Sheffield Town Hall - The Exterior

A view of the south elevation from the Peace Gardens

Having already thoroughly explored St. Mary's church in Handsworth and All Saints church in Aston-cum-Aughton during the 2016 Heritage Open Days event, the last historic building on my shortlist was Sheffield Town Hall, where the general public were invited to see parts of the interior that are not usually accessible to them.

A general view of the west elevation

Taking advantage of a sunny Sunday morning, I first had a quick wander around its exterior to have at look at some of the architectural details that adorn this fine example of Victorian civic architecture, which was built in 1897 by E.W. Mountford.  All of the exterior is constructed in Stoke Hall stone, a uniformly buff coloured gritty sandstone from the Kinderscout Grit in Grindleford - 15 km from Sheffield city centre - and the roofs are covered in Westmorland slate.

A detail of the carved stonework above the main entrance

It is the north-west facing façade, with an elaborately decorated main entrance, which provides the most interest for an architectural historian, along with the relief sculptures by F.W. Pomeroy – depicting the Arts and Industries of Sheffield - which would probably benefit from a good clean.

A detail of the "Arts and Industries of Sheffield" by F.W. Pomeroy

Along its south elevation, the Renaissance Revival style elements of the building are much more simple, especially those used in the 1923 extension, but in the original Victorian west section, there are various sculptures to be seen at the higher levels. The remaining elevations, although also displaying some fine sculpture, were in deep shadow and - on this occasion - I didn't stop to take a good look at them.

A general view of the 1923 extension from the Peace Gardens

Although my main reason for wanting to visit Sheffield Town Hall was to see its interior, the inside of the main entrance to the building is worth seeing in its own right. On weekdays and Saturdays - when there are frequent wedding celebrations - it is usually so full of people coming and going that it's not easy to take photographs of its various details.

A commemorative plaque