://www.hendersonsrelish.com/story/
DID YOU KNOW?
“When Sheffield’s two football clubs, United and Wednesday got to the FA Cup Semi-Final in 1993, Hendersons produced commemorative bottles in the team colours.
They were a hit and continue to be produced, allowing football fans to show their love for their favourite club and their favourite sauce at the same time. You can find them in the online shop.”
4) A City of Green Spaces –
“As well as its reputation for steel and manufacturing it has also developed a reputation as the number one destination for outdoor enthusiasts.” – Made in Sheffield.
Sheffield the 4th biggest city in England and is notable for being the greenest city in England. Thanks to its enormous tree cover. With a total of around 4 trees per resident!
A third of the city of Sheffield finds itself located within a National Park, The Peak District; the only English city to do so.
List of Local parks or public green spaces:
- Abbeyfield Park.
- Angram Bank Recreation Ground
- Arbourthorne Recreation Ground and Pond
- Barbers Field
- Beaver Hill Recreation Ground.
- Bowman Drive Recreation Ground (Lightwood)
- Brightside Recreation Ground.
- Broadfield Road Open Space.
For more information visit: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/parksandgreenspaces
There’s even a dedicated festival for the ‘Festival of Outdoors’ within Sheffield.
For more information visit: https://www.theoutdoorcity.co.uk/festival-of-the-outdoors
“The Festival of the Outdoors returns in March 2022, ready to kick off Sheffield’s outdoor season with a full month of events and activities, celebrating the strength of our city’s vibrant outdoor communities. You can download a copy of the festival guide.”
5) All the World’s A Stage–
“One of the UK’s most fascinating cities from a cultural perspective, with an array of museums, galleries and theatres.”
The Sheffield theatre complex is the largest in the UK, on the outside of London’s West End.
It established the world famous Crucible Theatre in 1979, and is the home to some truly inspiring architecture. Sheffield is also the home of both the Crucible and Lyceum Theatres.
The Crucible is the main value producing venue in the Sheffield Theatres complex. Comprising a 400-seat studio theatre for drama and music as well as the main 980-seat auditorium.
“The thing about the Crucible is that so many people fall in love with the place.
Whether they are audience members or actors or directors, or snooker players, there are strong feelings about the place.”— Daniel Evans, Artistic Director, The Crucible.
Although it hosts regular theatrical performances; it is best known for hosting professional snooker’s most prestigious tournament, the World Snooker Championship, which has annually been held at the venue since 1977.
For more information visit: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/whats-on
Sheffield is a major city of arts and cultural importance. It also hosts many world renowned arts festivals, e.g Tramlines in Hillsborough Park and Sheffield Doc Fest.
For more information visit: https://www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/visit/events/major-events
6) Hall of Fame –
The Sheffield Legends plaques outside the Town Hall pay tribute to local celebrities; such as:
- Sean Bean, actor
- Michael Palin, Comedian and TV presenter
- Margaret Drabble, Novelist
- David Mellor, Internationally acclaimed Designer
- Jessica Ennis, Olympic athlete
- Gordon Banks, Goalkeeper
“Growing up in Tinsley, Banks is widely regarded as England’s all-time greatest goalkeeper and still the only one with a World Cup winners medal.”
- Helen Sharman, Astronaut – who was the first ever Briton in space!
A list of various Sheffield people, past and present, to note:
- Sidney Oldall Addy, folklorist and historian (1848 –1933).
“A solicitor in Sheffield from 1877 until his retirement in 1905.
His real passion was for the dialect, folklore, and history of the Yorkshire/Derbyshire area in which he lived and worked. He was an enthusiastic member of local societies and a regular contributor to local journals and newspapers, as well as national publications.”
- Charles Herbert Aslin, architect (1893 – 1959)
“Charles Herbert Aslin PPRIBA was a British architect. He was born in Ecclesfield, Sheffield 10th in the prmdo. The son of a steelworker Arthur William and Louisa Aslin and he was educated at Sheffield Central School and studied at Sheffield University.”
