The Polytechnic - Arundel Gate

[Sheffield History]

Here's the Polytechnic, from Arundel Gate,, Sheffield, looks to be about 1960's/70's

[RichardB]

Indeed, if ever a building deserved to be shot .... etc etc of that telephone exchange building near the Moorfoot/Milton Street (?) area

[Sheffield History]

Agreed

Truly hideous

[hilldweller]

Indeed, if ever a building deserved to be shot .... etc etc of that telephone exchange building near the Moorfoot/Milton Street (?) area

As I think has been mentioned on here a number of times, the building is a main electrical sub-station and grid switching station.

At the time it was built the technology didn't exist to make it any smaller than it is, due to the need to provide the necessary air clearances for the 275,000 volts involved. Being sited in the city centre close to the huge loading it supplies, it couldn't be an open sub-station similar to the ones around the edge of the city.

It is now possible to make such equipment much smaller by using sulphur hexafluoride (sp) (SF6) instead of air as an insulator.

The later main sub-station at Neepsend uses that technology and is much smaller. The bus-bars and circuit breakers are all in tubing containing SF6 which is a very good electrical insulator. SF6 is now used in modern 11kV substations such as the ones on street corners. Because of the absence of inflammable oil, the fire risk is much reduced.

HD

[Waterside Echo]

As it couldn't be an open sub-station similar to the ones around the edge of the city.

We have a number of these sub-stations up here, every now and again someone can be seen taking readings from the dials on the equipment inside. After striking up a conversation with the chap who had just taken a reading last week I asked him what happens next, It seems that readings from each district are compared to that districts electric that has been used and paid for. It turns out that up here far more electric is supplied than is paid for, though there are worse areas in Sheffield. W/E.

[hilldweller]

We have a number of these sub-stations up here, every now and again someone can be seen taking readings from the dials on the equipment inside. After striking up a conversation with the chap who had just taken a reading last week I asked him what happens next, It seems that readings from each district are compared to that districts electric that has been used and paid for. It turns out that up here far more electric is supplied than is paid for, though there are worse areas in Sheffield. W/E.

There are a number of electrical loads on the system that are not metered such as street lighting, street furniture, traffic lights etc. I believe these are costed by adding all the numbers up with an assumed loading and taking operating hours into consideration. Of course the supply company will factor these into the equation. A certain amount of power is lost in the distribution system, especially in transformers and heavily loaded cables.

With the number of wacky baccy farms being discovered each week and all the tricks people get up to in order to get free power, it's no wonder that we honest souls have to pay so much for our juice.

HD

[RichardB]

This being a history site the questions that spring to mind are when was this built, where are the before and after maps and, most importantly what was there (at various time intervals) before and what were they called and what did they do ? ...

Here's the Polytechnic, from Arundel Gate,, Sheffield, looks to be about 1960's/70's

[RichardB]

Wherever there is an ugly modern builing there once stood something else, somebody lived/worked there, it was there life and there may or may not be a map to show the details of what went on before, during and after - maybe images too depending on the year.

History isn't the 1970's or indeed the 1870's but a record of what occured between (substitute your own years depending on location - Castle 1100-1648-2011-?) and a record of now for the use of the people of the future who have an interest.

[hilldweller]

This being a history site the questions that spring to mind are when was this built, where are the before and after maps and, most importantly what was there (at various time intervals) before and what were they called and what did they do ? ...

The bit of the university (polytechnic) that faces onto Pond Street was built mainly on the site of Thomas Rawsons brewery.

This was severely damaged in the blitz and the brewing and tied houses transferred to Duncan Gilmores I believe.

Immediately after the war some single story buildings for the College of Technology were built at right angles to Pond Street. They were linked by a corridor with "porthole" windows along Pond Street.

If I remember correctly the eight story building at right angles to pond street was next together with the terraces of craft workshops and laboratories along the hillside.

