Sheffield Local Information: 10 top things to know... more

  • 1. History of Sheffield

    Sheffield is traditionally known as a city built on seven hills and served by five rivers. Evidence of medieval prosperity can still be seen in the 15th century parish churches of the region and the ruins of the Manor Lodge. By the end of the 18th century, Sheffield was a world leader in engineering and tool steel. The first integrated steel and cutlery factory, Greaves’ Shea...Read moref Works in Effingham Street, was built in around the 1820s and part of it still exists today. The Sheffield Canal was opened in 1819. The birth of the railways in the 1840s provided new opportunities for Sheffield, as steel was needed for rails. Sheffield became a city in 1893 and its town hall was opened in 1897. The city’s university was opened in 1905. During the First and Second World Wars, Sheffield became crucial in supplying parts. The city was bombed in 1940 and 602 people died. Read less

  • 2. Now in Sheffield

    In the past two decades the steel industry has declined and many of the famous firms disappeared. Meadowhall Shopping Centre was built on the site of Hadfields and the Don Valley Stadium replaced Brown Bayleys. The economy is based largely on service industries and leisure complexes. The facilities built for the World Student Games in 1991 have become venues for sport and live ...Read moremusic concerts. The Ponds Forge has become famous for international swimming events rather than metal. Read less

  • 3. Events in Sheffield

    Many major sporting events take place in Sheffield every year. Among these are the World Snooker Championship, the British Ice Figure and Dance Skating Championships, the English Open Table Tennis Championships, the AVIVA European/World Trials and UK Championships, the LEN European Synchronised Swimming Champions Cup and the FINA Diving World Series. The Sensoria festival of fi...Read morelm and music takes place annually in the city as well as the Galvanize festival of contemporary metal design. An annual children’s festival, comedy festival, literary festival and food festival are also on the calendar of events. Read less

  • 4. Attractions in Sheffield

    Bishops’ House is one of Sheffield’s oldest buildings and gives visitors a chance to step back in time and find out more about the city’s past. The Shepherd Wheel Workshop is a museum showing grinding workshops, Kelham Island Museum tells Sheffield’s industrial story and Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet has waterwheels, tilt hammers, a grinding hull and the only intact cruci...Read moreble steel furnace surviving in the world today. The site is a Grade I Listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Weston Park is an interactive museum including five family trails to explore. Read less

  • 5. Things To Do in Sheffield

    Sheffield Round Walk is a 14-mile walk through parks, woodlands and countryside. The route starts at Endcliffe Park and ends at Ecclesall Woods, but visitors can choose smaller sections of the walk to enjoy. Canal cruises are a great way for visitors to enjoy parts of the city, and there are plenty to choose from. The Foundry Climbing Centre in Sheffield offers walls up to 13m ...Read morehigh as well as plenty of walls for beginners. The Winter Garden is a beautiful green space in the city centre containing a huge glasshouse. Read less

  • 6. Business in Sheffield

    Meadowhall is one of Europe’s largest shopping centres and is located just a tram’s ride away from the city centre. In the centre itself, there is the Devonshire Quarter, full of independent stores and boutiques, and a thriving centre of High Street stores and designer labels. There are also plenty of markets. The list of restaurants, cafes and bars is varied and provides p...Read morelenty of choice for all budgets. MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival, is an event in Sheffield to discuss how to set up and grow a business. Read less

  • 7. Transport in Sheffield

    Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport is close to Sheffield and has flights to Europe and long haul destinations. There is also Leeds/Bradford Airport, Nottingham East Midlands Airport and Manchester International Airport in the region. Major motorways the M1, M62 and A1 (M) link to Sheffield by road and rail links are good to the rest of the UK. The Eurostar links to Paris.

  • 8. Entertainment in Sheffield

    Pop and rock concerts and classical music performances take place in City Hall, while The Crucible and Lyceum Theatres are three venues offering a wide variety of drama performances. The Leadmill is another live music venue as well as Sheffield Arena, which hosts events by some of the biggest names in music. The Millennium Gallery is a centre for visual arts, craft and design a...Read morend The Showroom is a large independent cinema. Read less

  • 9. Famous Landmarks in Sheffield

    Sheffield Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, is a Grade I listed structure and is free to visit. Sheffield Town Hall is a huge Victorian building in the city centre; Queen Victoria opened the building in 1897. Manor Lodge was built at the beginning of the 16th century and is famous for being the place where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisone...Read mored. It can only be viewed from the outside. Read less

  • 10. Interesting Facts about Sheffield

    A third of Sheffield is within the Peak District National Park (no other UK city has a national park within its boundary). It also claims the title of England's greenest city, with 150 woodlands and 50 public parks.

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Sheffield Events

  • Sheffield Children’s Festival

    June - July 2012 Children
    get to see their artwork
    displayed in galleries as
    part of this annual event.
    The festival is run by
    Sheffield City Council to
    give young people the chance
    to work with professional
    artists, exhibit work,
    perform in cit ...more

  • Cliffhanger

    July 2012 This annual event
    bills itself as the outdoor
    event for outdoor people. It
    takes place over two days in
    July in Millhouses
    Park. The outdoor pursuits
    festival attracts over 20,000
    visitors and includes events
    and competitions which
    ...more

  • Sheffield Environment Weeks

    April - June 2012 This is a
    month-long programme of
    events in the city in April
    and June to celebrate the
    environment. The event
    began in 1984 as a one-day
    national event sponsored by
    BT and run by the Civic
    Trust. Voluntary groups were
    invit ...more

  • Galvanize

    March-April 2013 The
    Galvanize festival is a
    month-long celebration of
    contemporary metal design and
    includes exhibitions and
    events in various venues in
    Sheffield. It aims to
    celebrate the past, look at
    new innovations and celebrate
    skills i ...more

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Sheffield Blog

  • Runners turn out in force

    A fun run in aid of the Lord Mayor’s charities has been hailed a huge success after attracting twice as many people as last year. The three-kilometre Sheffield fun run took place on April 22, the same day as the London Marathon, and attracted a total of 90 competitors this year. The event took place ahead of the Lord Mayor’s 10k at the Don Valley Stadium, in which 390 runners took part. The rain did not deter the people of …

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  • Snooker players to pound the streets

    Snooker ace Steve Davis will be seen on the streets of Sheffield in his shorts when he takes part in the city’s half marathon. Steve, 54, who won the world champion title six times in his sport, says he expects to run a slow route when he takes part in the event on May 27 to raise money for charity. A team of more than 30 snooker players have signed up to run the Sheffield Half Marathon, including Shaun Murphy …

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  • Artist hopes to help Scooby Doo

    Caricaturist to the stars, Richard Smith, has offered to create a piece of work for homeless dog Scooby Doo in an attempt to find him a new owner. Richard, of Rich Smith Illustration, in Sheffield, will draw a caricature of the dog and his new owner for free once he has found a new home. He hopes the offer will highlight the plight of the Scooby Doo lookalike, who has been at the RSPCA Sheffield branch for over a year. …

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  • Olympic honour for teenager Jake

    Teenager Jake Cook has been asked to carry the Olympic Torch on a leg of its journey as recognition of all his voluntary work. Jake, 17, a student at The Sheffield College’s Norton College, will take part in the torch relay when it passes through the city on June 25. The youngster, who is studying for a BTEC in Sport and Exercise Science, was chosen because of all the voluntary sports coaching he does in local primary schools. He said: …

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