Hillsborough Barracks Hillsborough Barracks Cutlers’ Hall Cutlers’ Hall
With its slightly hidden façade noticeable only by its striking Grecian pillars, Cutlers’ Hall is one of the city’s most splendid buildings.
Sheffield has been synonymous with cutlery for over 800 years. A statement of the wealth and importance of the cutlery industry, Cutlers’ Hall was originally built in 1638 as the headquarters of the newly formed Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire.
Now a large shopping precinct, the stone walled fortress at Hillsborough was in fact once one of the largest military barracks in Britain.
Built in 1848, the site covered 22 acres and was based around a symmetrical Tudor style with crenulated towers. It encased a strong military presence to combat a period of unrest in the city, with many battalions stationed there over the years such as 2nd KOYLI and 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards.
Inside the walled complex sat numerous buildings and structures in a mixture of styles. To the front was the officers’ mess and 40-berth accommodation block with a parade ground.
Mappins Art Gallery and
Weston Park Museum Many families have no doubt visited Weston Park Museum and tried on the Eskimo suits or seen the range of Sheffield memorabilia inside. But how many people know its roots actually lie in Rotherham?
Cutlers’ Hall
By the 18th century, the company had become industry leaders and built a new hall in the original’s place in 1725. In 1832, the company drafted in Samuel Worth and Ben Broomhead-Taylor to vision a new building at a cost of £6,5000.
A civic venue used for entertainment, assemblies and feasts, Cutlers’ Hall has three main halls inside with an imperial staircase that was doubled in size in the 1865 extension.
Yet its obscure and confined spot, which stretches back along Fargate, is only visible from Church Street opposite the Cathedral. However, the Derbyshire sandstone Corinthian style frontage pays homage to the long standing guild and its Master Cutlers of days gone by.
Now the largest and most culturally significant museum in Sheffield, Weston Park Museum was once a concession within the former Mappin Art Gallery.
Funded through the will of Rotherham’s John Newton Mappin who made his fortune from his Mappin’s Brewery in Masborough, Mappin left 153 paintings to the city on the condition they were used to curate an art gallery; this was further expanded by his nephew, Sir Fredrick Thorpe Mappin.
The original gallery cost £15,000 to build in the 1880s to an Ionic design by Flockton and Gibbs. A southern annexe was added in 1937 to extend the gallery and allow for the nearby museum
Hillsborough Barracks
There was also a five-bedroom Garrison commanders’ quarters and married quarters for families.
Army kids would have attended the on-site school, there was a hospital big enough for 58 patients, and even a dental clinic so soldiers could remain in the barracks at all times.
A base for cavalry and infantry regiments, there was also a 260-capacity stable block, gun shed with six field guns, vehicle shed for 26 army cars plus detention cells and an exercise yard.
The barracks closed in the 30s before being turned into a shopping centre some 50 years later. However, it still remains the UK’s only surviving turreted barracks.
in Weston House to be added when its own building was demolished.
During the Blitz in 1940, the gallery was almost completely destroyed except for the façade and two front galleries. Although it remained open after the bombings, the gallery was rebuilt in the 60s before being given a facelift again in the 80s.
Since the Millennium, the museum has radically altered following a complete £17.3million renovation in 2003. On its re- opening, very little remained of the MAG, instead replaced by seven galleries depicting the archaeology, natural history, art and social history of Sheffield.
Professor Ian D. Rotherham’s new book, Sheffield In 50 Buildings, is now available to buy from WH Smiths or Amberley Publishing.
Mappins Art Gallery and Weston Park Museum Cutlers’ Hall
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