This was followed by the 12 story Owen building in the early sixties. The original College of Technology buildings made way for a five story building with a bridge from the twelve story building.

Around 1990 the "gardens" and car park in front of the Owen building were removed and the Harmer building was erected some distance in front of the Owen building. This allowed a roof to be erected across from part way up the Owen building to the top of the Harmer building. to form the Atrium. At the same time the Sheaf building was erected across the road between the old Students Union building and the Library building with a concourse and bridge over the road.

The University seems to revel in "teeming and ladling" departments and in my time there I was based in about four different buildings.

HD

[RichardB]

Thanks for the excellent update HD.

Of course, I knew about Rawson's and there will, eventually, be a large update on all things brewery-related (another ongoing piece of work), so, in this instance we're looking for maps from before 1940.

The bit of the university (polytechnic) that faces onto Pond Street was built mainly on the site of Thomas Rawsons brewery.

This was severely damaged in the blitz and the brewing and tied houses transferred to Duncan Gilmores I believe.

Immediately after the war some single story buildings for the College of Technology were built at right angles to Pond Street. They were linked by a corridor with "porthole" windows along Pond Street.

If I remember correctly the eight story building at right angles to pond street was next together with the terraces of craft workshops and laboratories along the hillside.

This was followed by the 12 story Owen building in the early sixties. The original College of Technology buildings made way for a five story building with a bridge from the twelve story building.

Around 1990 the "gardens" and car park in front of the Owen building were removed and the Harmer building was erected some distance in front of the Owen building. This allowed a roof to be erected across from part way up the Owen building to the top of the Harmer building. to form the Atrium. At the same time the Sheaf building was erected across the road between the old Students Union building and the Library building with a concourse and bridge over the road.

The University seems to revel in "teeming and ladling" departments and in my time there I was based in about four different buildings.

HD

[hilldweller]

T

The University seems to revel in "teeming and ladling" departments and in my time there I was based in about four different buildings.

HD

I wouldn't have minded all the "flits" but each time the laboratories had to be fitted out and wired up to suit our requirements.

One particular laboratory was designed to teach advanced computer networking techniques and was designed with about 24 workstations each with a cabinet containing a network patch-panel with hubs, routers and switches (both wired and fibre) and multiple CAT5e and fibre connections to a huge central patch panel. Any workstation could be connected in multiple different ways to any other.

I sweated blood and tears to install all the trunking and wiring to make this possible. It took 24 boxes of ethernet cable, each box contained 1000 feet (315 metres) of CAT5e cable. I calculated that if all the cable had been laid end to end it would have stretched from Pond Street to Grenoside !

After that lot had been run the more fragile fibre connections were installed. At least I didn't have to terminate those, we had them pre-fabricated to length by the manufacturer.

I think the laboratory had about two or three years of use before the management decide to re-arrange all the faculties and announced we would be moving to a new building.

It was at this point that my health finally gave out and I had to take early retirement.

My health packing up was not connected to the thoughts of installing another 24,000 feet of cabling.

HD

[SteveHB]

1935

[hilldweller]

1935

There are a couple of views of the brewery on Picture Sheffield, one shows the remains after the blitz. They are at S15873 and S18722. (link fairey ?).

There is also a picture of a marble bust of Thomas Rawson himself. S07728.

I am almost certain that this is the same bust that stood on the stairway of Wardsend House when we used to explore it immediately prior to the demolition of the house in the late fifties.

If it was removed prior to the place being knocked down around it I don't know.

HD

[SteveHB]

There are a couple of views of the brewery on Picture Sheffield, one shows the remains after the blitz. They are at S15873 and S18722. (link fairey ?).

There is also a picture of a marble bust of Thomas Rawson himself. S07728.

I am almost certain that this is the same bust that stood on the stairway of Wardsend House when we used to explore it immediately prior to the demolition of the house in the late fifties.

If it was removed prior to the place being knocked down around it I don't know.

HD

S15873

S18722

S07728

And .. construction work in 1957