Historic Architecture in Sheffield - Part 4

 

St. George's church

My exploration of Crookes and Walkley and Hillsborough had taken just over an hour and a half, with a distance of nearly 6.5 km covered, and I caught the tram back to Sheffield; however, with the sun still shining, I decided to get off at the Sheffield University stop and then walk into Sheffield. 

 

The west front of St. George's church

The first stop on the way back to the city centre was the former St. George’s church (1825) by Woodhead and Hurst, who had also designed Christ Church (1830) in Stannington and the former Boys’ Charity School at Nos. 31 and 33 York Street – all of which are built with Chatsworth Grit from the Rivelin Valley. 

 

St. George's church

 

The British Listed Buildings website already had photographs of this Grade II Listed church, so I just took a few general record photographs and made my way down West Street, until I came to the Bow Centre (1894), which was designed by J.B. Mitchell-Withers as part of the Central Schools complex of the Sheffield School Board. 

 

The Bow Centre on West Street

The Victorian Society book Building Schools for Sheffield describes the buildings on Leopold Street as being built in Huddersfield stone ashlar, which has probably been used again here, but I only took a few photos from a distance and didn’t look closely at the stone.

 

The west elevation of the Bow Centre

 

I then made my way down Orchard Lane to photograph the Science School (1895), which is also by J.B. Mitchell-Withers and presumably another example of Huddersfield stone. During my first visit to the building the previous year, it was very overcast, but this time the fine details were bathed in light. 

 

The entrance to the Science School

The medium grained Huddersfield stone which is quarried from the Rough Rock, can be ornately carved and is generally very durable but, looking closely, the detailing of the swags on either side of the Sheffield Board School monogram above the entrance are seen to be quite weathered. 

 

The Sheffield School Board monogram and associated stone carving

Making my way down Leopold Street towards Surrey Street, the front elevation of the Grade I Listed Town Hall (1897) was well illuminated by the afternoon sunshine, including the frieze sculptures depicting Sheffield trades by F.W. Pomeroy. 

 

Sheffield Town Hall

 

High above the main entrance are the figures of the gods Thor and Vulcan, supporting the Sheffield coat of arms, which I was able to capture with the zoom lens on my Canon Powershot G7X Mark II camera at its full extent. 

 

Sculptures of Thor and Vulcan