Sheffield

Product Description

Sheffield has been synonymous with steelmaking since the eighteenth century & with cutlery for centuries before that. But while it has an extraordinary variety of industrial buildings connected to its metal trades there is another side to what is Englands least known big city. Set amidst magnificent scenery it has some surprising survivals of its earlier history as well as handsome public commercial & religious buildings designed by its Victorian local architects. The leafy western suburbs that rise towards the Peak District were described by Sir John Betjeman as the finest in Engl&. The 1950s & 60s saw the city famed for its innovative public housing university buildings & churches. After the decline of its manufacturing sector in the 1980s major new venues for sport & entertainment the prize-winning Peace Gardens & exciting new buildings such as the Millennium Galleries Winter Garden & Persistence Works are visible signs of a renaissance in the citys fortunes. This is the first comprehensive architectural guide to Sheffield. It describes the buildings of the city centre & those of the inner suburbs within a two mile radius of it. It also covers the lower Don valley still the heart of Sheffields steel industry the outer suburbs to the west where those who made their fortunes from it lived in splendour & there are excursions to some outstanding buildings on the outskirts. Major buildings including the Town Hall the two Cathedrals & the Winter Garden are given more detailed treatment as are the two Universities. The central areas are the subject of walks those further out have suggested tours by car. Illustrated throughout in colour with specially commissioned photographs & with these images augmented by historic maps paintings & drawings Sheffield will enable residents to look at familiar buildings in a fresh light & encourage visitors to discover for themselves the citys enticing contrasts of industrial heritage & natural beauty.