From 19th century industry to 21st century regeneration
As factories and workshops attracted industrial workers to Sheffield in the 19th century, row upon row of ‘back-to-backs’ sprang up, deteriorating into slum dwellings by the 1920s. Park Hill ‘streets in the sky’, originally built to great international acclaim in the 1960s, suffered dilapidation and decline during the 1980s. Rising again above the rubble, new residents are moving into the renovated and restored, iconic, Grade II listed Park Hill in 2012.
Park Hill, Sheffield
Click each image to find maps, pictures and stories from Park Hill, Sheffield.

Park Hill, Sheffield in the 19th century
As factories and workshops attracted industrial workers to Sheffield in the 19th century, row upon row of ‘back-to-back’ and courtyard-style housing sprang up to accomodate the newly-arrived working families. This area of the city was known as 'Park' in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Inadequate sewage disposal, open drains and contaminated water supplies to the ‘courts’, where up to 100 people shared a standpipe, contributed to several outbreaks of cholera. July 1832 saw the first epidemic, taking the lives of over 400 people. The dead were buried without ceremony, and it was not only the ‘drunk and idle’ who succumbed. John Blake, Master Cutler, died of cholera aged only 49.
The cholera monument, originally built in 1834 at a cost of £300, still stands in a park, part financed by the Duke of Norfolk, close to Park Hill.
Copyright: Sheffield City Archives
Cholera epidemics hit Sheffield Park
There were several cholera epidemics in Sheffield between 1832 and 1866. ‘A putrid magma of the worst description’ (Report on the Sanatory [sic] Condition of the Borough of Sheffield, Sheffield Archives, SY235).
‘The dead were carried to their graves, four or five together upon a cart, without sides or covering, but after several complaints . . . a large hearse [was provided]’ (Board of Health member, Iris, 4 September 1832).


Insanitary back-to-back slums ready for clearance
'Courts' on Duke Street had deteriorated into slums by the turn of the century.
Approved in 1957, ‘Sheffield Replanned’ (1945) described the area as ‘an escarpment with really magnificent possibilities [to] improve out of all recognition . . . a close-packed mass of insanitary back-to-back slums and other unfit housing, clinging precariously to the hillside, mingled with outworn, industrial buildings and begrimed with the smoke of the railway and City centre [transformed to] create a public open space [to] provide a new green wedge visible from many parts of the City Centre.’ Sheffield City Archives, CA 655(15)


Unfit for human habitation
The Slum Clearance Act of 1930 gave power to Local Authorities to improve housing conditions.
“. . . the dwelling houses . . . are by reason of disrepair or sanitary defects unfit for human habitation, or are by reason of their bad arrangement . . . dangerous or injurious to the health of the inhabitants of the area, and . . . the most satisfactory method of dealing with the conditions in the area is the demolition of all the buildings.” John Rennie, Medical Officer of Health, December 1935 (ref. Sheffield Archives: CA-MIN/74, p. 221)


Back-to-back 'courts' for the industrial workers
The ‘back-to-back’ housing, also known as ‘courts’ accommodated families of the industrial workers who flocked to Sheffield during the 19th century.
Sheffield had over 16,000 such houses by the 1920s when an estimated 25% of people in England, including Sheffield, lived in appalling slum conditions. Sheffield City Council took their responsibility seriously with many proposals for innovative redevelopment to create open space as well as housing.


Map of the Park area, 1894
This map shows the extent of the ‘back-to-back’ housing, built to accommodate the industrial workers in the 19th century.
The triangular area was demolished between the 1930s and 1950s to make way for the new Park Hill developments. The demolition area was bounded by Anson Street, Duke Street, Talbot Street and South Street, high on the escarpment overlooking the railway station.
Map reproduced with permission from Cassini Historical Maps


Slum clearance plans
Members of Sheffield City Council’s Public Health Department probably produced this silent film in the 1950s to record their work. Park was the first redevelopment scheme undertaken by the City Council after World War II. It contained some of the oldest outstanding slum clearance orders and some demolition had already taken place.
The clip is reproduced with permission from Yorkshire Film Archive and Sheffield Local Studies Library. Visit the Yorkshire Film Archivewebsite to find out more about this fascinating archive film.

Park Hill, Sheffield in the 21st century
The Park Hill ‘streets in the sky’ were originally built to great international acclaim in the 1960s, on the site of demolished ‘back-to-backs’. They remain the largest listed building in the UK, but suffered severe dilapidation and decline during the 1980s.
The 21st century sees a new lease of life in the regeneration of Park Hill by the City Council in partnership with Urban Splash. New residents are due to move into the iconic, Grade II listed Park Hill in Autumn 2012.
Copyright: Urban Splash
What do local people think?
At the turn of the millennium, 1998, Park Hill was granted Grade II* listed status, meaning Sheffield City Council had a responsibility to preserve it. A local resident told the BBC, ‘It's an eyesore and the best thing they can do is blow up the lot.’
'Any re-furbished community will only prove to be good in the long-term if the people that eventually live within it both care for it and in some ways, self police it. I would like to see this project become successful but that will be very dependant [sic] on the eventual tenants as well as outside investors.'
Craig B, contributor to the BBC local news website.