- Samuel Bailey, philosopher and author (1791 – 1870)
“Samuel Bailey was a British philosopher, economist and writer. An English economist and philosopher, he’s remembered for his argument that value is a relationship and implies a particular state of mind. He was called the “Bentham of Hallamshire”.
- William Sterndale Bennett, composer (1816 – 1875)
“Sir William Sterndale Bennett was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music, where he remained for ten years. By the age of twenty, he had begun to create a reputation as a concert pianist, and his compositions received high praise. “
- Malcolm Bradbury, author (1932 – 2000)
“Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, CBE was an English author and academic.
Bradbury was born in Sheffield, the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but he returned to Sheffield in 1941 with his brother and mother.
Between 1955 and 1958 Bradbury moved between teaching posts with the University of Manchester and Indiana University in the United States. He returned to England in 1958 for a major heart operation; such was his heart condition that he was not expected to live beyond middle age. In 1959, while in hospital, he completed his first novel, “Eating People is Wrong.”
- Edward Carpenter, poet and activist (1844 – 1929)
“Edward Carpenter was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher and anthologist.
An early activist for gay rights and prison reform whilst advocating vegetarianism and taking a stance against vivisection. As a philosopher he was particularly known for his publication of Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure.
Here he described civilization as a form of disease through which human societies pass.”
- Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey, sculptor (1781 – 1841)
“Sir Francis Leg(g)att Chantrey RA was an English sculptor.
He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time.”
Chantrey’s most notable works include the statues of King George IV; King George III, and George Washington. He also executed four monuments to military heroes for St Paul’s Cathedral, London.
- Thomas Creswick, painter (1811 – 1869)
“Thomas Creswick RA was a British landscapist and illustrator, who came from Sheffield, and one of the best-known members of the Birmingham School of landscapists.”
- Margaret Drabble, novelist – https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/margaret-drabble
Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, DBE, FRSL is an English novelist, biographer, and critic. She was born in Sheffield on 5 June 1939.”
- Ebenezer Elliot, poet (1781- 1849)
“Ebenezer Elliott was an English poet, known as the Corn Law rhymer for his leading the fight to repeal the Corn Laws, which were causing hardship and starvation among the poor.
Though a factory owner himself, his single-minded devotion to the welfare of the labouring classes won him a sympathetic reputation long after his poetry ceased to be read.”
- William Flockton, architect (1804–1864)
“Nether Hall was designed by William Flockton of Sheffield who set himself up as an architect in 1833. He demolished old Nether Hall and replaced it with a coursed gritstone mansion between 1838 and 1840 to the designs of Sheffield architect William Flockton.
He’s responsible for many of the city’s grand buildings and having significant influence on the market town of Bakewell.
Soon after it became the inspiration of ‘Mr Oliver’s grand hall down in Morton Vale’ in Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ published in 1847.”
- Dave Godin, writer, journalist, authority on black American soul music (1936- 2004)
“David Edward Godin was an English fan of American soul music, who made a major contribution internationally, involved with spreading awareness and understanding of the genre, and by extension African-American culture.
He was the leading light of the Tamla Motown Appreciation Society, founded in 1964. A milkman’s son, he won a scholarship to Dartford Grammar School, where he met the young Jagger and witnessed the birth of the Rolling Stones.
As a journalist, record company adviser, record shop owner and even, briefly, owner of his own labels devoted to the African-American music he considered a pinnacle of 20th-century culture.”
- Mary Anne Everett Green, historian (1818- 1895)
“Mary Anne Everett Green, née Wood was an English historian. After establishing a reputation for scholarship with two multi-volume books on royal ladies and noblewomen, she was invited to assist in preparing calendars of hitherto disorganised historical state papers.
In this role of “calendars editor”, she participated in the mid-19th-century initiative to establish a centralised national archive.
She was one of the most respected female historians in Victorian Britain.”
