What Sheffield buildings should be preserved at all costs?

[Sheffield History]

What buildings do you think should be absolutely OFF LIMITS when it comes to being knocked down, totally redeveloped or removed from the city over coming years/centuries?

Can be city centre buildings or out of town - let's see what buildings are close to everyone's hearts

Obviously Town Hall and City Hall should be in there but what others?

And how about the oddities and curiosities that should be preserved forever?

[Guest leksand]

[Lysanderix]

The Cutlers Hall.

[History dude]

Many such buildings are listed anyway, so will not get touched. So this thread really should be about the ones that are NOT listed.

[Athy]

2 hours ago, History dude said:

Many such buildings are listed anyway, so will not get touched. So this thread really should be about the ones that are NOT listed.

...except that many of us won't know which ones are.

I'll vote for the Midland Station, the scene of many hours' happy train-spotting for the young Athy, and an imposing reminder of the days when railways were fashionable and important.

 

[History dude]

26 minutes ago, Athy said:

...except that many of us won't know which ones are.

 

This will answer that:

Listed Buildings in Sheffield

[MartinR]

You can always find listed buildings from this map.

I've just had a quick look, my old school, Carterknowle, is a listed building!

[Lysanderix]

Not listed, so far as I can see, Shiregreen United Reformed Church, Valentine Crescent…..built in 1933 and still serving its community ….in many ways.

[ManoutotCity]

 I say, immediately, that with a few exceptions , I’m generally no lover of modern architecture.... however and sadly, I present my arguments too late for this one example ....the now obliterated Sheffield Register Office in Surrey Place.
Colloquially referred to by some as ‘The Wedding Cake’ it’s  apparently, summary, demolition/ site clearance represented the serious  loss of a unique, good looking  and very functional, civic structure the like of which was not to be seen elsewhere. Unlike many ROs which hide within other buildings- often town halls, Sheffield’s short-lived DEDICATED, design was attractive, very spacious and  very functional, situated as it was within its own grounds with and incorporating its own car parking, whilst providing formal, good -class photogenic facilities for assembling wedding parties in a very distinctive location in the heart of the City Centre.                                                       It offered  superb state -of -the -art facilities ..without weddings cascading onto the public footpath as in the more common and less thought out situations and  arguably, more importantly, provided respectful, sensitive, arrangements for those attending for its not always happy, non-marriage functions . I had close association with the place for several years during the mid/late ‘70s and so have a good understanding of its large amount of plusses and yes, it’s ( thankfully) far fewer shortcomings.                                  A graphic condemnation of a Council ‘turning  its coat ‘ .....doubtless placing the value of land before community needs and the possession of a very well used civic structure placing the on The National, if not international, map. A building certainly worthy of a formal preservation order in my view...had it been allowed to serve for the many more years it deserved.
Bravo to its designers/ initiators and shame on those who brought about by its own, untimely, death.

[Alastair]

One building that isn't currently listed, but definitely should be is the Moorfoot building, Sheffield's own ziggurat.

[Hopman]

I'd want to add the Diamond Building at the University of Sheffield.

[Sheffield History]

13 hours ago, Alastair said:

One building that isn't currently listed, but definitely should be is the Moorfoot building, Sheffield's own ziggurat.

 

 

Oh I"m the opposite opinion and would have that flattened TODAY if I could

 

 

[Athy]

Manout, your description of the Registry Office is so convincing that, if it was for sale, I'd buy it.

Have you got a photograph of this splendid edifice?

[Lysanderix]

I seem to recall that the Registry Office was found to have been built over a disused well….thus making the structure potentially unsafe.

 

[Sheffield History]

30 minutes ago, Lysanderix said:

I seem to recall that the Registry Office was found to have been built over a disused well….thus making the structure potentially unsafe.

 

Not heard that one!
That's definitely worth researching

[Edmund]

 

see eldomsmith's post - "site of well, former Eyre St Brewery"

[ManoutotCity]

Sorry Athy, I’m afraid I never took any photos of the (now, ‘old’) Sheffield Register Office.....aside from it being my place of work fir sone years, I suppose it never occurred to me that I’d ever need to comment about the building in the past tense and by way of epitaph....it’s unique design assuring its future and preservation ....I’m sure if asked at the time, I’d have said it would be likely to be included on lists of protected architecture...both local and national.
How wrong I would have been!  
But back to photos of the place......there  must be scores, hundreds, if not thousands of shots in individual collections .....particularly those  of the very many people married there ......just put a shout out.....I’m feel sure that they’ll start to appear! 

Hope a bit of help to you, apart from my further comments.....

