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Park Hill, Sheffield

Coordinates: 53°22′48″N 1°27′29″W / 53.380°N 1.458°W / 53.380; -1.458
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Park Hill
Park Hill from Sheffield City Centre.
Map
General information
LocationSheffield
StatusBeing refurbished
Construction
Constructed1957-1961

Park Hill is a council housing estate in Sheffield, England. The estate was constructed between 1957 and 1961. In 1998 the estate was granted Grade II listed building status. Following a period of decline the estate is currently being renovated by the developers Urban Splash.


Background

A typical deck at Park Hill.

Park Hill was previously the site of back-to-back housing, a mixture of 2-3 storey tenement buildings, waste ground, quarries and steep alleways.[1] Facilities were poor with one standpipe supporting up to 100 people.[1] It was colloquially known as "Little Chicago" in the 1930s, due to the violent crimes sometimes committed there. Clearance of the area began on the 1930s but was halted due to World War II.[1]

Following the war it was decided that a radical scheme needed to be introduced to deal with rehousing the Park Hill community. To that end architects Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith began work in 1945 designing the Park Hill Flats. Inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation and the Smithsons' unbuilt schemes, most notably for Golden Lane in London, the deck access scheme, was viewed as revolutionary at the time. Construction is of an exposed concrete frame with yellow, orange and red brick curtain walling. However, as a result of weathering and soot-staining from passing trains, few people realise this and assume the building to be constructed entirely from concrete.

The concept of the flats was described as "streets in the sky". Broad decks, wide enough for milk floats, had large numbers of front doors opening onto them. Each deck of the structure, except the top one, has direct access to ground level at some point on the sloping site. The site also allows the roofline to remain level despite the building varying between four and thirteen stories in height. The scheme also incorporates a shopping precinct and a primary school.


History

Construction begain in 1957 and the estate was opened in 1961 by Roy Hattersley, then the chair of housing at Sheffield City Council.[2]

Welcome sign and plan at the main entrance.

To maintain a strong sense of community, neighbours were re-homed next door to each other and old street names from the area were re-used (e.g Gilbert Row, Long Henry Row).[3] Cobbles from the terraced streets surrounded the flats and paved the pathways down the hill to Sheffield station and tramlines.[3]

Further housing schemes were completed to similar designs, including Hyde Park and Kelvin in Sheffield. Although initially popular and successful, over time the fabric of the building has decayed somewhat and some other disadvantages of the estate, such as poor noise insulation and easy getaway routes for muggers, have become apparent.[citation needed] For many years, the council have had difficulty finding tenants for the flats. The estate was nicknamed San Quentin by some residents after the notorious American jail.[4]

Listing and renovation

Despite the problems, the complex remains structurally sound[citation needed], unlike many of the system built blocks of the era, and controversially was Grade II listed in 1998 making it the largest listed building in Europe.[1] Sheffield City Council hoped this would attract investment to renovate the building, but this was not initially forthcoming. The decision to list the estate was controversial at the time and it continues to attract criticism.[5]

A part-privatisation scheme by the developer Urban Splash in partnership with English Heritage to turn the flats into upmarket apartments, business units and social housing is now under way[5]. Two blocks (including the North Block - the tallest part of the buildings) have been cleared, leaving only its concrete shell.

Even now, inhabitants of Sheffield are split on the matter of Park Hill; many believe it to be a part of Sheffield's heritage, while others consider it nothing more than an eyesore and blot on the landscape. Public nominations led it to the top 12 of Channel 4's Demolition programme. Other television appearances for the flats include Police 2020 and in an Arctic Monkeys video.

Park Hill is also the name of the area in which the flats are sited. The name relates to the deer park attached to Sheffield Manor, the remnant of which is now known as Norfolk Park.


  • Entrance of Park Hill
    Entrance of Park Hill
  • Panorama of Park Hill
    Panorama of Park Hill
  • Detail of Park Hill
    Detail of Park Hill
  • Close-up of the exterior
    Close-up of the exterior

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Sheffield City Council - History of Park Hill Flats". Sheffield.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  2. ^ Jeffreys, Kevin. Labour forces:from Ernest Bevin to Gordon Brown. ISBN 186064743X.
  3. ^ a b "Park Hill's History". BBC. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  4. ^ "Listed buildings". Guardian. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  5. ^ a b "The absurd listing of a block of flats in Sheffield is richly comic". Guardian. Retrieved 2009-09-01.

See also

53°22′48″N 1°27′29″W / 53.380°N 1.458°W / 53.380; -1.458

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