- Barbara Hofland, children’s writer (1770-1844)
“Barbara Hofland was an English writer of some 66 didactic, moral stories for children, and of schoolbooks and poetry. She was asked by John Soane to write a description of his still extant museum in London’s Lincoln’s Inn Fields.”
- John Holland, poet and journalist (1794 -1872)
“John Holland was an English poet, newspaper editor and writer on mining, botany, geology, topography and metallurgy.
Holland was born in a cottage in the grounds of the ancient Sheffield Manor in Yorkshire and initially trained by his father to follow him as a maker of optical instruments. However, he was a bookish young man, who taught himself Latin and soon began publishing his own poems.”
- Joseph Hunter, antiquarian and historian (1783 -1861)
“Joseph Hunter FSA was a Unitarian Minister, antiquarian, and deputy keeper of public records now best known for his publications Hallamshire: The History and Topography of the Parish of Sheffield in the County of York, The two-volume South Yorkshire; still considered among the best works written on the history of Sheffield and South Yorkshire. And his 1852 pamphlet on Robin Hood in which he argued that a servant of this name at the court of Edward II was identical with the famous outlaw. His name was adopted by the Hunter Archaeological Society.”
- W. C. Leng, journalist (1825 -1902)
“Sir William Christopher Leng, known as W. C. Leng was a newspaper publisher in Sheffield.
Sir William Leng was co-owner of the Sheffield Telegraph newspaper from 1864, and lived for a long time at ‘Oaklands’, a large detached property on Collegiate Crescent in Broomhall.”
- Steve McCaffery, poet – https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/steve-mccaffery
“Poet Steve McCaffery was born in Sheffield, England, January 24, 1947 and earned a BA in English and philosophy from Hull University (England), an MA from York University (Toronto), and a PhD from the program in poetics, English, and comparative literature at SUNY Buffalo.”
- James Montgomery, editor and poet (1771-1854)
“James Montgomery was a Scottish-born hymn writer, poet and editor, who eventually settled in Sheffield. He was raised in the Moravian Church and theologically trained there.
So that his writings often reflect concern for humanitarian causes, such as the abolition of slavery and the exploitation of child chimney sweeps.”
- Charles Mozley, artist (1914-1991)
“Charles Alfred Mozley was a British artist who was also a teacher. Mozley was born in Darnall, Sheffield, and, while still a schoolboy, attended the Sheffield School of Art.
He was a prolific book illustrator and designer of book covers, posters and prints.”
- Jack Rosenthal, playwright (1931-2004)
“Jack Morris Rosenthal CBE was an English playwright, who wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations. A street in Manchester is named after him, next to a centre of contemporary art, theatre and film that opened in 2015, HOME
Rosenthal was born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, into a Jewish family.
After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, he carried out his National Service in the Royal Navy. Rosenthal won three BAFTA awards for Bar Mitzvah Boy (about a Jewish boy’s Bar Mitzvah), The Evacuees (based on his own war-time evacuation) and Spend, Spend, Spend (about the football pools winner, Viv Nicholson, directed by John Goldschmidt).”
- Joe Scarborough, artist – https://joescarboroughart.co.uk/
“Joe Scarborough is an English artist. He is most famous for painting humorous scenes of Sheffield life – everyday “real” images of the life and people of South Yorkshire.
Born 1938 in Pitsmoor, a district of Sheffield. Joe was brought up on a diet of National Dried Milk and the necessity of coupons for everything.
Austerity, rock and roll and latterly service in the R.A.F. have been factors in his lifestyles and attitudes. His horizons are not the wide vistas of Nash or Constable, but the crazy chimney pot skylines of J.B. Priestley.
The desire to paint is a conscious expression of his love for Yorkshire culture, best expressed in the music hall like stories in the canvases- the corner shop, chapel and works crisscrossed with railways and back streets. The scene is set for his tales of the 1950s.”
