The development of a Victorian powerhouse: Sheffield city building plans 1864 – 1918
Sheffield City Archives
awarded national conservation grant to make city’s historic building plans
accessible
Sheffield
City Archives is home to thousands of historic building plans which document
the growth of the city from the nineteenth century. Many of the older plans are in a fragile
condition and some are so brittle they can no longer be unfolded. In order to make these important documents
accessible again, staff in the Conservation Unit at the City Archives need to repair and
stabilise some 170 plans.
In
order to carry out this vital work, we are pleased to announce that we have been
awarded a grant from the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust (NMCT) for
£10,900 to fund our conservation project: The Development of a Victorian
Powerhouse: Sheffield City Building Plans 1864-1918.
These
building plans (1864-1918) offer a detailed view of the development of some of
the key buildings in the city and they reflect the national context of the
growth of our Victorian cities at a time when Britain was the industrial
powerhouse of the world. Included
in this collection are plans of: industrial and commercial buildings, major
department stores, non-conformist chapels, the Liberal Reform Club, Sheffield
Town Hall, banks, the Cutlers’ Hall, early University buildings, public baths,
a temperance hall, masonic hall, almshouses, Sheffield United Football Club
grandstand and terracing, botanical gardens, cinemas, schools and an armaments
factory (the National Projectile Factory).
The
Trustees of the NCMT were keen to fund this conservation project, recognising
the importance of Sheffield’s early building plans in the local and national
context, and the work that is carried out at Sheffield City Archives in
endeavouring to preserve and make accessible Sheffield’s history: ‘We are very supportive of the work that you
manage to do at Sheffield Archives on limited resources and were keen to
support the conservation of this interesting collection.’
For more information on the Sheffield City Archives and the Conservation Unit go to: www.sheffield.gov.uk/archives
Pictured (top): the Conservator at work - the Conservation Unit work on a range of documents dating back to the 1100s; (bottom): a plan of Sheffield United Cricket and Football Club's new terracing drawn by famous football stadium architect, Archibald Leitch, 1901 (Sheffield Archives:CA206/5725) - soon to be restored as part of this project.