Britain's biggest Grade II* listed building
Urban Splash, property developers ‘with a difference’ and Sheffield City Council intend to regenerate the iconic, Grade II* listed Park Hill site, bringing a new lease of life to the city skyline.
Video © BBC Look North, 2009
Transcript: This is our bedroom, its a pretty big bedroom, but its not quite big enough. The listing recognised the undoubted importance of Park Hill flats, built to satisfy the post-war housing shortage, they were meant to point the way to a new utopian dream, there's no denying that somewhere along the way, we all woke up. Park Hill is in trouble and needs urgent help.
Urban Splash showhome
'Park Hill will have amazingly spacious one and two bedroom, duplex, dual aspect apartments with floor to ceiling glazing allowing the best city views Sheffield has to offer . . . Colourful anodised aluminium panels replicate the coloured brick tones of the original façade and emphasise the modular structure.'
Find pictures and information about the redevelopment on the Urban Splash website.


Poetry of Park Hill from a long-term resident
Granville Squires has been resident caretaker at Park Hill for 28 years. He's optimistic about the future, expressesing his feelings in poetry.
Video © BBC Look North, 2009
Transcript: We need someone with some foresight, who does not see it as an ugly blight, to give our flats some tlc, put back the spirit there used to be. Granville Squires sees poetry in Park Hill flats, he knows them better than most, having lived here 28 years as a caretaker. The estate has a bad reputation, but Granville says its undeserved. I look on her as an old lady, who's come on bad times, she's er, going to have her face washed, she's going to put a new frock on, and she's going to be out there plugging' again.
Will we love Park Hill again?
Video © BBC Look North, 2011
Transcript: Change is happening here, so I think people can see that for themselves now. And Park Hill has had it's fair share of changes, from slums to cutting edge design in the '60s, disrepair and neglect to listed status in the '90s and now ambitions for a bright and bold £116 million complex. It's two years into this development and it's been hard work getting here. With the shops, and everything what they're going to do, it sounds brilliant and its going to be really nice. The idea's good, no doubt about it, very very good, but are they going to carry it out, what they say? Should everything fall into place, this vision could be the new reality within the next decade. After convincing us to say 'je t'aime', the developers need a resounding 'yes' to the next question, 'Voulez vous couchez ce soir?'

Park Hill, Sheffield in the 20th century
By the 1920s many of the ‘courts’ in the Park area, had deteriorated to the point of being a threat to public health leading to considerable debate over how to deal with slum clearance. Should we build estates of two-storey houses outside the city? Would it be better to re-house people within the city, near the industrial areas, in high-density flats? What are the cost benefits to the City Council for each option?
The steep hillsides of Sheffield Park were attractive since significant areas had already been cleared by 1939. The architects proposed an imaginative, innovative solution, addressing the visual impact and social issues of ‘high-rise’ by harnessing the geological challenge of building on a large escarpment. Sheffield's 'streets in the sky' were conceived and built in the 1960s.
Copyright: Sheffield Local Studies Library
Slum clearance plans
Members of Sheffield City Council’s Public Health Department probably produced this silent film in the 1950s to record their work. Park was the first redevelopment scheme undertaken by the City Council after World War II. It contained some of the oldest outstanding slum clearance orders and some demolition had already taken place.
The clip is reproduced with permission from Yorkshire Film Archive and Sheffield Local Studies Library. Visit the Yorkshire Film Archive website to find out more about this fascinating archive film.
'Streets in the sky'
The innovative design was ‘a bold and imaginative scheme’. There were street ‘decks’ ten feet (three metres) wide, with room for prams, play areas and milk floats.
‘The dwellings are so planned as to give each household privacy and quiet despite the essentially communal nature of the project. . . Each dwelling, irrespective of size, is provided with a large sheltered balcony where small children can play in the open air, where a pram can be put out and on which an occasional meal can be taken.’ JL Womersley, City Architect, 1955, Sheffield Archives: CA655/15


What’s your address?
There was considerable debate between Mr H Foster, City Engineer and Surveyor and JL Womersley, City Architect, over how to number each dwelling. The term ‘block’ was rejected for sounding too institutional whilst ‘house’ was seen as inappropriate due to the large scale of the project. ‘Deck’ was finally rejected in favour of ‘Row’ to name the ‘streets in the sky’.
This clip from a silent film made in 1961, is reproduced with permission from Yorkshire Film Archive and Sheffield Local Studies Library. Visit the Yorkshire Film Archive website to find out more about this fascinating archive film.
Architect's plan for Park Hill
Plans for Park Hill included a pedestrian precinct known as The Pavement, and a continuous system of covered decks, ten feet (three metres) wide to link all the flats. At ground level there were shops, pubs, a laundry, social clubs, a chapel and schools surrounded by parkland and play areas for children.
Compare this architect's plan with the slum clearance map in the 19th century collection.


