SHEFFIELD
Steel yourself: this city’s on the rise
Innovation has defined Sheffield throughout its history. The area’s medieval cutlers knew how to work metal better than anywhere else in Britain. And during the Victorian era, steelmaking innovations set the city apart. Pioneering developments in architecture and urban design were made possible after the city suffered the bombing of the Second World War. Sheffield became noted across Europe for its modern housing and rebuilt city centre – which featured a roundabout with its own encased aquarium and underground entrances to major stores. The construction of the Meadowhall shopping centre out of town on the site of closed steelworks in 1990 accelerated the city centre’s decline, but it also paved the way for the current urban regeneration.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
The internet service provider, Plusnet, has been one of many tech firms to have helped steer a new course for the city, and inward investment is seeing other high-
tech businesses locate here. High-profile property deals with China and major construction on formerly derelict sites have been the order of the day. New developments in the city centre such as the Sheffield Winter Garden, a huge temperate glasshouse, have given visitors more reason to stay at the central hotels – Mercure, Novotel, Hampton by Hilton, Hilton, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
Connected to the Winter Garden, the Millennium Gallery tells the story of Sheffield’s history through displays of cutlery, maps and photos, and also features a collection of John Ruskin drawings, paintings and prints. The city has an enviable choice of eating and drinking venues too. The Sheffield Tap is one of the greatest station pubs in Britain – situated directly on Platform 1B of Sheffield station and offering a huge range of real ales and craft brews. The Kiwi coffee scene has also arrived in South Yorkshire courtesy of Tamper Sellers Wheel, a handsome café-restaurant in the designated Cultural Industries Quarter on Arundel Street. Fancy something more traditional? Two Steps on Sharrow Vale Road is renowned as serving the best fish and chips in Yorkshire. For extra local flavour add Henderson’s Relish, a Sheffield delicacy, to your chips.
GIG ECONOMY
The music scene of Sheffield has long been making waves, with bands such as the Human League, ABC, Pulp, Def Leppard and Arctic Monkeys forging reputations around the world. For a time the city was even home to the National Centre for Pop Music. The Leadmill is one of the most renowned of the city’s many music venues, where bands and DJs hit the stage almost every night. The city’s most well-known venue, the Crucible Theatre, also stages live gigs and drama productions – as well as, of course, the World Championship Snooker tournament in April and May. More sports fans flock to Sheffield throughout the football season to see its two famous teams, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United, both currently in the EFL Championship.
As you won’t fail to discover during a trip, Sheffield is on the rise. In recent times, innovation has seen the place jettison its reputation for post-industrial decline and become once again a go-ahead city on the move.