Featured image: “Sheffield Town Hall” by Tim Green (via Flickr) is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Sheffield is a fascinating city which, in my opinion, doesn’t get the credit it deserves and often goes under the radar compared to some of the UK’s other large cities. As an important industrial city, the Steel City is home to many impressive landmarks – and when I first visited Sheffield almost a decade ago, it was many of the places outlined in this blog that made me fall in love with it. I went on to live in the city for five years – but Sheffield’s most beautiful buildings and landmarks never lost their magic. Here are ten must-see historic sites in the city centre.
For a map of all 10 spots, scroll to the bottom. If you’re looking for information on Sheffield’s museums and attractions, visit my blog ‘top things to do in Sheffield’.
Stop one: Sheaf Square’s water features
If you arrive in Sheffield by train, your greeting to the city will be the attractive station building and eye-catching water features in Sheaf Square. The station building dates to 1870 – but the current stone facade was added in 1905.
As first impressions go, it doesn’t get much better than Sheaf Square. This large, open space directly outside the station was redeveloped in 2006 and acts as a lovely gateway to the city. Most impressive is its two huge water features. One of them (‘Cutting Edge’) is almost 300 feet long and acts as a homage to the city’s steel-making past. It wraps its way around the square, leading you towards the city centre.
Stop two: Viewpoint of Park Hill flats
Once you’ve climbed up the sloping Sheaf Square towards the city centre, turn around and admire a view of the iconic Park Hill flats. Built in the 1950s and ‘60s, this Brutalist structure is the largest listed building in the whole of Europe. It was built on the site of a former slum, with residents rehoused into the packed grid of flats and its ‘streets in the sky’.
Standing on top of the hill, looking over the city, Park Hill is one of the most iconic sights in Sheffield. It was part of a utopian vision to create integrated communities. But over the decades it fell into a period of decline, a symbol of broken utopian dreams. They’re now being renovated into mostly private flats.
One of the main things to look out for is a line of graffiti on one of the concrete bridges. In white paint, you can make out the words ‘I Love You Will U Marry Me’. This was written by a man called Jason Lowe, who proposed to his girlfriend Clare by showing her the graffiti from outside the Odeon Cinema – just a short walk up the road from the train station. The graffiti was briefly removed in 2021 for maintenance, and was repainted in 2022, with new neon lighting added on top.
Stop three: Tudor Square, Sheffield’s ‘Theatreland’
Walk up the hill past Hallam University to an attractive little square, known as Sheffield’s ‘Theatreland’. Incredibly, this collection of three theatres (the Crucible, the Lyceum, the Playhouse) is the largest concentration of theatres in the UK outside of London.
Stop four: Chapel Walk and Victoria Hall
Head past the Crucible to one of Sheffield’s most attractive shopping streets, Chapel Walk. This narrow street links the square to Fargate, one of the main parts of the centre, and has been a popular shopping street for decades. It’s not as busy as it once was and a few of the units are empty – but the street now hosts a few decent independent stores.
One of the most Interesting stops along this street is the Victoria Hall, opposite the Crucible. It dates back to 1906, and was built in the Gothic Revival style.
Stop five: Sheffield Cathedral
Head right along major shopping street Fargate, towards the oldest building in Sheffield still in daily use: its Cathedral.
The earliest parts of the Cathedral date from the 1200s, and it’s an interesting mix of medieval and modern architecture, with different sections added and rebuilt over the centuries. Stones from a Norman church can be seen in the east of the church. Inside, you’ll find magnificent Tudor monuments in the Shrewsbury Chapel. For most of its history, the Cathedral was the Parish Church of Sheffield. It was given Cathedral status in 1914. Inside the Cathedral is a small exhibition about the history of the building.
Around the Cathedral are some of Sheffield’s grandest buildings – including Cutlers Hall, an imposing building with a handsome stone facade, built in the 1800s to house the Company of Cutlers.
Stop six: Paradise Square
Head down the pretty St James Row, and stumble into Paradise Square. Like much of Sheffield, this square seems to slope away, situated on the side of one of its many hills. Despite its proximity to the city centre, it’s often a quiet spot – tucked away, and many people don’t even know it’s there. (On weekdays, it’s sadly used as a car park for nearby offices).
It’s an attractive Georgian Square lined with handsome brick buildings, mostly dating from the 1700s – though it was damaged in the war, so some of the buildings were rebuilt in the 1960s.
As quiet as the square is now, this was once a bustling place. It was frequently a space for public and political meetings, including those by working class democratic movements. One meeting held by the Chartists in 1839 was dispersed by soldiers.
Stop seven: Leopold Square
Head back up the hill to one of Sheffield’s loveliest spots: Leopold Square. It’s a modern redevelopment, carried out in 2004, of much older buildings which once housed the Sheffield Central Technical School. Lined by listed buildings now housing restaurants and bars, and inspired by Barcelona’s plazas, it’s a remarkable example of urban renewal making use of old buildings, and a great place for drink or meal. It regularly hosts live music and event.
Stop eight: City Hall, Women of Steel and Barker’s Pool
Just a few minutes walk from Leopold Square is one of Sheffield’s most iconic buildings – the City Hall. Built in the classical revival style, this imposing structure was designed by Vincent Harris, who also designed buildings in Whitehall, Manchester Central Library and Leeds Civic Hall. It houses hundreds of events a year.
Photo credit: Matt Brown. Creative Commons License.
Outside the hall is Barker’s Pool, a large public square with a Grade II* Listed war memorial, with two large water fountains. It also has the Women of Steel statue, commemorating the women of Sheffield who worked in the steel industry during the World Wars.
Although the square as it is now was only completed in 2005, Barker’s Pool is much older than that. The earliest reference to it comes from 1570. Until 1793, it was a medieval reservoir that provided the small town with water, and this is commemorated in the two large water features.
Stop nine: Sheffield Town Hall and Peace Gardens
Hopefully by now you’re convinced that Sheffield is home to many architectural gems. In my opinion, its magnum opus is its gothic town hall. It was completed in 1897, considerably later than those in other Northern England industrial towns. But it was worth the wait.
Designed by Edward William Mountford (who also designed the Old Bailey) it was criticised at the time for its high cost. It’s an intricate Victorian building, with a frieze depicting Sheffield’s industries, and a 64 metre tall clock tower topped by a statue of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.
Only adding to the allure of this spot of Sheffield is the Peace Gardens, outside of the Town Hall, with large fountains in the centre and cascades around the edge, representing the flowing molten steel of Sheffield. It’s especially lovely in the Summer, and also around Christmas when it houses a market.
Stop ten: Sheffield’s oldest pub
After all that walking, stop for a drink in the Old Queen’s Head – a 15th century timber framed building now housing a pub. In a city mostly famous for its industrial heritage and with most landmarks coming from this period, the Old Queen’s Head is a unique spot to consider the area’s earlier, medieval past.
From here, it’s a short walk down the hill back to the train station.
Map: Ten beautiful historic spots in Sheffield City Centre
This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Sheffield.
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