[tozzin]

This is the one I got married in, you entered via the door on the left to happiness or misery, one of which unfolded as time went on.

[MartinR]

Does "This is the one" have a name?

[tozzin]

56 minutes ago, MartinR said:

Does "This is the one" have a name?

As far as I’m aware it was just The Registra Office

[ManoutotCity]

5 hours ago, tozzin said:

As far as I’m aware it was just The Registra Office

Sorry Athy, I’m afraid I never took any photos of the (now, ‘old’) Sheffield Register Office.....aside from it being my place of work fir sone years, I suppose it never occurred to me that I’d ever need to comment about the building in the past tense and by way of epitaph....it’s unique design assuring its future and preservation ....I’m sure if asked at the time, I’d have said it would be likely to be included on lists of protected architecture...both local and national.
How wrong I would have been!  
But back to photos of the place......there  must be scores, hundreds, if not thousands of shots in individual collections .....particularly those  of the very many people married there ......just put a shout out.....I’m feel sure that they’ll start to appear! 

Hope a bit of help to you, apart from my further comments.....

 

5 hours ago, tozzin said:

As far as I’m aware it was just The Registra Office

Yes it would simply be The Sheffield Register Office.....at least  that’s where I think it is though you don’t say; certainly when I left the City almost a decade ago, the Surrey St / Surrey Place area had already been radically redeveloped ... though as a building, that looks like it might have had a preservation order on it....maybe still there serving another function? From contacts I still have, certainly the present Sheffield  RO is now contained inside the main Town Hall building in Surrey St. 

[MartinR]

OK, thanks.  From the outside it looks like a non-conformist chapel - possibly Methodist which is why I asked (they do weddings in such places).  There were quite a few Methodist chapels sold off during the 1950s and I wondered if it was a case of reuse.

[hackey lad]

On 11/05/2022 at 14:38, tozzin said:

This is the one I got married in, you entered via the door on the left to happiness or misery, one of which unfolded as time went on.

Pretty sure that was The Sheffield Central Deaf Club in later years 

[tozzin]

On 12/05/2022 at 13:02, MartinR said:

OK, thanks.  From the outside it looks like a non-conformist chapel - possibly Methodist which is why I asked (they do weddings in such places).  There were quite a few Methodist chapels sold off during the 1950s and I wondered if it was a case of reuse.

Just looked in the old Directories' and these are the entries below, in 1862 on the length of Norfolk Lane it held 32 different businesses and manufacturers but the building in the photo could be one of Nos 88 past Norfolk Lane.

1901 Whites Directory

NORFOLK LANE
88  Hay & Son & Son, wine & spirit merchants
88 Woollen & Co. Limited, printers 
94 MASONIC HALL; Frank Shelton, steward 
94 Sheffield Masonic Hall Co (registered office) ; Reginald. Webster, sec

1898 Whites Directory

NORFOLK LANE

88 United Friendly Societies Club; Henry Pearce Steward

Sheffield Masons Amateur Dramatic Society; David Flather Secretary

Freemasons Hall; Robert Turner hall keeper

1879 Whites Directory
2 Wilson & Clayton, solicitors
4 Cadman Mr Thomas Watson
4 Cadman :Mr Peter
4 Rollason Abel & Son, German silver manufacturers; Joseph. Bevan, agent
6 Branson Henry J., M..D. physician
10 Smith Charles, M.D. physician
10 Thompson John, boarding house
14 Hargreaves Wm. weighing machine manufacturer
14 Wilson John, die sinker
16 Townsend  William & SOD, printers
Norfolk lane
20 Cooke Edward J., B.A., M.D. surgeon
FREE MAS0NS' HALL; Chas. Brett, hall keeper
Eyre street
25 Thomas Edward, surgeon
26 Leach Matthew, M.RC.S. surgeon

!862 Directory

1862

Surrey Street.
1 Shearman Chas. J., M..D.
5 Hoyland and Son, tailors
7 Merryweather H., dentist
9 Elam Charles, l\I.D.
Free Public Library 
Mechanics Institute
Music Hall
Naylor W. H., auctioneer •
Sheffield Library
Literary and Philosophical
Society
United Methodist F. C. Chapel
Medical Hall
2 Wilson Fredk. W., solicitor
4 Cadman Wm.& Peter, Esqs
Rollason A. and Sons, metal warehouse
6 Crosland Mrs. Harriet
Crosland George, architect
Mosely Simeon, dentist
10 Thompson J., apartments
Smith Charles, l\I.D.
Wilson John, die sinker
Hickman Henry, chaser • 12 Townsend W., bookbinder
Cowan John, tailor
14 Sherwin James, dentist
26 Arden Septimus, surgeon