Central Sheffield

Central Sheffield has undergone many dramatic changes since 1850 when photographic records began. Once medieval with an elegant Georgian facade, it has always been a centre of diverse manufacturing activity, ranging from large-scale steel works and breweries to more traditional one-man businesses cutting penknife scales or forging scissor blades.

It is hard to imagine that, until 1900, when trams linked city and new smoke-free suburbs, the city centre was also home for many Sheffielders. No less than 1,500 pubs and beerhouses were available within three square miles to refresh and entertain thirsy inhabitants. This fascinating collection of photographs recreates and evokes that bygone world, illustrating a way of life in surroundings now gone forever.

The images in this collection have been meticulously chosen from the pictures acquired over many years at the Central Library. They represent the people of Sheffield, as well as the place itself. Selected from personal collections, official sources, commercial postcards, and even private family albums, this book is a testament to the beauty, spirit and charm of the evolving city centre of the past.