Sheffield Town Hall is a municipal building on Pinstone Street in the
City of Sheffield
The City of Sheffield is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in South Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Sheffield, the town of Stocksbridge and the larger ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The building is used by
Sheffield City Council, and also contains a publicly displayed collection of
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
ware. It is a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
History
The current building, commissioned to replace the
Old Town Hall, was designed by the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Edward William Mountford in the
Renaissance Revival style and constructed between 1890 and 1897.
[ The building was opened by ]Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
, using a remote control
A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...
lock from her carriage, on 21 May 1897.[ The turning of the key in the lock triggered a light in the building which was the signal for three concealed men to open the gates.][
An extension designed by F. E. P. Edwards was opened by the ]Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
on 29 May 1923.gardens
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
were first laid out in 1938, following the demolition of St Paul's Church. Originally named St Paul's Gardens, they were immediately nicknamed the "Peace Gardens", marking the contemporary signing of the Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
.
An extension designed in the Brutalist style was added to the east of the Peace Gardens in 1977; nicknamed ''The Egg-Box'' after its appearance, it was demolished in 2002.
Exterior
The design of the exterior echoed to a certain extent the architecture of the adjacent St. Paul's Church of 1720 (now demolished). During construction, the building was criticised for its expensive embellishments. The exterior is built of Stoke stone from the Stoke Hall Quarry in Grindleford, Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
and is decorated with carvings by F. W. Pomeroy
Frederick William Pomeroy (9 October 1856 – 26 May 1924) was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards na ...
.[ The ]frieze
In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
s depict the industries of Sheffield, and the 64-metre-high clock-tower is surmounted by a statue of Vulcan. The clock, by Potts of Leeds, was provided with striking and chiming trains
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
,
Interior
The entry contains displays relating to HMS ''Sheffield'' and leads to the Main Entrance Hall with a grand marble staircase. This also has an Electrolier an electric chandelier
A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...
, part of the original lighting of the building. The walls include friezes including a depiction of the slaying of the Dragon of Wharncliffe. On the first landing is a statue of the first Lord Mayor Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk.
The first floor has a gallery running its length which can be divided into four sections by means of powered oak panels descending from the ceiling. The south room is the Lord Mayor's Parlour which is kept permanently divided.[ On the same floor is the oak-panelled Council Room and its antechamber, which has above its door the advice "Be Ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves", a quotation from the Bible (Matthew 10:16).]
See also
*Listed buildings in Sheffield
There are about 1,000 listed buildings in Sheffield. Of these only five are Grade I listed, and 67 are Grade II*, the rest being Grade II listed. The buildings vary from a listed facade to the largest listed building in Europe (Park Hill, She ...
References
{{Listed buildings in Sheffield
Grade I listed buildings in Sheffield
Grade I listed government buildings
Government buildings completed in 1897
City and town halls in South Yorkshire