Sheffield Town Hall - The Main Entrance

A detail of the ironwork to the main entrance of Sheffield Town Hall

Having taken a few photographs of the sculptural details on the exterior of Sheffield Town Hall, before taking advantage of the opening of its interior to the general public during the Heritage Open Days event, I had a quick look at some of the very interesting architectural details that can be found inside the main entrance.

Work while it is day for the night cometh

Although I had been into the reception area of the town hall a couple of times to briefly look at the main staircase, I had never really taken much notice of these before, but there are some further examples of the work of J.W. Pomeroy – a series of six frieze sculptures depicting the virtues.

A general view of the main entrance

The aspect of the main entrance is such that it is generally quite dark inside and, with the stonework being quite dirty, it is not easy to identify the various stones that have been used here and this ideally needs further investigation and a close examination of the stone, using a hand lens, hydrochloric acid and a scratch test.

Strength and temperance shall enforce the law

I had always assumed that the stone here was Stoke Hall gritstone, as used for the fabric, based on its general colour but there also appears to be a grey limestone and a pink 'marble' used for pilasters and columns, as well as others used in the floor.

Various stones have been used in the main entrance

Having subsequently managed to acquire a brief guide to Sheffield Town Hall, I have since discovered that Coxbench stone, from near Belper, and Ancaster limestone have also been used in the interior, but no specific locations have been identified.

The entrance to the Main Hall