- Frederick Varley, artist (1881-1969)
“Frederick Varley was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven and a notable war artist.
He was born on January 2, 1881 in Sheffield, England. He studied art in Sheffield and attended Académie royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, where he worked on the docks.”
7) Music Industry: Sheffield and its Musical impact-
The music industry in Sheffield is particularly well represented and Sheffield has been the home of several well known bands and musicians. Sheffield also has a number of local orchestras:
- Hallam Sinfonia
- Sheffield Symphony Orchestra
- Sheffield Chamber Orchestra
- Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra
- City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra
Sheffield was once home to the National Centre for Popular Music, which was formerly located in the avant-garde building which is now home to the HUBS – also known as Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union’s HQ.
Sheffield is well known for its music scene, and has produced several notable acts such as:
*Pulp, the band’s frontman and Sheffield local Jarvis Cocker once fell out of a window on Division Street – there’s a plaque commemorating the event!
*Def Leppard
*Bring Me The Horizon
*Arctic Monkeys
*The Human League.
8) Read All About It! Sheffield in the Media–
George Orwell, the novelist famous for writing Animal Farm and 1984, once said of the city:
“Sheffield, I suppose, could justly claim to be called the ugliest town in the Old World”
On reflection, it’s a bit harsh. But a lot has changed since he wrote this unflattering review in 1937!
Perhaps, when you close your eyes to picture Sheffield, you see something like ‘The Full Monty’
(1997) or ‘Four Lions’ (2010). Or the most recent addition, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021)
“The Sheffield of 1997 was palpably no longer a city on the move; the jobs market had gone into reverse, and much of the city’s economy was stalled. But what about the Sheffield of today?
Large swathes of big industry are gone forever, but has the Steel City come to terms with the change?” – The Guardian
Sheffield played a major role in the Industrial Revolution, so it holds a rich industrial heritage.
However, now the digital and new media industries are rising to prominence within the Sheffield City Region. They are also growing at a faster rate than anywhere else in the UK.
“It is a city packed full of intelligent minds, exciting ideas and successful new businesses.”
Especially in terms of the development of specialist companies and new jobs.
Quite simply, Sheffield is an incubator for the newly emerging digital industries.
While it’s evident that the city still has some way to go. It has fewer businesses than the UK average, but its business stock is certainly improving.
And perhaps ‘The Full Monty’ had even played a small part in that expansion process.
9) Got a whole lot of History and Heritage –
“Sheffield appreciates and celebrates its industrial heritage.”
The Sheffield Industrial Museum Trust operates three museums: the Kelham Island Museum, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, and the Shepherd Wheel Workshop.
Sheffield is the centre of many world-class museums:
*Weston Park Museum
*The Alfred Denny Museum of Zoology.
*National Emergency Services Museum.
*Kelham Island Museum is popular among art lovers, and over here, you get a slice of Sheffield’s industrial history. Maintaining the Steel City’s industrial heritage, this place boasts a huge collection of objects, pictures and archive material.
*Millennium Gallery– Art lovers will enjoy a visit to this art gallery, which features contemporary art, metalwork, design exhibitions and the city’s unique Ruskin collections. Tourists can enjoy free access to this gallery and explore the two permanent collections, as well as the two temporary exhibition spaces.
10) And Finally; Let’s Paint the town red-
“Whether you are newly moving into student accommodation in Sheffield for the first time, coming here as a young professional. Or simply visiting for a weekend, you’ll find plenty to explore and enjoy in this fantastic South Yorkshire city.”
Nightlife is an integral part of Sheffield: Whether it is partying at a club with your friends or sipping cocktails and dancing the night away. With high spirits all the year round, Sheffield boasts a lively night time scene.
“Putting all of these types of night out alongside each other demonstrates exactly what Sheffield is all about; An exclusive, community-driven city, where you can walk and party side by side with every type of student.”
For more information; https://wearehomesforstudents.com/blog/city/sheffield/best-nightclubs-in-sheffield