'Proud achievement'
The first three blocks were built ahead of schedule, in just over two years, at a saving of £100,000 in actual costs.
Completing Part 1 of the redevelopment’s 996 flats represented a ‘proud achievement’ in the words of the Sheffield Public Works Department.
350 men, many of whom were apprentices, were employed at any one time during this time.


A view from the balcony
Alderman DW Gascoigne, Public Works Committee deputy chair and leader of the City Council, speaking at a civic luncheon in January 1961, said ‘A squalid area has been transformed into an area where human beings can live in dignity.’ Sheffield Telegraph, 20 January, 1961.
The flats were provided with the Garchey refuse disposal system, taking waste ‘from sink to incinerator’. ‘From the standpoint of hygiene and convenience to the housewife, the Garchay System is undoubtedly superior to any other which has come to our attention.’ ‘Refuse Disposal in Flats’, Institute of Housing, March 1954.


'Continental touch'?
In this cartoon from a local Sheffield newspaper, The Star, 15 March 1955, we see the architect's vision for the new development with a ‘continental’ touch to the public spaces.
Compare this vision with the promotional material for the 21st century developments by Urban Splash, just over 50 years later in 2009. Clothing, hairstyles and decor may be different, but how much remains the same?



Park Hill, Sheffield, via Google map streetview
UPDATE: BBC News revisited Park Hill in 2016. See the story on OpenLearn Live.
More stories behind the streets
-
The Secret History of Our Streets: Share your diaries
Help us to build a picture of the secret history of streets around the UK by contributing to our diaries.
Read nowThe Secret History of Our Streets: Share your diariesArticle
Level: 1 Introductory
-
Arnold Circus, London: social housing for the 'deserving poor'
From the tenants of the first council housing estate, built on the Old Nichol in the 19th century, we trace the stories of Arnold Circus residents today.
Take part nowArnold Circus, London: social housing for the 'deserving poor'Activity
Level: 1 Introductory
-
Upper Buckingham Street, Dublin, Ireland: from speculative landowners to multi-tenanted tenements
The story of Upper Buckingham Street, from its initial layout in 1788 to the present day, reflects the ups and downs of Dublin city and its people.
Take part nowUpper Buckingham Street, Dublin, Ireland: from speculative landowners to multi-tenanted tenementsActivity
Level: 1 Introductory
-
Great Ancoats Street, Manchester: cottonopolis to urban village
What are the stories behind this unique 'urban village'? From the largest mills of Manchester's 19th century industrial era to slum dwellings in the 1920s. 21st century Ancoats sees revamped canals, squares and modern, stylish apartments.
Take part nowGreat Ancoats Street, Manchester: cottonopolis to urban villageActivity
Level: 1 Introductory
-
Dumbarton Road, Partick, Glasgow: from tenements to riverside apartments
We look back at the social history shaped by a ten-fold rise in population from 5,000 in 1850 to over 55,000 by 1901, and forward to the Glasgow Harbour regeneration scheme.
Take part nowDumbarton Road, Partick, Glasgow: from tenements to riverside apartmentsActivity
Level: 1 Introductory
-
City Road, Cardiff: suburban thoroughfare
Known as Castle Road in the 19th century, we trace the changing character and communities of City Road, re-named in 1905, when Cardiff gained city status.
Take part nowCity Road, Cardiff: suburban thoroughfareActivity
Level: 1 Introductory
-
The stories behind our streets
Where do you live? One answer may be your home postal address but what are the secrets behind your postcode? How has your street changed over the years?
Take part nowThe stories behind our streetsActivity
Level: 1 Introductory
OU and the BBC
-
The Secret History of our Streets: Get your free booklet 'A tourist's guide to our secret streets'
We had offered a free 16-page booklet, with folding historic map from Charles Booth and fascinating stories behind the streets in five UK cities, but this is no longer available.
Read nowThe Secret History of our Streets: Get your free booklet 'A tourist's guide to our secret streets'Article
Level: 1 Introductory
-
OU on the BBC: The Secret History Of Our Streets: London ARCHIVE
Six streets - apparently unremarkable, but each one with a lot to tell us about how life and London has changed in 150 years.
Read nowOU on the BBC: The Secret History Of Our Streets: London ARCHIVEArticle
Level: 1 Introductory
We invite you to discuss this subject, but remember this is a public forum.
Please be polite, and avoid your passions turning into contempt for others. We may delete posts that are rude or aggressive; or edit posts containing contact details or links to other websites.